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Writing Tips
Getting Published:
One author's guide to the business of writing fiction
Published authors have a variety of experiences
getting from first draft to first contract, a process that
can take several years. The following tips come from lessons
I've learned during my own journey. Every writer's adventure
is unique. 1) Write about something you love. If your own idea
fails to hold your interest, it probably won't sustain you
through the process of completing a writing project. What
are you passionate about? What interests you? What kinds of
people intrigue you? Create characters, plots and settings
that mean something to you, and you'll have a better chance
of following them through to the end. Some writers start
with a plot and setting, some start with the characters.
Begin where it feels right for you, then fill in the
details. 2) Know where you're headed and have some ideas about
how you'll get there, but be willing to change if a better
idea comes along. Some authors make a detailed outline of
their story and follow it closely. Others write general
notes and refer to them often. Some fly by the seat of their
pants, pretending to know what's going to happen in their
story then acting surprised when it goes in strange and
wonderful directions. When the latter happens, it can be an
incredible feeling. Athletes talk about being "in the zone."
Writers have a "zone" too. Characters can often take
unexpected detours along the way to their happy endings, and
I suggest you let them, within the boundaries of your
story's premise. 3) Don't worry about perfection in your first draft.
Write as the words come to you. Try not to obsess about what
you've written until a scene or chapter is finished. Let
your muse take you to a realistic stopping point, then go
back and work on the content and mechanics. One writer I
know believes it helps to read over her work in a different
place than where she wrote it. Some writers will wait until
the very end of a book to edit it. Some edit as they go.
Some get stuck on a dorky sentence and fret about it into
the wee hours of the morning. When the latter happens to me,
I tell myself to "just walk away." A break from your story
may help revive your motivation to keep going. Some writers prefer not to stop for a break at the end
of a scene or chapter because it's harder for them to get
back into the flow of the story if they didn't leave it at
an exciting point. If stopping in the middle of action (or
after writing the first couple sentences or paragraphs of
the next scene or chapter) helps you get back into the
story, that may well be the best stopping place for you.
4) Have a consistent place for your writing. Some
authors face a blank wall when working, allowing fewer
things to distract them. I recently listened to an author at
a workshop who said he isolates himself in a mountain cabin
for sixty days and can write a full-length novel in that
time. Most writers don't have that luxury. Many of us have
outside jobs, families, and other responsibilities to work
around. Find the place, time, schedule, and work area set-up
that best fit you and try to stick to them. 5) Know your characters well. Making character
sketches for every character in your story can help you
remember each one's goal, motivation, conflict, appearance,
strengths, weaknesses, personality traits, etc. Each of your
characters needs to be three-dimensional in order to be real
to your reader. Keep the character sketches nearby and refer
to them often as you're writing. If you'd like a copy of a
generic one I use, e-mail me and I'll be happy to share
it. 6) If you don't know much about the writing process,
consider taking a course on creative writing at your local
community college, or join an on-line writing course. (There
are a lot of on-line offerings, and you can find them
through a search engine. Be prepared to pay for them just as
you would pay for a college course.) Spend time reading
within the genre (ie: romance, western, sci-fi) in which
you're writing, so you can see what kinds of stories are
selling in today's market. 7) Join or start a critique group. Take a deep breath
and solicit comments from others. Family and friends can be
terrific support, but if you think you could be overly
sensitive to what they tell you when you say "Be honest, I
can take it" then find people less involved in your life. My
critique partners are fellow educators who happen to write
fiction. We are supportive, respectful, and honest with one
another. We also have a total blast at the monthly
get-togethers we take turns hosting. If you aren't
comfortable with your critique partners, find others. If
that's a challenge where you live, join a writer's group
on-line and swap chapters via e-mail. Constructive criticism
from outside parties is vital. (Then when one of your
partners makes it "big," she'll owe you!) 8) Do your homework before you submit a query letter,
synopsis, partial, or complete manuscript to an agent,
editor, or publisher. The market is very competitive.
Whether you want to contact a large or small company, one
that's famous or a fledgling in the publishing world, you
need to know who they are, what types of books they publish
or represent (or what kind of authors they publish or
represent), their criteria for new authors, how they accept
submissions, their turnaround time (when you can expect to
hear back from them), and other information about them.
Present yourself professionally. The more you know about who
you're contacting, the better you will appear to them, and
the more favorable your chances. The most important thing is to WRITE. Try to write
every day for at least fifteen minutes. Think of it as
exercise for your creativity. Some days the words will flow
easily and you will feel wonderful about your progress.
Other days it will feel painful to get a few words down, and
you may end up feeling discouraged. Don't give up if you
have a story to tell. Every writer goes through her own ups
and downs. Always coming back to your project is a true sign
of a writer.
