You’ll find lists and lists online of the most important things for a writer to remember, so just add mine to the mix. I chose tips that I need to hear as well, so in writing to you all I’m also writing to myself. I struggle with many of these and need a constant reminder of them. So, like them or not, here’s the Top Ten.
1. Write–Sure, this may go without saying. But it’s easier to dream about writing than it is to actually write. Writing is a discipline and requires training, like training your body at the gym. You don’t like to work out, but you do it because it’s the only way to get in shape. See writing in the same light. Don’t just wait for inspiration, or you won’t write anything. Sit down and do it. Worry about the quality of your writing later on.
2. Edit–A great plot and compelling characters will be undone by misspellings and bad grammar. So edit like crazy. And if you don’t trust your own editing skills, find a professional editor. But find a professional. An English degree and a love for books don’t make someone an editor. But the editing process also involves taking out unnecessary parts. Rule of thumb: If you can shorten a passage, do so. Avoid unnecessary, distracting, or repetitive description. Are adverbs always necessary? Often they’re not. Oh yes, and there are times when sentence fragments are appropriate. It’s up to you to find out when.
3. Learn to Read Out Loud–You assume that what you’re writing is good. But does it sound good? This is especially important for dialogue. Our written dialogue often sounds stilted, formulaic, and awkward. Read it to yourself. Or better yet, get a friend to read one part, and you read the other. Make it like a screen test or a play rehearsal.
4. Know Your Limitations–We’ve all heard the old adage, “Write what you know.” You love romance, you read romance, you know romance novels better than anyone, so why write historical fiction? Stick with what you know. Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t someday write historical fiction, but you’ll have to get to know the genre in the same way that you know romance.
5. Research–Get the details correct. It’s like in so many Hollywood action movies, where the hero slips a magazine into his gun and starts firing, without ever chambering a round! Investigate everything in your story, from clothing to buildings to food choices. If you don’t catch an error in a detail, one of your readers certainly will. Do your research. In fact, you might find that you enjoy doing it.
6. Read–Yes, it seems obvious. But to many aspiring writers, it isn’t. Read classic literature, best-selling novels, poems, plays, non-fiction, essays, anything and everything. You’re reading not just for pleasure or information, but to see how other authors do it, how they craft characters and navigate plots and paint scenes with words. By reading, you’re learning from experts.
7. Avoid Clichés–When everything you write “shines like the sun” or “runs like a bat out of hell” or “fights with the strength of ten men,” then your stuff is full of clichés. This goes for characters as well. (See my post on character clichés for more on this. I struggle mightily with this one too.) Boxing priests, reluctant vampires, cynical but tender-hearted bad boys, etc. Kill them off, all of them.
8. Trust Others–I’ll admit that this one is tough for me. My stories are my babies, and I hesitate to let anyone get too close to them. But I have to. I had my wife read the opening chapter of a novel I was once working on, and she finished it, completely confused. I realized that if I couldn’t get through to her, then I wouldn’t be getting through to most other people. Everyone needs feedback.
9. Be Your Own Best Salesman/Saleswoman–Even if you get an agent and a publisher to publish your book the traditional way, odds are that you’ll still be doing quite a bit of the marketing yourself. Unless your last name is Koontz, Clancy, Steele, or Meyer, your book won’t be getting a million-dollar advertising budget. So trust that you’ve written a good story, a story that people want to read, and get out there and tell people. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, websites, all of them and more. Tell people why your book matters, and don’t stop.
10. Try to Enjoy It–Writing and publishing a book isn’t easy. You spend countless hours in front of a computer screen or scribbling into notepads. You get frustrated, you get writer’s block, you pitch it all and start over, and eventually, you expose yourself to the public. But guess what? You can still love it. Isn’t that why you started writing in the first place? Love it like you love your family members: They can get you mad, and while it’s not always easy to love them, you still do. It’s essential to who you are.
No, this isn’t an exhaustive list, and maybe I’ll add a tip or two now and then. If you’d like, leave a comment about any tips that you think are important. I’d love to hear them.
C.T.
C.T. Westing 