I was asked to offer five pieces of advice for new or experienced writers which will be published on another blog. When I finished, I thought I might give this advice to my own readers so here we go...
First, you need to want
to write... to be dedicated to your writing. Writing is hard work;
good writing is almost impossible. It is time consuming and isolating.
Second, you need to
learn to write. What does that mean? Join writers group, listen to other
writers and learn from them, from their writing and from the constructive criticism
of your peers. I joined one early on and learned so much from them all. I will
be forever grateful to this group. I also took an encouraging creative writing
class. The professor encouraged me to continue my writing because I had,
as she called it, a unique voice and writing process.
Third, after I said all
that, anyone can write, string words together. You can sit down, write 50K
words and feel as though you have a book. Well, you don't, not one that a
publisher will touch. When I said above, "good writing is almost
impossible", I meant it. Good writing comes after many drafts, much
editing and many revisions. This is where your story comes alive... here you
polish it by working on words that best tell the story and fit the character, by
making dialogue meaningful (this is very important), removing errors and misspellings,
and by creating a story that will capture the reader.
Fourth, create
interesting, three-dimensional characters. I learned this from a workshop I
took given by a writer whose books I loved. No one wants to read a story with ‘flat’
characters. You, as the writer, need to know their backstories, what’s in their
‘bag of rocks’ that they carry with them, what their secrets are… what’s in
that box under their bed. You may not put all that information into the
manuscript, but you will use it as you write, trust me, and your characters
will come alive.
Fifth, do your research!
If you are writing a time travel back to the 1800s, know what it was like to
live in that time. One of my favorite
books, “The Looking Glass Labyrinth”, was a time travel back to 1804. As I
wrote, the story evolved into a mystery within a mystery with a beautifully
layered romance. I won’t say much more except that I spent hours and hours
doing my research on sea captains and their trade routes, on how women were educated
and treated culturally, the fashion and family dynamics. The research fascinated me and although I
didn’t use it all, I felt I knew my characters well enough to tell this beautiful
story. Remember, your readers are smart,
and if you make errors in history or anything else, they’ll notice, put the
book down and not trust your story telling ever again.
I could go on and on but I was asked for only five points. My advice to all, enjoy the process of
creating and writing! I’ve passed my love, my passion for writing, on to two of
our little ones, eleven and nine, who wrote every word of their first book, Two Mice and a Train, and I published it.
What a huge accomplishment for them! May
their imagination fire many more. One of the keys to their writing was that
they are both avid readers and LOVE stories.
Therefore, I hope the advice
that I’ve learned along the way helps you to become a better writer.
Keep writing…
Till, Judi
So I hope this advice that I learned along the way will help you!
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