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Writing
Tips For Novice Authors
by Patty Apostolides
If
you are reading this article
then you probably have asked yourself at some point in your life, "Do I
have what it takes to become an author?"
I believe that successful authors, those who actually write and finish
that novel, or book of poetry, or even that book of short stories, and
see it all the way to publication, have certain characteristics.
Characteristics
of Authors
1. They like to sit for hours in front of a computer screen
(or with pen and paper), typing (writing) away.
2. They think about their book, even when they're not writing.
3. They are motivated to finish their book.
4. They are motivated to proofread, edit and revise their
finished book until it is the best it can be.
5. They are motivated to publish their book.
6. Once they publish the first book, they are already working
on the next one.
If you answered yes to anyone of the above, then you have a good chance
of attaining your dreams of becoming an author. Don't listen to those
people who say it's a competitive market out there. Don't listen to
those people who say they've written five books and haven't had one
published yet. And don't listen to those people who send you back your
manuscripts! Listen to yourself. Listen to that inner voice, the one
that is whispering now. But wait until you get started. Once your book
is written and published, that inner voice will be roaring! And the
whole world will hear about it.
I know, I know. I tend to be the optimist. But we have so many
pessimists in the book business, we sure need some more optimists
around!
For you, the novice writer who would like to start writing that first
book, the best way to begin is to start writing. Yes, just sit down and
do it. Stop the other activities, the television, the reading, the
shopping, the chatting on the telephone, and find the time to devote at
least one hour a day to writing.
What’s one hour a day in the scheme of things? It comes and
goes like this, poof! What do you have to show after an hour of
television? A lazy yawn? If that same hour were spent on writing, then
there would be a product in your hands, something that will be shared,
hopefully, one day with others.
So, go ahead, shut the door to the rest of the world for one hour (or
more) and make yourself comfortable in front of the computer screen (or
pen and paper). Let’s take the first step to becoming an
author.
How
To Begin
· Foundation
Just like a construction company which builds a foundation to a home,
you also need to prepare a foundation for your career in writing. Don't
skip this step, it's important.
Your "foundation" will consist of basic writing skills. Remember those
English courses you took in high school and college? If you don't
remember anything from those courses, then it wouldn't be a bad idea if
you found your old English textbooks, dusted them off a bit, and looked
through their pages to refresh your memory.
If you haven't taken any courses in creative writing, you might
consider signing up for one. Check with your local community college.
They often offer weekend and evening classes, and sometimes even online
classes. If you're on a budget, then visit the public library and sign
out books relevant to writing.
In addition, it would be very useful to join a writing group (online or
in your local area) that critiques your work and gives you the
opportunity to critique also. The group provides wonderful support and
an avenue to sharpen your skills as you gain experience in writing, as
well as exposure to other people's writing. For example, Writing.com is
a good example of an online resource that provides many opportunities
to share your writing, and get your work rated and reviewed. If you
want to join a critique or review group, it offers that also.
The second step to becoming an author, is to have the right tools.
· Tools Needed
Besides a comfortable chair, plenty of lighting, and a quiet room, you
will need a computer with a word processing program (e.g., Microsoft
Word), a printer, and plenty of paper.
Why a computer? First of all, publishers typically will request a copy
of your files sent to them on a floppy disk. More importantly, working
with a word processing program will aid you in many ways towards
becoming a published author. It will provide the opportunity to save
your work as a Word file, without having to use up tons of paper (as
with a typewriter). This greatly aids you in keeping your work
organized. It also gives you the flexibility to edit and re-edit large
sections of your work quickly by allowing you to utilize the copy and
paste functions.
Other advantages of using a computer word processing program is that it
provides spell check capabilities, and also helps you count the number
of words per page. In addition, when you want to spice up your
vocabulary (For example, if you like to use the word "walk" often, and
are getting tired of that word), place your cursor on the word "walk",
hit shift F7. It will give you a list of synonyms you can choose from -
like stroll, amble, etc.).
The time saved by using a computer is very valuable. It gives you more
time available to write! Of course, if you don’t have the
above materials, don’t let that stop you from writing that
book! Using a pen and paper is perfectly fine. Books were written with
these two basic tools for centuries.
Let’s assume you are using a computer and a Word processing
software. First of all, before you begin writing, form a subdirectory
that you can add all your chapters to. Maybe you know the title of your
book already. Fine, then form a subdirectory using the name of the
title. After you finish writing that first chapter (oh joy!), just save
it as Chapter 1 under the subdirectory. If you are writing a book of
poetry, then you might want to save each poem as a separate file.
When I write my chapters for my novel, I format them in double space
mode, with a Times New Roman 11 font. All the margins are at least one
inch. This way it will be ready for manuscript submission.
Try not to add your page numbers until the very last revision. Page
numbers constantly change when you’re revising, so wait until
the end.
Finally, another reason for having a computer is for Internet access.
As a writer, you will have opportunities to submit your fiction online,
such as http://www.Writing.com, or even your articles online for
e-zines, such as http://www.articlecity.com. Any chance you can get to
write online, do it. As long as it doesn't take too much time away from
your book. It's also a free way of promoting yourself before the book
is even published.
So you need to balance your time in writing that book, honing your
writing skills, submitting your work along the way for others to
critique, and promoting yourself. Can you do it? Of course you can!
The third step to becoming an author is:
· What to Write
If you are planning to write a novel, it would help to know what
general category your book is going to be in. Will it be in the
romance, mystery, or science fiction category? If you don’t
know, take some time and think about it. Read some books in those
genres. Which books seem to attract you the most? It’s highly
likely that you’ll be writing in the category that you like
to read. My preference is romance because I read those types of books
the most. Once you decide the category, then you are closer to writing
that novel!
For poetry, you might start by writing a poem and submitting it to a
poetry journal, or a poetry contest. Gain exposure for your poetry.
Join a critique group so you can sharpen your poetry skills. A chapbook
usually consists of about 25-35 poems. For a poetry book, you'll need
at least 60 pages of poetry, if not more.
Types
of Novelists
I have found over time, that there are two types of novelists. The
first type is the writer who prefers drawing up a proposal or plan of
what they will write about. The second type prefers to write whatever
comes into their mind at that moment.
You decide which writer you will be.
· Type 1 Novelist
They begin by describing the characters, their names, personalities,
and sometimes their motives. Then they decide when and where the
setting will take place. When will it take place? If it takes place
before the 1900’s, then it will be considered historical.
Also, will the setting be in the country, in a city (which city?), in a
house (whose house), on a cruise ship? That needs to be defined also.
Once those decisions are made, they write brief sketches of each
chapter. It could be a page or two long. Once all this is done, then
the real writing begins. If this method works for you, then feel free
to use it. It may take some time, but you will become more confident
about what you’ll write once you go through this initial
process.
· Type 2 Novelist
What if you’re the type of person who doesn’t want
to spend all that time writing proposals and character sketches? What
if you’re like me, who prefers to just write whatever comes
into your head? Then do it! Sit down and start writing. Write anything.
As the story develops, something wonderful begins brewing in your mind.
Something called creativity. I’ve caught myself hours after I
finished writing a chapter, and I’ll be preparing dinner, or
walking somewhere, and a scene from my novel will begin to unfold.
It’s called creative problem solving. My mind is working to
solve the problem that the writing presents it, even though
I’m not actively writing. When I get those urges, I
immediately stop what I’m doing and jot down my thoughts.
It’s helped me many times, particularly when everything
clicks together.
How
Long Will It Take?
It took me almost two years to write and find a publisher for my first
novel, Lipsi’s Daughter. For other people, it may take longer
or shorter, depending on the amount of time they allow for writing and
how many pages they are writing. I know of authors that took six,
seven, up to twelve years to write their first book. I also know of a
famous author who writes two novels a year!
So unless you begin writing that first page of your book, you'll never
know how long it'll take you to write it. Go ahead, make that first
step, and good luck!
About the Author
Patty Apostolides (liendou@writing.com) is an author and poet. She has written several articles as well as published the novel "Lipsi's Daughter." More information can be found on her website: http://www.geocities.com/10500bc/index.html.
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