Advice for beginning writers is easy to come by and hard to follow. As a beginner, you want everything to go well and you want to sell your article or book as quickly as you can. What are some of the things that can insure that you sell? They are pretty simple.
Be certain that what you have submitted is well written. Editors want to see correct grammar, correct spelling, and a well written item. They don't want something that has to be corrected to be read, When they do take something of yours from the slush pile (unsolicited pile) you don't want it to go straight into the trash pile.
Write only about a subject you know. If you try to fake it, it will come through in the article or book. If you write what you know, your reader will immediately know it,too.
Make a chart as you write.
For Characters, write down all their characteristics under their full name. Write their background down and give minor details.Make your characters live. Knowing what they like for breakfast or what they sleep in is important but so is knowing their favorite toy as a child. If you intimately know your character, he or she will shine with reality.
Place names should be on a separate page. Make a sort of a map with your character's home, his workplace, where the action takes place, and incidental parts of the landscape. This makes your scenery real.
This should give you a good start and a better storyline. Also, this way you won't forget what you have written about.
