As you know writing starts in the Mind. Jot down thoughts on anything handy. Define the type of writing you are creating. Is it fiction, short story, novel, narrative, interview, poem, etc? Create a Title early so you can stay focused on the subject.

2. Researching.

With Internet, the knowledge of the world is at our disposal.

Beware of Plagiarism which is Defined as, "The wrongful appropriation, close imitation, or purloining and publication, of another author's language, thoughts, or expressions, and the representation of them as one's own original work.” (Personally, I would never use a sentence that long.)

My advice is you can usually steal (err, borrow) a word or two from another. Do not copy sentences and paragraphs. Get as many Ideas as you can. You can always reference the source. I prefer to read something then set it aside for re-write in my own words.

3. Create a Rough Draft.

Put ideas and information in sentence and paragraph form. Hint: I like to avoid boredom by adding some “entertainment value’ to my writing. A witty phrase or humor usually works. By the way, what is a Synonym for Thesaurus?

You will notice all the good speakers use humor. Presidents Obama and Clinton are excellent orators and George W. tried his best.

4. Read and Revise.

More than one revision might be necessary. Keep revising until you are 100% satisfied with your work. Tip - One Publisher stated, "If the very first sentence does not grab my attention, I read no further."  

*Like an artist painting a picture, you must capture and hold the reader's attention with verbal Visual Imagery.  

5. Editing.

As you know this is the Labor Intensive part of creative writing. Are you planning to hire an editing service or do it yourself? How about editing software? I know that “Grammarly” hates contractions such as won’t and don’t. Check for sentence fragments and run-on sentences.

Use strong subjects, vibrant verbs, and highly descriptive adjectives. Check formatting, punctuation, spelling, sentence, and paragraph structure. Look for subject and verb agreement.

Study each word individually for proper usage. Eliminate unnecessary words. Hint: Read it backwards.

Make your work easily readable. Use short and simple sentences. Put it “out there” for comments. E-mail to friends and ask for feedback.

6. Publishing.

Know your audience. Who do you want to target? Is your creation an　e-book, hard cover, article, or what? Are you going to use AuthorsDen, Amazon Kindle, Sony, SmashWords, etc? What categories, tags, and key words are appropriate for your writing?

Hope you find this helpful.

God Bless and keep writing,

Dr. Joe K. Reed

References: TheFreeDictionary, Grammarly.

*Visit my website at www.doctorjoesite.com which is dedicated to Christians, Writers, and Readers.