If I did it you can to!

I'm thrilled to have my first novel OF ICE AND STEEL coming out. It is like my own child. A child that has been both my joy and despair for amost twenty years.

If you are reading this, you either love to read or have written your own novel.  If you are reading this thinking about writing a novel or anything for that matter, here are some thoughts for those writing or thinking of writing.

Don't get caught up in style, flow, sentance structure, blah blah blah. Let your story as weak and silly as it might seem pour out. Get it on paper. Remember sculpters were once lumps of clay or hunks of stone. Get your ideas on paper. You can sculpt, and trim later. Get your raw materials on the table first.

A novel or any book is like an elephant. You can't eat an elephant in one sitting.  Little here little there, but keep eating.

For all that is holy know what you are writing about! I don't know the first thing about crime or court proceedings, so it would be a big mistake for me to write a novel about some lawyer, unless I did the research.

Grow and maintain a thick skin. Lots of folks (family included) will get you down.  It is up to you if you let them keep you down. If you believe in your story then keep going.

Write like a road map. You start at one place, and you have to get to another place. You have so many miles (Words) to get there. Taking a short cut might not be the write answer. However if your map wonders in ten different directions then rethink your destination.

Get rid of as many words that end in ING. Trust me it works!

If you get to a point where you ask one of  your characters "Why did you do that?" then you are right on the money. Your characters have taken over and are free from you. Sounds strange but you'll see.

Show don't tell.  Get a picture of something and write a paragraph about it without using words like winter, summer, hot cold.  Describe what is winter and what is hot.

You DON'T need the dreaded F word. But if you decide to use it, do so sparingly. Use it where no other word will work, or if your character has to say it.

A lot of fiction is formula, stay away from that. Be your own writer. If you try to copy the style of  famous writer, why would someone want to eard your stuff.  Be unique.

Face facts. You might be published and you might not. Just because your work does not have an ISBN does not mean it is not good. BILLY BUD was not published till after Meville was dead. (I think)  If you write to become rich or famous then you might have a better chance buying lottery tickets. To wrtie full time you need five books published and two of those have to be best sellers.

Write because you have a story to tell. Write because you love the written word. Write because it gives you a stress relief. Just write. Publication is icing on the cake.