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Write That Novel! 5/18/2007 9:11:56 AM
Writing Advice The first thing you need to do when sitting down to write a book is think positive and tell yourself you have story to tell and you can write it. You can do anything you set your mind to as long as you stop thinking you can't. Whether or not the book gets published or not is neither here nor there. If you are a creative person, let the juices flow. Use a mini recorder to record your thoughts. From there write an outline of chapter titles for the idea you want to write about. If you have a genre in mind, all the better. Do a chapter a day and always handwrite your thoughts first, then type on the computer. Have a beginning, middle and end written out and keep it in front of you. The storyline will flow and the characters will write the scene for you once their personalities are developed by you and they will lead the storyline in your head. Once you have these three things set. It is ok if the details/chapter titles change from what you originally wrote. It took me three 1/2 years to write Amber Shadows and the Missing Wands and even though it's in galley stage now, I'm still tweaking the story one last time for dialog flow and readability. Make your charactors real; three dimensional, give them their own personality. The reader has to be able to identify with them as person with emotion. If you do not bring out the charactors' personality through your description, the reader will be disappointed. The story has to progress and have a climax then a resolution that satisfys the reader. Put twists in if it is a mystery or thriller or even adventure. Lead the reader into believing things are pointing toward one charactor then twist the story so that the reader is not expecting the surprise ending. They'll love it! Have a protagonist who constantly comes up against dilemas or obstacles and has to find a way through while dealing with the antagonist. Even in romance stories these things can happen. When you watch TV if at all or even the movies, study each charactor and see if you can't predict what the next line is for the charactor you study. A true writer has to think like a writer and the only way to do that is to study people's habits, keep your thoughts written down in a journal, and never say never when you attempt to sit and write a novel. I took a course in Children's Institute of Literature and the golden rule is to show, not tell a story, make the reader feel a part of the story. Writing a book depends also on how much you want to do the work and how much you want express your creativity. Show others what you're made of!
