Tips on Writing a Book Now

Tips on Writing a Book Now
by: Steve Manning

Here's a string of tips on writing a book. They're brief, succinct and very useful. These tips on writing a book have been designed to get you up and writing your book as quickly as possible.

They'll help you start writing, continue writing and finish writing your book. Your manuscript will be ready for the agent, or the publisher, or on its way to self publishing success.

Here are your tips on writing a book:

You can't start writing your book and continue writing until the book has been written. It's too big a job. It's going to take you a few days. Probably a couple of weeks.

People take years to write their book because they go at the task sporadically. You've got to write every day. If you don't, you find yourself having written nothing for months at a time.

Your book writing success or failure depends largely on the outlining process. Create an outstanding outline for your book and you're writing task becomes easy. You should know exactly what happens on every page before you start writing your first word.

If you think you can write your book by being spontaneously creative as you write, you're wrong. You're welcome to try, just about every novice author does. But I'd bet money it won't work for you. Create the exhaustive outline.

Your outline should consist of a series of questions: What does the library look like, how is she dressed, why does he feel so angry, what does she do when she reaches the house. It's simply easier to write in response to a question than it is to write in response to a statement.

Spend a short time writing to answer each question. Just a few minutes. You don't want this to become a protracted bunch of puff. You want real story.

Don't stop until the book is finished. There's a real tendency to stop and edit the work that you've just completed. After all, editing is a lot easier to do than the actual writing. So you can feel that you're still working, but it won't be as difficult. Don't do it! Keep writing until the book is finished.

Give yourself a period for writing and stick to that amount of time come hell or high water. Even if it's just 15 minutes a day. Initially you're just going for the discipline. Eventually you'll get the writing quality as well, but the discipline is most important factor for the completion of your work in the shortest amount of time possible.

Doing research for your book writing can be fun. But don't do it until after the book is written. If you come to a point where you've got to get a piece of information that you don't have in you head, just put down an asterisk and keep the flow of the book going. After the manuscript is finished, you can look back for all those asterisks and get just the information you need.


About The Author

Steve Manning is a master writer showing thousands of people how they can write their book faster than they ever thought possible. Here's your free Special Report, http://www.WriteABookNow.com/main.html >>Read more...

Why You Should Take Part In A Writing Workshop

Why You Should Take Part In A Writing Workshop
by: Deanna Mascle

Before you should decide whether or not taking part in a writing workshop is right for you and your writing you should first understand just what a writing workshop is.

A workshop is an educational format where an expert shares information on a focused topic over a short period of time. Some workshops are intended to be simply informative while others involve more hands-on activities. Today there are many options for enjoying a workshop: you can attend workshops in person, view them on television or tape, or participate in an online workshop.

So now that you know what a workshop is you can see how this format can readily be adapted for writers. Writing workshops can cover the basics of writing, writing challenges, topics related to publication and careers in writing, or specific research subjects. Some of these programs are featured as part of larger events, such as conferences, while some groups or individuals offer them as one-time events. Some organizations, institutes and educational programs offer workshops to their students or members while others open those workshops to the community at large.

Why would a writer want to attend a workshop? What benefit could it be?

Join the writing community. One of the strongest benefits you can receive from attending such a gathering is getting to know other writers. Writing is a solitary profession and can be very lonely. Enjoying the company of other writers and talking about writing with people who really understand your joys and worries can be wonderfully energizing to you personally as well as your writing. You can also make contacts that may lead to support and growth of your writing or perhaps even professional advancement. You never know when the friend you make today might be in a position to recommend you to an editor or publisher down the road.

Learn something new. No matter what level your writing career there are always lessons to be learned from other writers. Sometimes there are research strategies and shortcuts or perhaps it is a method for dealing with writer's block. You can learn market news and contacts as well as important information about reviewing contracts. Workshops are generally geared toward a specific genre or market niche and offer a wealth of specialized information depending on whether you write about crime or food.

Improve your craft. Generating new work or revising existing pieces is often a large part of attending a workshop. Sometimes you must bring something with you, create a project as part of the workshop or are inspired by the gathering itself. Sometimes talking with others or listening to the presenters causes you to suddenly rethink a stalled project or inspires a new one. Whatever the impetus there is definitely an increase in production after attending a workshop and that is the surest way to improve your word craft.

If you have not taken part in a writing workshop in the past then perhaps you might consider doing so in the near future so you can join the writing community, learn something new, and improve your craft.


About The Author

Deanna Mascle shares more writing tips and writing resources with her online Writing Workshop at http://WordCraftOnline.com as well as her free Writing Workshop ebook. >>Read more...

How the Writer Survives

How the Writer Survives
by: Seth T Mullins


So it’s your dream to write novels? Be a freelance writer and make a living off of your articles? Or maybe you nurture an ambition to write and sell enough short fiction to put bread on the table, like those writers of the golden age of the pulps?

Well, those are all noble dreams to have. I’m smitten by the writer’s glamour myself. Also I’m grateful for the others who were, those authors whom I love to read and return to time and again. I’m grateful that they possessed not only their artistic vision, but also the sheer stubbornness and will to persevere and see their dreams become reality.

So we’ve settled on the fact that we want to be writers, and that no other dream will do. Now let’s take a look at what this is likely to mean in terms of the sacrifices we’ll have to make along the way.

1. Misunderstanding.

Make no doubts about it – even those closest to us may not understand or even sympathize with our dream. Young authors still in school or living at home should prepare themselves for the advice of well-meaning but frightened parents; which typically will be encouragement in ANOTHER direction. With all that time spent on the computer, you could build a career as a typist. How about data entry? Web design? They have a lot of great courses at the college for that.

Adult writers can oftentimes expect a similar reaction from their significant others; though in this case, the motivation might be someone different. Why don’t you pursue something that there’s a FUTURE in?

People who give this sort of advice are doubtlessly well-steeped in all the lore of the suffering artist. Parents don’t want to see their children go through it; husbands and wives aren’t all that eager to see their spouses get caught up in that trap either.

But the real question here is this: are YOU ready to believe in yourself enough to persevere even in the face of this negative (though well-meant, perhaps) feedback?

2. A social life? What’s that?

To finish a novel could easily take up a thousand hours or more of your time. That means almost three hours a day if you want to get it done in a year. And this is a modest estimate. Now maybe you’re willing to give up T.V. time, leisure reading, evenings out with your sweetheart, etc. You want to be a novelist that badly. But wait! The trials don’t stop there.

Your friends and family will want explanations. WHY can’t you go over to Lucky’s and hang out tonight? Why do you never pick up the phone at night (or in the morning or whenever you write)?

Now it’s one thing to have college papers to write, or mid-terms to study for, or overtime hours at work. Those are all socially acceptable obligations. But tell your friends that you’re staying in every evening to write and probably the best reaction you can hope for is a blank stare.

Are you ready to say: “Too bad if they can’t understand”?

3. Rejection upon rejection.

Let’s say we pass the first two hurdles. We don’t listen to people’s attempts (however well-intentioned) to dissuade us, and we plug away at our stories even though it means we can’t enjoy the leisure and down time of “normal” people. We put those thousand-odd hours into our work, and when it’s all done we’re proud of it. We write query letters, mail submissions, and sit back and dream of that fat advance, the book signing tour and the movie offers.

Then the unthinkable happens. We get one return letter after another, and all of them are variations of this: “Thank you for sending us [our work]. It was indeed interesting, but not quite what we’re looking for at this time.”

This happens to everyone. It has happened to me numerous times, and if it never happens to you then you will be entered into the history books of publishing. You may reach the point where a PERSONAL rejection letter instead of a pre-printed rejection feels like an accomplishment.

Remember the dream. Remember the passion that drove you to devote all those hours to writing in the first place, at the expense of your social life and leisure. Then send your work out again, because you didn’t pass the first two tests for nothing. When and if you get feedback, see if there’s anything constructive within it and learn for next time. You’ll be another rung up the ladder to success.

We writers survive and find our way because we weren’t meant to BE anything else.

About The Author


Seth Mullins is the author of “Song of an Untamed Land”, a novel of speculative fantasy in lawless frontier territory. Visit Seth at http://authorsden.com/sethtmullins. >>Read more...