Advice for Beginning Writers Part 1

I was asked a very long time ago to post some advice about writing for beginning authors.

This is more difficult than it sounds.

Writing is... Okay, I'm not going to say it's a mystical experience that can't be pinned down, or that it's something one does and cannot be taught. But it is difficult to describe.

If you're cooking, the implements involved are standardized: measuring cups, a specified size of baking pan, etc. Writing is all in the brain, and everyone's brain is different.

For example, say I give you an egg and say, "Open this." You might opt for the edge of a bowl, a hammer, or a Rube Goldberg machine (Heath Robinson, if you're in the UK) which involves several dominoes, a whisk, and a cat. All would be equally correct in writing. It's your creation. You do what you want.

So much freedom can leave you paralyzed, wondering what to do first. I can help with that.

First, decide how you want to write.

Back in the day, this wasn't a problem. Paper and quill. That's it. Even with the invention of typewriters, it was still generally found to be easier to write out one's story with pen and paper, then just type the final draft.

Computers changed that.

Yes, it is easier to type and format on a computer. You can also get so caught up in the minutiae of word processing that you edit and re-edit the same damn paragraph instead of going on to the next chapter. Or you can stare at the white abyss of blank page while the horror of nothingness stares back at you. So then you go surf the web, tweet some folks, and check your email five times.

So my first bit of advice is:  Decide if you are a pen-and-paper creator or a computer creator. Which technique will make you more productive? Because that's what it's all about, producing the words. What separates authors from wannabes is actually finishing the book.

Anecdote of a Cat - Edinburgh - 1821

Kitty to the rescue.

Which profession drinks the most coffee?

Wicked Beloved Video

Wicked Beloved by Susanne Saville

Book Trailers from COS Productions | Myspace Video

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month. Every year I think about doing it. I even joined the website. But I never have got around to participating - until now.

This year I'm going to try it. I am. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Y'see, I write slowly.

Really, really slowly.

I edit as I go. I sit and debate word choice. I rewrite paragraphs repeatedly.

NaNoWriMo is about throwing words on the blank page/screen. You don't stop until the end of the month. And then you go back and edit.

That's outside my comfort zone. What if at the end, all I have is 50,000 words of utter dreck? All my time, blood, sweat, and tears were wasted.

There is a school of thought that says it's never a waste, that you learn from your mistakes. There's also a school of thought that says, stop trying to make lemonade out of lemons - don't buy lemons in the first place, get yourself a nice prime rib or something.

But I'm going to ignore that voice and try to just throw words at the page. Maybe it will be a liberating experience and I'll discover how to write faster and ignore my inner critic.

But mostly it'll be about joining in with my friends YES YES YOU MADE ME DO IT I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY NOW.