- Professional Mentor: 10-27-10 Get with a professional mentor. THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE TIP. My mentor is an award winning author with several books. Even though I had been writing for ten years, she improved my writing in many areas. This can work for you too.
- From the mind to paper: 10-27-10 The process of putting your story on paper is perhaps the hardest part of writing. (This does not mean it's not fun!) Getting the whole story on paper is your most important job. Do not go back and edit while in the writing phase. Try this: Start an idea page for those new thoughts. They'll be there when you are ready for editing. Remember: Get the story to the end first!
- Set Goals: 10-29-10 Without goals you will flounder and very little will be accomplished. If you build a complete list of things you need to do to reach publication, you will probably see that it's more than you thought and this is a good thing. Next, look at the number of hours per week you have to work on your project. Now you can estimate the time for each item and build your goals list.
- Use Simple Sentences: 10-27-10 They are easier to read. This does not mean that all sentences should be short and about the same length. That would be boring. Try to keep "but, and, then" usage in the same sentence to a minimum.
- Vocabulary: 10-22-10 Match the books sentence structure and vocabulary to your reader. Even if your readers are adults, keep your writing no higher than 6th grade. This generally includes vocabulary
- Overwriting: 10-25-10 Since we do not do poetry here, we leave the flowery descriptions that clutter up our writing in the trash. Just tell the story.
- First Page: 11-02-10 This is the most important page you will write. Do your best. Show the protagonist(s) right up front. You have only 250 words to hook your reader and show that you are a pro. It must make the reader want to know what happens next. Your protagonist(s) should be likable, compelling, and standout. Don't tell - SHOW!
- Characters: 11-24-10 Your characters must appear real. Your hero(s) must be liked and the villian(s) must be hated. Each must act realistically as to what their characters are. The readers must see your characters as so real, they will talk about them in a real way - like your grandmother talked about her soap opera characters. Your characters must have traits that identify them. Show how they react to a variety of situations so the readers see a rounded character.
- Compound Sentences: 7-21-11 Two independent clauses connected by a conjunction. It's very easy to use to many of them (As I found out). Go back and check your work. On the average, I suggest using no more than one per three paragraphs.
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