What follows are several points
of advice for new and aspiring writers, though perhaps none of it is
necessarily profound – nor is there a theme to the post, simply a few quick
hits from all over the writing process.
First, what should you
write? Well, you should read and
identify what it is that you like or dislike about what you’re reading. Not just the plot/dialogue/etc., but note the
sentence structure, the adjectives (or lack thereof), the layout of the story
as a whole. How do the story’s chapters
typically end? How do they begin? What points of view do you like? It’s easier to write things you would enjoy
reading, so it’s important to hone in on precisely what it is that you like;
many readers-turned-writers have never actually considered that question.
Second piece of advice is simple:
write or do something each day that advances your story along. Some days that may mean you write twenty
pages; other days that may mean you simply spend some time thinking about or
working out some sticking points in the plot.
Whatever it is, it’s important to do something
so that you maintain a sense of progress and forward momentum. Writing a book can be a long slog, so stay
positive, stay progressive, stay structured, and you’ll be at the finish line
before you know it.
Third, figure out what kind of a
“system” you like to write within – if any.
In other words, are you the type of writer that just likes to write
stream of consciousness style? Fly by
the seat of your pants? That’s fine, if
so, but if you find yourself arriving at a final manuscript at a much later
date than you’d hoped with a page count double what you’d wanted, then it might
be time to reevaluate your approach.
There are a variety of different methods out there that you may not even
realize you would like or benefit from, methods that provide a format for
gathering your thoughts, developing the same, and keeping you from falling too
far astray of your primary points. This
comes with the requisite pros and cons calculation, as those in the latter
column are likely to say that too much rigidity chokes the life out of the
writing process, which in turn filters down to the writing. The converse, of course, is that you arrive
at a much leaner, more on-point version of a first draft, one that should mean
far less time hacking away fat that – let’s face it – none of us want to do.
E.M. Thomas is the author of
two novels - an epic fantasy (The Bulls of War) and a historical fiction set in
Ancient Greece (Fortress of the Sun).
E.M. Thomas was born and raised
on the East Coast of the United States but is a world traveler at heart. He
caught the writing bug early on and has a passion for all good fiction, but
especially that of the fantasy and historical variety. One of his favorite
moments thus far in his young career was writing a chapter of his latest book
about the great battle of Corinth - while sitting amidst the ruins of ancient
Corinth.
Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMThomas1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EMTHOMASAUTHOR1
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/emthomas
Amazon Product Page: http://amzn.to/2fScNnN
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4 Comments
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour, the book looks great, and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteWhat do you find to be the most challenging part of writing? And the most rewarding?
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ReplyDeleteI love to hear from you. So feel free to comment, but keep in mind the basics of blog etiquette — no spam, no profanity, no slander, etc.
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