This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
1. Set time aside to write. I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve heard say ‘I’d write a novel but I don’t have the time.’ I had a full-time job until my ninth book was published. I wrote whenever I could. Lunchtimes. On the tube. Waiting for a bus. Even if you can only snatch 15 minutes, you can do 250 words. All you need is a scrap of paper and a pen. Or your phone. You can just send yourself a long text message.
2. Plan your novel. It makes things so much easier. By all means, warm up by writing a few random pages in your hero / heroine’s voice but then you should stop and take a look at where the story is going. Planning isn’t anti-creative. If you have chapter outlines before you start, you can jump ahead in the story if you get bogged down in the middle.
3. Write the ending first. OK. I understand this will horrify some people, but I find that writing the ending often gives you a clue to what the middle of your book should look like.
4. Read. And never tell a published chick-lit writer you’ve asked to critique your manuscript that you ‘don’t read commercial fiction’.
5. When you are sending your manuscript off, make sure you know a bit about the person you’re sending it to. I can’t tell you how disheartening it is to receive an email or a 600-page manuscript addressed to Mr Chris Manby. I know some of my early author photos were bad but really? Mr? Needless to say, I didn’t read those.
A Proper Family Holiday by Chrissie Manby is out now.