This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Sasha Wagstaff is the author of Changing Grooms, Wicked Games and Heaven Scent. You can visit Sasha at her website or on twitter…
1. Be organised. Buy lovely notebooks and have fun plotting characters and storylines. But have a beginning, a middle and an end for your story – and some idea of where it is headed by way of a chapter structure. Even if you tend to fly by the seat of your pants (and this is also fine), it’s good to have a vague idea of what you are writing about. Editors like it too.
2. Read. A lot. If you enjoy several different genres, by all means, read books from each of those. But try to find your own voice and your own style. To write for a living, you have to enjoy what you’re writing. It’s hard work but if you love it, it really helps.
3. Stay focused. Most writers will admit that they can procrastinate for Britain and I am no exception. Twitter, online shopping (shoes – who can resist?) but at the end of the day, you have to be motivated. Scary deadlines help, of course, but much of this will be down to the author working to a schedule and motivating themselves to get to the end.
4. Edit. Read back what you’ve written and try to cut down on the scene. Tighten until you can’t tighten anymore and make sure the scene flows and keeps the reader interested. If it’s boring you, it will bore your reader, so be brave and cut anything that doesn’t keep the pace flowing.
5. Don’t buy into the concept of ‘writer’s block’ as this can be a great excuse to slow down productivity. If the words aren’t coming, go for a walk, take a break, read a book…but then come back and try again. You will often find you are refreshed after you step away and you can get engrossed again. If not, go online and buy some shoes and then you’ll have to do some work to pay for them!