This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Shannon Hale is a New York Times best-selling author of seven young adult novels, she has also written three adult novels including, Austenland – which has been made into a film starring Keri Russell, JJ Feild and Jane Seymour and which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and may be released in the UK later this year – as well as co-writing a couple of graphic novels with her husband Dean Hale.
Here are Shannon’s top five writing tips:
1. Write for fifteen minutes every day. Some days the fifteen minutes will turn into three hours.
2. Read every day, alternating genres of books so you don’t get stuck in one style.
3. Rewrite your story as if your life depended on it.
4. Take a break from a manuscript to get perspective, but not from writing. A break from one story is a chance to start another.
5. Know your strengths. Are you an idea person? A character person? A sentence crafting person? You need to work till your weak areas are as strong as your main strength.