This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
1. Write forward, never back. Don’t start by reading yesterday’s words – you will end up by deleting them and you will never start on today’s word count. One of my favourite characters and scenes did not make it through the editing process – though I thought it was the best part of the book. Another scene that I had considered deleting during the second edit was one of the editor's favourites so leave the deleting to the people in the know they will do plenty of it for you. Your job as a writer is to write, stay away from that delete button.
2. Write about what you know and write as you tell a story, we all tell tales in a different way. Be wary of too much research when you first start – research can be a bottomless pit and I find it certainly helps greatly when I feel like procrastinating. If the page looks too blank, use the last paragraph you wrote yesterday to get you started
3. Write fast – the writing is no better if you write slowly. In my opinion agonizing over every word and rewriting every sentence will mean that the words won’t flow and the writing will come across as jarred. The editing process will take care of this concern.4. Stay at the desk even when the words down flow – get up walk around, do a few sits ups but sit back down at the desk and plod on.
5. Believe in yourself and stick with it. If you have made a tough decision to write a book then give it your 100%. Break it down into attainable goals like you would if you were doing a masters degree, trying to lose weight or learning to play golf. It is not rocket science – you are only telling a story. Stay with it until you have typed the words – The End. But most of all try to enjoy it!
Gillian Binchy's debut novel, Ruby’s Tuesday, is out now.