This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
1. Write the book you’d like to read. I chose to set a story at the Greenham Common peace camp because I was genuinely interested in the era and the possibilities for a character who found herself there by accident. I loved doing the research and this spurred me on to finish the story.
2. Try not to tell your friends and family you’re writing a novel until you’re at least half way through. Two reasons: the more you explain the book the less inclination you’ll have to write it. Also, if the book takes longer to write (and publish) than you anticipate, you won’t have to keep answering that awkward question: ‘How’s your book going?’
3. It goes without saying that if you’re a writer you’re also a reader. Try to be the sort of reader who learns from other writers, admires what they do and gets inside how they do it. Try not to be the sort of reader who feels defeated by the genius of others (though of course this is hard). Remember you’re not seeing the scrappy drafts they had piled up on their desk. Rewriting is always a chance to make your book better.
4. Even when you think your book is finished, it probably isn’t. After you’ve finished the first draft, put it in a drawer for a month then revisit it and read it again critically. Don’t send it out to agents or publishers until you feel it’s the best you can do. You only get one chance.
5. Unless you’re extremely lucky you will encounter some rejection along the way. Don’t be put off, expect it, learn what you can from the advice you receive and keep going. Above all, whatever you’re working on, finish it!
Love and Fallout by Kathryn Simmonds is out now.