It would seem there are many, many aspiring writers out there, as I receive emails almost on a daily basis, asking for all sorts of advice on writing and how to get published. So, I decided to put some ideas and words of advice on my blog-site, just in case they may help somebody out there to achieve what I have – to become a publishd novelist. I do believe in karma, and what goes round comes round. I like to give back.
I’ve been very lucky, blessed in fact, to be able to finally do that which I truly love, writin fiction for a living. It sure as hel wasn’t easy to start with, but now what a great lifestyle. Let me tell you, it was worth all the initial pain.
You must be disciplined if you want to be a writer. You have to write every day, that is the only way the plot will develop fo you.
My routine goes something like this. Wake up at 5AM, load all 3 dogs into the ute, drive down to the surf and catch a few waves, take the dogs for a walk on the beach, go to the gym, do a workout for one hour, home for
breakfast. Write for 3 hours Load the dogs back into the ute. Back to the beach to give them a run and stretch my own back. Buy lunch. Back home an write till the 6PM news. Time to crack open a bottle of wine.
This varies on Wednesda when I only write in the morning as afternoon is golf. And I onl write 5 days a week. Weekends are for my wife and family.
Okay, sounds great, right? Yes it is – it sure as hell beat working in an office fo someone else, and being told what to do and when, but make no mistake, writing a novel is not easy, in fact it is very, ver hard, and perseverance is everything.
If you want to be a writer, then the best advice I can give you is, just write – and write ever day, even if it’s only a hundre words. Like most things, the more you do it, the better you get at it.
Just let yourself go and write whatever and however i comes to you. PC's are marvellous things. Later on, you can cut, delete, paste, or do whatever you like. But don't do any editing or make any changes till you have completed the first draft. And each time you do a rewrite, do it on a copy of the last draft, not the original. In other words, each draft must remain as it was. You'd be amazed how much material you may end up using later on in your current work or at a later date on a new project. Never, ever permanently delet anything you have written. Save everything.
At the end of every session save everything to an external hard drive, print out a hard copy of your work at the end of every day (and keep it under lock and key), and download your stuff to a program like Sky Drive. Paranoid? You better believe it. Imagine spending a couple of years writing the all time bestseller, only to come home one day and find your house has burned down.
If you want to write, your best bet is to just start writing. Don’t get bogged down reading too many, How to Write books, or worrying about outlines or anything fancy like that. Believe me, if you just start writing, it will all fall into place. It never ceases to amaze me as to where and how it all comes from.
When I write, I start with a germ of an idea, but generally speaking I have no idea where it will go, and certainly absolutely no idea how it will end. As I get more and more into it, the characters seem to take over and it is they who determine the direction. Having spoken to numerous other professional writers, this seems to be quite a common phenomenon.
It is also good to set a daily goal in terms of number of words you want to write per day. How many is entirely up to you, just so long as it is very achievable. If your goal is unrealistic, it will tend to become demotivating if you start to slip behind. What I do is, I set up a spread sheet on Excel with a daily target, a cumulative target and dates. I can then ascertain almost to the day when I expect to finish the manuscript. This is a big help for the publisher to plan realistically.
The other bit of advice I would give you is not to let anyone see your manuscript before you finish it. The reason for this is, that if others see it, it can
and will stifle yr creativity. You will be writing with fear; the fear of what will he or she think of your work, or worse still what will they think of ME?
By not showing anyone till you are satisfied with the work you free up your creativity. Then, just write, get it down without worrying about punctuation, grammar, syntax, spelling, whatever. That can all be fixed
later. The important thing is to get the flow going. And DO NOT edit as you go. Save that till you've completed the first draft. The DELETE button should become your best friend. Having said that though, when you begin a re-write,
make sure you save each draft and copy that. You then edit the copy, not the original. In other words you always keep everything you have ever written.
You never know when or where you may be able to use previously written and
discarded work.
I have a sign above my desk with a quote by Gustave Flaubert which reads, "Don't worry, no one's going to sneak into the room behind you,
snatch your manuscript off your desk and publish it - TAKE A RISK!"
Never go with a publisher who you have to pay, and the same goes for an editor, he/she should be appointed by the publisher after they have issued you with a contract to publish.
But one of the first questions a potential agent will ask you is, "Do you have an assessment of your work that we can look at?" It saves them time and if the assessment is positive, it gives them the feeling that your work must be at least worth looking at. I cannot stress th importance of having a professional assessor look at your work and issue a report. That is the one thing you willand should have to pay for.
Generally, this is how assessors work. They ask for a hard copy of the manuscript, with a stamped, self addressed envelope. They then go through it and pencil their comments, suggestions, critique etc in the margins. As well as that, they furnish you with an in-depth, written report outlining their comments on the work which in itself constitutes a constructive review of all that is good and bad. You may not like it, or you may love it - a good assessor pulls no punches, because at the end of the day, it is their job as an assessor, to realistically advise what you need to do to get published. If your work is brilliant enough (which I doubt, on the first draft) then they will tell you, and you can take that to an agent or publisher. But more than likely, they will point you in the right direction, as to what it will take to polish it to a professional level. On the other hand, they may well say that you should forget it, although this is highly unlikely, as most committed writers really only need some directional advice.
Just remember though, that an assessor cannot guarantee you get published. But your attitude should not be, if, but rather, when and with whom.
My final word of advice is, RE-WRITE, RE-WRITE, RE-WRITE!
I do about 8 re-writes before I feel my work is polished to a high enough standard to submit to a publisher. It is a huge fallacy to think that your story may be so exciting and original that a publisher will appoint an editor to knock it into shape. Publishers only like to work with professionals. Show them that you ARE one.
Good luck and feel free to ask any questions. I guarantee I will respond to you personally.
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