Friday's Caffeine #2

I Have An Idea!  Now What?

     You may have the greatest idea for the Great American Novel, but hold on sparky!  You might want to read my previous Wednesday’s Tea (The Next Best Thing)  article first. I don’t want to scare you off your ideal, but you should give your idea some serious thought before you sit down and pour hours upon hours on your manuscript.  I’m far from preaching gloom and doom, but if your heart calling out from deep down to give birth to something special. DO IT!

     Don’t let anyone say you can, but cause they can’t. Don’t hold back on your interpretation of your true idea just because it doesn’t fit the standard or preconceived mold. (You are blazing your own trail after all) Don’t let your lack of experience stop you from going forward, you have resources at your fingertips on the internet, book stores, Public Libraries, and so on. Don’t let anyone shape your idea or style or focus to theirs. If they wanted the story to flow a certain way, your characters to behave in a manner they are comfortable with, or want your story to end as they would like, be respectful and simply say SORRY! Don’t want to anger a potential buyer and a walking, talking bit of free advertising. And most importantly, don’t become your own worst critic! 

     I’ve been told (by too many people) that the hardest thing about writing is an inhered built in streak of perfectionism. We all want every last word to be correct, every sentence blocked perfectly, and each chapter to be flawless from the first word to the last period. Guess what people, unless you hire several people to work your book after you have done all you can, even then you may still have problems. Even some of the most renowned publishing companies still put out content that has typos and missed spelled words and unintentional incorrect layout structure (I found two first pages to a chapter one after the other). The best you can do is simply the best you can do. In the end, no matter who you gather to be on your team to accomplish your goal, you will still be the ultimate decider on if it is good enough. Let’s just get to the Nitti Gritty, where the rubber hit the road, wheels up and move out, or this project form thought to the words –The End-.

    Write down your full idea.  Be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Take your time on the outline of how your idea flows, but remember no road is perfect so don’t be hard on yourself if you take a detour here and there along the way. Keep your story simple to read.  Complexity and seldom used words (not talking about Sci-Fi) can turn some readers off.  If you are making up characters, be very careful in how you go about who they are, what they do, and how they look. Write down everything you wish your character to be and be prepared for them to become something more.  Some of my best villains are the most impressionable, likeable, caring, and unethical characters you can imagine and they didn’t start out as villains.  Write every day until it becomes a habit. There is no such thing as writer’s block if you do one simple thing. 

     Before you start writing your award winning manuscript, get a shoebox and write on small scraps of paper ideas of things you want to see happen in your story. Whenever you have an idea for the story’s plotline or the characters, write yourself in a sentence or two that will remind you of what you were thinking of at that particular time. You can even take pictures of places that reminds you of a moment or event, and even background information for your book cover. All this extra effort will prevent the one and number one fear of all writers (People liking your work doesn’t even jumps into the equation at this point! Bridge too far away to worry about). Get stuck; reach into the Memorable Bowl (Thank you J. K. Rowling -Wizard placing his memories in a bowl to look at later when he needs them). After you have a few chapters done it’s time to get someone to begin the editing process and a few friends to read it gain valuable feedback before you move on.  

     Remember, good feedback is good, but bad feedback helps you grow to become a better writer. This will also point out places where you might be losing your audience, or have an angry mob of friends terrorizing you to finish the book (Smile!). either way, it’s better to know than not. It’s easier to start over or inspire you to work harder to keep them wanting more. Once you’re completely finished with your manuscript, it’s time to satisfy that that final itch by having someone (YOU TRUST) read your work in its entirety. Finish up by having it (professionally) edited for content, consistency, grammar, and most importantly clarity. Now comes the fun part. Making (or hiring some to design) a book cover that will catch the attention of a person casually walking. Oh, but there is one last thing, and it is very important. Dealing with the US Copyright Office (can be done over the internet-should already have an account). You are now ready for the most painful thing of them all. Letting your baby go to be published. But, that is for another article in the future.

Would you like to have your topic discussed? Would you like to get an opinion on something that bugging you? Have you ever wonder about what makes an author pull out their hair?  Well, let's sit down for a cup of TEA or a nice healthy shot of CAFFEINE.

Leave a comment below or send an Email of your thoughts to SD Tracy Harper.

Don't miss out on the latest news by Subscribing, Following, and Joining me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and this Site directly or sign up through the New Email Notification.

SD Tracy Harper Contact Form

Your Name :

Your Email: (required)

Your Message: (required)