Friday's Caffeine #7

Ready To Write That Novel?

There are two ways I look at preparing myself for writing a book and that is if I am writing for a particular market that is hot or if I am writing this for myself and not for fame or money. In either case there are similarities that are considered no matter which road to take.

I call these the big five and they are Reading, Learning, Mapping, Revitalizing, and Polishing. But before you get started on pulling out your hair, or locking yourself up in a dungeon, try doing this three exercise first.

1. Write down what your book is about in 35 words or less.
2. Describe your main character in 20 words or less.
3. Write down what makes your book special in 15 words or less.

Once you have those three answers, put them to the side, you’re going to need them. Let get started with Reading.

Reading
Above all the tools a writer has, is reading. The more you read, the better you become in your thinking, plotting, and writing. Read everything no matter if it is in the genre you wish to write in, READ. No matter what form the material is in, READ. That means your local newspapers, magazines, comics, adult writing, and even basic technical descriptions of everyday things like the latest TV, Car, or Video Game on the market, READ. Join a reader-author website and read what others are excited about and let them in on what has your attention. I cannot tell you how much my writing has improved in a short about of time by opening up to other people. The give and take to help other writers have helped me just as much to gain better insight into a better story telling. You can’t be on an island if you want to be a writer. This leads perfectly into Learning.

Learning
No one starts out knowing everything, so forget about there being a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Every, and I do mean every, writer is in constant learning mode. It doesn’t matter if you take a class online, with an instructor, presented in a book, or through a mutual discussion group at your local library, learning the craft of writing is necessary and fun for me. Not only do you learn how to strengthen your weaknesses, but also sharpen your strengths. as with snowflakes, there are no two that are alike and this is also true for writers.

I learn this during one particular exercise in a writing group I had once belonged. Each of us were to write a story with the chosen storyline, characters, and environment. If you are interested, this is it. The storyline was a marriage proposal. The character’s names were Dick and Jane. And, the Environment was a crowded subway train. Needless to say, there were some great stories that came out of that exercise. One of the most important lessons I had learned from exercises like those are all writers express themselves differently and how they lay out their idea this show clearly. In other words, mapping or outlining a story is as individual as snowflakes falling from the sky. Let’s look at Mapping.

Mapping
Mapping is not the end all to be all! In my early article (How to Prevent Writer’s Block) I discussed on gathering ideas, laying out ideas, and using those ideas. I also pointed out that in most cases I end up with 4 or more endings. Mapping out your story or doing an outline, is just to focus your thoughts in one wide direction. I say Wide Direction, because your work is a living document and shall change according to your attitude. one of your greatest tools to keep you one track (like the marriage proposal exercise) is the answer to the three questions you did to Describe your story, introduce your character, and keep the heart of what makes your story unique. Let’s move on to, you have finished the first draft of your story! YEA!!! Now it comes the time to let you go back to reality and Revitalize.

Revitalizing
Revitalization is to remove yourself from your work in order to change your thought process and clean out those pesky little characters who were running around between your ears. Completely remove yourself from anything that has to do with your book. Go have some fun with friends and family. Go kiss the dog and take your wife for a walk. Well, you know what I mean. take about a week or two off and go back to the beginning and see the masterpiece you had created. Don’t be shocked, don’t pop the Champagne, and don’t look for a fireplace. You have only just begun. It’s time to polish your work until it shines.

Polishing
Polishing is the most difficult process of them all. it isn’t just editing, or searching for typos, or checking for continuity. Polishing is doing all these things and making your book the best work it can be.  The funniest part of all this is when you’re done, you’re still not done. There are those end touches like book design, cover art, copyright, distribution and the nightmare to all writers,  ADVERTISEMENT!

I hope you have enjoyed this article. This is not the end all to be all and is just a bit of my personal process when writing a book. SD Tracy Harper

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.

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