I may write about supernatural things, but there’s no magical potion for writing. You have to pay… sometimes with blood and tears. Novels don’t write themselves and in the morning mysteriously appear because I tossed a few herbs into a jar at the full moon and buried it a thousand paces from my house. Sometimes, I have to chain myself to the keyboard and type until the wee hours of the morn, only to have to do it all over again, because I didn’t get it right the first time or the second or the third. Honing the craft of writing is an ongoing process. What is magical is how it gels together when it’s finished. I write whether I feel like it or not. It’s a job and it’s what I do. Don’t get me wrong… I love every minute of it, even the tears.
Okay, the writing beast has bitten you…What do you do? (Run out and get a vaccine? Heck no!)
1. Read.
2. Write.
3. Read.
4. Write. (See the pattern?)
5. Invest in your tools. Writing is an investment.
a. Buy a good computer & laptop. (I like to write on the go. A lap desk is nice too.)
b. Buy a laser printer. (Look professional.)
c. Create a space where you can close the door. (I converted my guest room. Sorry, family, you’re sleeping on the couch.)
d. Take classes from other writers.
e. Join a writer’s group.
Helpful books to have in your library:
YOUR NOVEL PROPOSAL: FROM CREATION TO CONTRACT
By Blythe Camenson & Marshall J. Cook ISBN 0-89879-875-2
GOAL, MOTIVATION & CONFLICT: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction
By Debra Dixon ISBN 0-9654371-0-8 (A must have.)
SETTING: HOW TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN A SHARP SENSE OF TIME AND PLACE IN YOUR FICTION
By Jack M. Bickham ISBN 0-89879-635-0
WRITING THE FICTION SYNOPSIS: A STEP BY STEP APPROACH
By Pam McCutcheon ISBN 0-9654371-1-6 (Being able to write a good synopsis is a must.)
SCENE & STRUCTURE
By Jack M. Bickham ISBN 0-89879-906-6 (Part of the Elements of Fiction series from Writer’s Digest books. There are many other topics by different authors.)
THE CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE, 15th EDITION
By The University of Chicago Press ISBN -10-0-226-10403-6
LINKS
www.rwanational.org (Romance Writers of America. I belong to the national organization.)
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My “sister” in Wolfy Tales, Judith Graves www.judithgraves.com
