WRITING TIPS

Please note that everything on this page is based on my personal experience and what worked for me. But we’re all different so it may not necessarily be right for you!

• First of all, writing is hard work. I read of one famous author who takes just six weeks to write a novel but I don’t know many like that. For most of us it takes months and while there are moments of sheer joy and ecstasy when it’s flowing like a torrent, there are moments of despair when it’s all gone pear-shaped and you doubt it’ll ever come right. But it does – if you keep at it.
• Read widely, especially authors whom you admire and whose writing you’d like to emulate, without making a carbon copy of their style or stories! I love to read (fairly) widely but, when I’m actually writing a book, I don’t read. This is a real hardship (as it can take me six months, or more, to write a book) but necessary because I find myself copying the style of the author I’m currently reading!
• Spend some time learning from other authors. You can buy all sorts of “How to” books on writing and most of them are well worth reading. Try Writing Magazine too for tips from published authors and experts in the field.
• Read the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook for great advice, analysis of trends and developments in publishing and to familiarise yourself with the industry.
• Join organisations for writers as soon as your eligible – they are a great source of support, advice and friendship in what can be a lonely and isolating business. I greatly value my membership of the Society of Authors and The Romantic Novelists’ Association and go to meetings and conferences when ever I can.
• Write a synopsis and work out your characters, setting, themes, main and sub-plots before you start. Having a synopsis doesn’t mean you can’t deviate from it and it won’t stifle your creativity. But it will help prevent you from going up blind alleys and getting yourself in a right pickle. I’ve written synopses of between 5,000 to 14,000 words for each of my books (as well as character profiles for all main characters) and find that they get longer with each one, because they’re such a valuable tool.
• When you’re writing a book, try to write every day even if you really don’t feel like it. It helps to stop the creative juices from drying up! (That's a bit rich coming from me - it's what I know I should be doing, not what I actually do...)
• Set yourself a daily target and try and reach it, even if you feel that what you’ve written isn’t good. The next day you can edit it and somehow you see things more clearly looking at it afresh.
• Try and finish each day’s writing in the middle of a scene, at a point of climax etc. It makes starting the next day that much easier.
• Don’t bother sending a synopsis or sample chapters out to agents or publishers until you’ve finished your book – all they’ll do is ask to see the finished work and you want to be able to send that to them immediately they show any interest. Otherwise they might have forgotten who you are by the time you finally get it finished and sent off to them ten months later!
• It’s OK to send your manuscript out to more than one agent or publisher at a time, though it’s a good idea to be honest and tell them that you’ve done so. Let’s say you send your manuscript to an agent and wait for them to respond before you try another one. Agents are very busy people and it can sometimes take several weeks, even months, for them to read your submission and reply to you. Let’s say they reject your work and then you send it out to another one and so on. If you do this ten times before you find one interested in your work, you’ve wasted over a year, sitting around waiting. If they all reject it at the same time, at least you’ll know you’re not onto a winner and you can get on with starting something new.
• Be prepared for rejection and don’t take it personally. Books are rejected for lots of reasons and sometimes it’s got nothing to do with the quality of the writing. Be persistent.
• Adopt a cheerful, up-beat and professional persona. Be positive and proud about your writing.