Creative Writing Tips for Emerging Authors

Four Secrets to Writing a Publishable Manuscript – Start to Finish

Nov 9, 2009

As many emerging writers discover, it is easier to start a novel or a poem than to finish one. Here are some tips on how to successfully complete a marketable manuscript.

While it is common for emerging authors to find it easy to begin a writing project, finishing that same project is often much more challenging. Writers in every genre experience writer's block to varying degrees. For every completed novel, or poem, or play, most writers will confess to two or three or more works in progress that they have put aside in frustration.

Four Steps to Successful Completion of Writing Projects

While there is no magic formula to seeing a manuscript through from start to finish, writers who follow these four easy steps are much more likely to complete a publishable writing project successfully. These simple tips apply to all writers in all genres including:

Writing Tip # 1: Write Every Day: Practice Makes Perfect

Many emerging writers understand that writing is an art, but what they fail to understand is that writing is also an discipline. In contrast to many writers who are just starting out on their literary careers, successful professional writers are well aware of this.

Dan Brown, author of the best selling book, The Da Vinci Code says: "Writing is a discipline, much like playing a musical instrument; it requires constant practice and honing of skills."

Writing Tip # 2: Carry a Notebook

Writers should never go anywhere without a notebook tucked into their purse, backpack, or pocket. Often ideas arrive at unexpected moments and as brilliant and unforgettable as these ideas may seem at the time, if they are not captured on paper, they are often lost. Make it a rule to never leave the house without a notebook. Sometimes a few lines of conversation heard on transit, in a restaurant, or a waiting room are enough to jump-start a brilliant poem or the opening sentence of a new novel.

Sometimes a writer's best thinking is done at night, during sleep when they are most relaxed and their subconscious takes over. With this in mind, it is a good idea to keep a separate notebook on the bedside table to capture nocturnal ideas on paper. Manuscript roadblocks around problems with plotting, pacing and characterization are often solved this way.

Writing Tip # 3: Write the First Draft All the Way Through

Some authors outline their project before they begin writing while others just dive into their work with the outcomes and goals stored in their minds rather than on paper or in a word doc. Either way, once the decision to begin writing is made, it is advisable to write the first draft all the way through without a lot of thought to minor but important details that can be dealt with during the second draft.

While writing the first draft, creators should not allow their inner critic to interfere with the process of creativity. There will be time for a more critical approach later on in the writing process. Think about the words of these two best-selling authors:

Writing Tip # 4: Edit, Edit and Edit Again

Once the first draft is complete, put the manuscript, screenplay, poem or whatever it is being worked on away for a few days or even weeks before picking it up again to begin the editing process. This ensures the author will arrive at his work with a fresh and unbiased attitude.

Most Successful writers would argue that the process of revision is the most difficult and yet the most important key to successfully completing a publishable manuscript. In the words of best selling author, Michael Crichton, "Books aren't written – they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it."

The Secret to Becoming a Published Writer

The secret is there is no secret to beginning and ending a publishable manuscript. It takes hard work, an active imagination, perseverance and discipline, plus a little bit of luck and lots of patience. Follow these four easy steps – and remember, the path to publishing success is paved in revisions!

Sources:

Giles Clark, Angus Phillips. Inside Book Publishing, Routledge, 2008, (ISBN: 0-203-34154-6)

The copyright of the article Creative Writing Tips for Emerging Authors in Book Publishing is owned by Julie Burtinshaw. Permission to republish Creative Writing Tips for Emerging Authors in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.