You Want To Write A Book?

Have a question? Agree, disagree, with
me? Leave me your opinion.

"I want to write a book."
Several people have told
me.

It's a rewarding journey.
It involves writing, re-writing,
but well worth the effort.

I know the excuses that
you give yourself.

I gave myself reasons to
avoid writing book length
work too.

I don't have time, not sure
where to start, no one
will like my book, and/or
where will I write?

You're giving yourself
excuses for not writing.
Instead, find time during
the day or night to write.

It takes several weeks,
years, to complete a
novel. It depends on
you.

What will your book be?
Fiction or non-fiction?

My book is a work of
fiction.

Your writing time should
be in a place just for
writing. Tune-out
everything else.

This means turning-off
your cell phone, television,
ignore loud neighbors,
and write your book.

Today, I'm going to
discuss fiction.

Start by deciding on
what the book will be
about. Create characters,
and a setting.

My setting was any urban
city USA.

Where will the
story take place?
Locked Library?
City? Rural?
In the middle of
a crowded
restaurant? Or,
a country different
from your own?

Make a profile for each
character. Will the main
character have a limp, blue
eyed? Or, a female with
a rude manner? Still,
she has many friends? Or
not? Educational back-ground?
Employed?

Profiles contain any information
you feel a character should
have.

What problem will the main
character be forced to resolve?

The main character in my novel
had to find a way out of a dare,
and handle her female boss'
sexual harassment.

Long fiction, book length,
has more than one problem
to address.

Chapter one introduces
the main character, and the
problems he/she is engulfed
in.

Other characters are stirred
in. The secondary characters
must move the story along,
and not just take-up space.

Write two or three pages daily.
Write for, at least, two hours.

The first write-up is a
draft. There will be time
to edit. For now, write.

Make sure, there's
plenty of conflict,
suspense.

A character must try
to succeed a minimum
of three times before
reaching his/her goal.

Throw obstacles at him/her.
Have a scene where the main
character almost makes it,
but some force ruins it. Or,
the opposing character
spoils it.

Show the character's reaction
to this disappointment.

At the end of the story,
a character is different.
Perhaps, he/she learned
to stand-up for him/herself.
Found a new meaning to
his/her life?

The change is for the
better, or worse.

Always explain any
issues introduced
during the story, or solve
them.

Don't dream about writing
a book. Do it. I know
you can.

Simply, believe in yourself.

Writer's Block-Er-Cise

"What does that mean?" You asked.
It means to stop writer's block before it takes
hold, never have it, leave it at your neighbor's
house, or forget what the two words mean.
"That's impossible." You stared at the copy.
Let's start the process of eliminating writer's
block from your space.
Type, write down the first word your eyes see, or
the memory of a situation.
Ginger is my word. Think of five other G words.
Your list should have six G words to begin with.
My six are: ginger, goose, George, gone, gobble,
and grind.
The six can melt into poems, fiction, or non-
fiction.
The poem derived from my list, off the top of my
head.
Play
George and Ginger went out to play
They chased a big turkey
Ginger gobbled
George toppled
Slid on grinds
They were home
When their mom came lookin'.
The following can enhance a fiction paragraph,
beginning, or any story-line.
George and Ginger jumped in puddle after puddle,
twirled around in the rain storm.
"Mommie isn't gonna like that we played in the
rain."
"C'mere, I stepped on somethin'." George ignored
Ginger's comment.
"Let's go home." Ginger turned to leave.
"It's big."
"You look, George."
They stood there, debating as lightening startled them.
Ginger rushed over to George, grabbed a black box,
and ran home.
After George and Ginger were tucked in for the night,
Ginger reached under her bed for the black box.
With box in hand, she tipped to George's bedroom.
It fell. She searched quietly for it. Up and down
the hall, she crawled around the floor.
"Be quiet." George opened his bedroom door, joined
her.
"I dropped the box."
A corner of the hallway glowed. The black box slowly
opened...
My excerpt can be changed to fit an existing work or
plot. The only limit is my, your, imagination.
"How can six words help write non-fiction?" You
questioned.
Pick one or more of your words as a jumping-off-point
for writing.
I picked Ginger as a possible essay.
Ginger is a flavor wake-up, agent, spice for food.
It's pickled, candied...
Lastly, how a situation is turned into writing
material.
I was, unjustly, fired from a job. I detailed some
of the events in my novel, Grave Street House.
Try my technique. It will cure you of writer's
block. Let me know how you were able to benefit
from Writer's-Block-Er-Cise. Or, advise me if it
didn't work for you. Believe in yourself.

Published Author

Those two words associated with me seems unreal.
It was a long journey.
Well, writing the novel was enjoyable. There was
always a paragraph that dragged the story along,
run-on sentences needed tucking, or the scene(s)
called for more suspense.
I found someone to critique it, but she was
costly. So, the manuscript laid around while I
fiddled with poem writing.
My mind wandered back to my novel. I read through
chapters, not sure if it would get published.
I enrolled in a writing, mail-order, course.
After completion, the instructor recommended, to
the school, whether or not to publish a student's
work.
Sadly, I missed the cut. I felt sorry for myself,
continued working on it.
I required assistance. I contacted an agent, sent
him the manuscript. He returned it, told me to work
on it. I plucked and added to improve it, but
concluded, after phone calls, the agent was more
concerned with fees. We went our separate ways.
I took the writing course, again. My novel
failed industry standards.
Agent number two explained that my manuscript
was rejected, but never tips on making it better.
She didn't tell me why the rejection slips. She
wanted money a third time, and I had enough. I
asked for my manuscript back.
Once again, the manuscript and I were left
alone.
I read fiction in the genre, and other writing
related information. I felt bad, but knew the
manuscript was worthy.
I looked for a publisher until it happened.
My novel, Grave Street House, is for sale at
thedigitalword.com.
You, simply, have to believe in yourself.
*******************************************

An excerpt from my novel, Grave Street House.
When I walked onto my street heads bobbed and turned,
some people cried. They knew the horror awaiting him. A
few drifted into their places of security. The homeless intruder
wobbled, stumbled on his way into the House. They reacted
with clear warnings to stay out. He ignored them. He,
slowed down, whirled his head toward me with fear in his eyes.
I motioned with my hand for him to come back. I rushed closer
to the House, forced my way through the mob of people.

They Said I Couldn't Write

"They say I can't write a novel." Someone explained to me. "Keep gettin' rejection slips."
In our society, people want to see it happen now, not tomorrow. Likewise, success is wanted this second. It takes time to get from writing to finished novel. It is rare for anyone to create a story, and the piece is publication ready.
The process of finding the right publisher is a challenge. Many will not accept manuscripts unless from an agent.
The question, you must address is, should I get an agent?
I suggest doing research on it before making a decision. As with anything else, there are good ones, and bad agents.
Rejection slips takes a spot on every writer's desk, sooner or later. The key is to continue to write. Figure out why. Did you send your work to the wrong publisher? Grammatical errors? You tie-up all the loose ends in the novel? Does the story flow smoothly? Make sure you have a beginning, middle, and a satisfying ending.
I mean do not cheat the reader. It must be reasonable, and in accordance with your creation.
I sent work out, many times, and received rejection slips.
Once, I snail-mailed a short story to a publication. They forwarded me materials for stuffing envelopes. Yes, I felt bad, but it gave me the incentive to keep trying. It signaled do better, learn more.
I threw the items in the wastebasket, their rightful place.
Deep inside, I had what it took to flourish through non-fiction, fiction, and poems. The stumble served to strengthen my resolve.
After all, I wrote, entertained using all three. However, my work had to meet industry standards. The only way for that to happen was practice.
The area I live tend to be noisy. So, I shut-out that buzz, concentrated on my work. It took time. More importantly, I dared to believe.
Yes, you must take yourself seriously. All kinds of people will come along to remind you of the rejection slips.
"Maybe, you should just give-up writing." Someone will say. "Get a real job."
It is nothing wrong with getting a job. Find a time to write, day or night. Continue to build on your writings. Take a writing course. Read the work of authors you like, or write in same genre as you.
Take note of how the plot unfolds, use of sentence structure, dialogue, and the technique used to tell a tale. Put it under a microscope. How would you spell-out the plot? Use a different main character? Have more than one plot? How different could your characters be from the original?
Jot down notes. When finished analyzing, start writing your own novel. Take it step by step. The very first paragraph must grab the reader's attention.
Know your characters. How? Make a profile of each. How does the main character look? What quirk(s)? Put in as much information as you want. You determine when or how it is sectioned to the story-line.
Dialogue mimics speech.
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Save it. Talk to the hand."
Some people drop letters in words like doing. Instead of saying what are you, whatcha takes the place of three words.
Simply, use different vocal patterns for characters. It gives a realistic flavor to the novel.
Toss in suspense, obstacles. Allow a story person to escape an issue, and then have him/her bombarded with another problem. It keeps happening, stops when he/she figures out a solution. Remember, the struggle goes on three or more times.
Look at how I handled characters, dialogue, etc. Read my novel Grave Street House. The website link is: http://www.thedigitalword.com
I would like to hear from you. Contact me at writer.feedback@gmail.com
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