5 Habits a New Fiction Author Has To Develop In Their First Year
Finally. I am a blogger! Not only that, I am blogging about writing. I know many regular bloggers suffer from writers block, but I know that will never happen with me. I always have something to say. My problem is shutting up and keeping quiet. So here goes.
When I started writing in 2007 I had no idea where it would lead me. I didn’t consider what my new life as a writer might entail. This was arrogant and big headed on my part. I thought that with my English A levels (From the 1970’s) and a wealth of life experience that I would find it easy to write. I was wrong.
I was asked recently, what I would say to a new author who was just starting up. In fact, I have been asked many times for advice on writing. I thought about this over the weekend and wrote the following.
Read
If you are not a reader then you will not be a writer. You need to find a different career, if you can’t finish most books you start. I have read books of all genres for as long as I can remember. When I did English Literature for Advanced level I actually read all the books on the course. I remember studying C P Snow’s “Corridors of Power”. I bought the whole series that this title came from, and read them all avidly. I admit it; I am a bit of a swot.
There are two types of reading that are most important. Firstly, you have to read books that are from the genre that you intend to write in. You need to let the whole ‘look and feel’ of books from your genre get into your head, so that you don’t even have to think about it. Reading will help you write faster. It will also help you give your audience what they want in terms of characters and content.
The second type of reading will stretch you. Read what you don’t necessarily like, but know is quality. I recently read The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. It is a very long book, and reading it definitely stretched me and broadened my knowledge of what was possible to achieve in a novel.
Write
A writer knows they have to write. Despite this, many writers will tell you the project they are currently working on, when in fact they are not writing at all. They are discussing plots and characters with other people. They are networking on Facebook with other authors. They are blogging about writing like I am now. (Oops!). In fact, they will do anything except write for much of the time.
Jeffrey Archer was in prison a few years ago. In his diaries he records that every day he would write his 2,000 words and send them off to his editor before doing anything else. There will have been some very bad days in prison for him, but he didn’t excuse himself from doing his job of writing every single day.
I found that entering the NANOWRIMO novel writing competition was very beneficial in forcing me to write, even when I didn’t feel like it. The task is to complete a 50,000 words novel in a month. My novel is now 60,000 words and nearing publication. The competition showed me that I could write on both good days and bad days.
Find your Genre
Agatha Christie wasn’t so daft. She found something that she could do and kept on doing it. When she got bored, she invented a new detective and started writing a new series of detective novels with the new expert solving the crimes.
Your genre will usually be one that you enjoy reading. So if you love reading Mystery Romance books start writing in that genre. Once you have written a few books you might feel able to step into another style but this is very rare indeed. Look at the book shelves in your local bookstore and you will find that most authors find their niche and keep writing in it. Kathy Reichs, James Patterson, Lee Childs are good examples. Their readers would be most confused if these authors started writing in the field of Cosy Romance.
Get Feedback
If you want to be a writer then other people are going to read your books. Some are going to love them, others will hate them. Get over it. I met an author online recently who had finished writing four novels and not shown them to anyone. She was scared that they might not like them. Her novels were so precious to her, that she didn’t want people to tell her what was wrong with her books.
I have a small network of friends who read my books before being published. They all give me feedback and opinions and the books change as a result. In all instances, my books are greatly improved after feedback. Sometimes there are factual errors. Other times there are huge ‘black holes’ in the plot that I couldn’t see. Sometimes the book is just not good enough. I would much rather find out now than in the reviews on Amazon. By the way, all authors get bad reviews, even top sellers.
Network
Most of my online community are authors. I would never have thought that would happen ten years ago. In most cases they are helpful and positive. You will become a better author by mixing with the online writing community. You will be first to know about new resources and you will have places where you can ask burning questions of the moment.
Networking will also make you a better writer as there is a constant stream of valuable hints and tips shared. This is particularly true in Facebook groups. Networking removes the loneliness of a writer who is sat at home looking at a screen and awaiting inspiration.
