Writing a book: tips

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  Here's some advice on writing for anyone who cares to listen. I'm not big and famous, but I have been writing for most of my life, so I do have some experience. Here is the why, what, who, when, where, and how of writing.

1. Words of warning. You will not be famous. You will not be rich. The first idea you ever have will be a joke, your characters will be flat, your plot will be full of holes, and your prose will need tons of work. This is coming from someone who started at eight-nine years old; at seventeen, I still need more practice. And this isn't just me. Every writer must go through the process (though some will be luckier than others).

2. The message. This is the why of writing. Your story will have some meaning, whether it's that love conquers all, that we should take better care of our planet, or even that a laugh does a person good. I truly don't care what you choose, but it must mean something to you. If you try to write about something that doesn't put fire in your heart and charge up your soul, you will fail in your writing.

Check your work, kids.

3. Plot. This is what you write. This is the most difficult part of writing, from my perspective (every writer is different). If you want it to be believable and realistic, you will have problem after problem with this. Comedies are easier but not strictly easy. You will write, realize that it doesn't work, take pieces from that to rewrite, and repeat. Eventually, you may have a working story, but even then, it could be just a mash-up, in which case your prose has suffered, and you must redo it all. But don't give up! You will find that story, even if it takes a very long time.

4. Characters. This is the who of writing. After so many years of practice based solely on this area of writing, characters are my expertise. I was even told that, though my plot is sometimes weak, the strength of my characters make up for it. Anyway, it may not be so "easy" (years of practice, remember?) for you. A character has to be more than a list of attributes and clothing colors. He must be a person to be believable. You have to know him; you have to grow to know him like you would any friend. One of the best ways is to write short stories centered on one character. It doesn't even have to fit your real story; it's just there for you to discover how he talks, acts, and thinks. You'll know when he/she is right.

It's a delicate job.

5. Setting. This is the when and where of your work. It doesn't matter what you choose; you will need to do research. Are you writing about a town in your own state/country? What street do they live on? (I actually made up the town in Redemption, but I still have to research small towns in general.) Are you writing about the jungles of South America? What do you know about jungles, not including what you learned from Indiana Jones? How about medieval times? Yes, you even have to research that. Use the heck out of Wikipedia and Google; they are very helpful tools.

Overwhelming? Thesaurus.com is
your best friend.

5. Style. This is how you write. This is not something I can explain because it develops on its own over time, and everyone is different. However, there are a special few who rise above the rest, and these are the ones who become famous. Take a look at some of Ted Dekker's, Dean Koontz's, or Tosca Lee's works and notice the poetry they are able to work into their novels. It's truly beautiful. I know quite a few authors, and most of them are very, very good, but only a few are truly unique, rising stars of the writing world. One of these is a dear friend of mine, whose name I won't post for privacy issues. His wording is so elegant and different that I always have to pause and look again. Truly amazing work.

And one more thing. "There is no such thing as writer's block. There is only fear. Fear of the unknown." - Ted Dekker. There is fear that you are not good enough and fear that you never will be. Sometimes, it becomes frustrating and overwhelming, but don't give up! Stick with it because it is always worth it to write, whether or not you even become published.