Top Tips for New Writers

As someone who is newer to writing compositions of more than 1,000 words, I have done a ton of research on what to do and what not to do when working on longer pieces. I have started off be trying out lots of different prompts and short stories instead of diving straight into the novel I plan to write. In the words of my husband:

“The first few things you write are going to suck, so if you don’t want your novel to suck, don’t let it be the first thing you write.”

I am so glad that I listened to him, because without practice and research, the first few things I wrote were decidedly not good. As I have practiced and done research into the right way to do things and what components to include in my stories, my writing has improved. I read an article recently from Lisa Jewell, author of Invisible Girl and The Family Upstairs, that covered top tips for new writers, like me! The article was published on the Penguin Books website. If you are planning to write a book, like me, then starting is the most important thing, but there are also some other things you can do that will help ensure that you are successful. The following is the list that Jewell presented in her article, along with my personal thoughts.

• Read a lot – read books that are similar to what you want to write, but really just read a lot in general

• Write about what you know – this is a common one, but unless you know about something or are interested in researching it, you won’t enjoy the process of writing and your work won’t come across as sincere

• Have your own voice – just be yourself—publishers love a fresh viewpoint and a new voice. You’ll get tired quickly if you spend your time pretending to be someone else

• Do a creative writing course – I did this and found it helpful for two reasons: it got me in the habit of writing on regular basis, and it gave me the confidence to have other people read my work and critique it

• Decide on a genre - #thrillerlife. If you pick a genre for your story, it will be easier to map out what components it should include

• Write the ending first – this isn’t for everyone. There are generally two types of writers: plotters and pantsers. Plotters outline the story ahead of time, whereas pansters just start writing and see where the story goes (“flying at the seat of their pants”). Figure out what works for you, and it may be a combination of both.

• Do a first draft – just get something down on paper—you can always edit it later. Lay down the bare minimum, and then go back and add details and substance later.

• Don’t be afraid to self-edit – some writers edit as they go and some just write and then edit large sections later. Practice this skill so you can learn to see what works and what doesn’t. Be willing to scrap a whole section if you have to because when you move toward publishing, your editor may recommend that you do just that.

• Be disciplined – Dan Brown said in his master class, “Be hard on yourself about process but not output.” Determine your process and stick to it, but don’t be hard on yourself about how much you produce. If you are going to write every morning from 4 am to 11 am, like Brown does, then commit to it. If you write one page or 200, it doesn’t matter, as long as you stick to your process.

• Keep a notebook – this can be on your phone, but always have something with you where you can write down an idea because you never know when something will pop into your brain.

• Don’t give up – even though it may feel sometimes like you will never finish writing your book, you will. You just have to keep going.

• Give it to trusted friends to read – you need beta readers to try out your book, and friends can be a great start, but only if they are the kind of friends who will be honest and provide constructive feedback. Also, if you are writing a genre’d book, like a thriller for example, it helps to ask friends who like reading thrillers to read it. I don’t plan on having my husband read my book before publishing it because he doesn’t like thrillers—he exclusively reads sci-fi.

• Presentation – when you send in your manuscript, make sure it’s in the “right” format: double spaced, printed single-sided, 1.5-inch left margin, .75-inch right margin, no font justification, Courier or similar font, size 12 pt., indented paragraphs, page numbers, new chapters on new pages, held with a rubber band or binder clip. Publishers have a lot of rules, but you don’t want to do all the work to write a book just to have a publisher ignore it because it’s in the wrong format.