Tips for New Writers

After some time off to finish uni and recover, the writing tips are back! I had some requests for this post so whether you’re new to writing or looking to start, here are my top tips.

1. Start a Passion Project

If you’re hung up over your first story getting published, you’ll start to hate it. Your first project should be something you love enough to finish it for you. I honestly recommend fanfiction as it’s a great way to get early feedback and become used to critique, but an own story is just as good as long as you join a critique group.

2. Join a Writing Community

Whether that’s on Instagram, Tumblr, a real-life society, or somewhere else entirely, there are many reasons to join the writer’s community with a platform of your own. It’s the best way to find Critique Partners (CPs), Beta Readers, as well as a wealth of tips that will improve your writing.

3. Explore Planning Methods

You’ll need to use trial and error to decide what works best for you. Try fully outlining, diving straight in, Beat Sheets, Flash Cards, Ten Steps Ahead, or even just making lists of what you want to show. One will work for you, but it’s different for everyone.

4.Write

Write as often as you can. Nothing makes writing stronger than practice. It doesn’t have to be “good” or neat or pretty, but words should go on the page. Don’t let your insecurities keep you from filling that blank page.

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Slashing Your Word Count

A guide for over-writers. 

So there I was, sitting in front of my 120,000 word YA Fantasy manuscript having a breakdown. Why? you ask. Well, because I want to be traditionally published and no one will buy a YA debut that long. 

Why not? This answer would a post on its own. Or a 24 minute video. Luckily Alexa Donne has already done that work and you can watch it here. 

Now I’m going to summarise all the advice I was given that had lead to me doing a brutally cut down draft in two sections, the big cuts, macro level, and the small cuts, micro level. 

Micro Level Cuts

1. Reduce each description by 1 or 2 words - @coffee_loving_artist
2. Reduce dialogue. Single spoken words can carry more emotional weight than elongated lines. 
3. Cut down on dialogue and action tags. If it’s clear who is speaking, don’t use anything! - @parisandherbooks
4. Cut repeated sentences. It’s not as dramatic as you think it is. 
5. Simplify convoluted sentences - @jade_d_brown
6. Cut words like very, quite, sort of, kind of, it was, there was, that, now, then, suddenly and any crutch words you have - @just.a_simple_writer
7. Change passive language - @laurenkayzles

Macro Level Cuts

1. Chop off the beginning and the end of long scenes. 
2. Cut info dumps
3. Never get lost in internal monologue. Keep it to a small para at most. 
4. Cut fluff scenes - @teen_writing_101 & @cakeyboy 
5. It doesn’t take 1000 words to make a small point – condense it!!
6. Cut unnecessary dialogue or chit chat 
7. Merge scenes that feel repetitive 
8. Cut the prologue 
9. Cut the epilogue 
10. (Remember that those can go back in after your book has been bought) 
11. If you’re desperate, delete a POV - @thewritingfirebird
12. Ask your Beta’s which subplots/characters could go - @howwhyandsowhat 

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A Guide to Writer Lingo - Drafts

When I was new to the writing community I was confused about what to expect from each draft. When is draft 1complete? Where’s the line between draft 2, 3, 4+? How much editing goes into each one? Does each draft serve a different purpose? Now I’ve been here for a while and on my 3rd draft, I’m ready to answer those questions. 

There are no set rules on drafting.

Everyone’s drafting process is different. Some people move onto draft 2 before even writing an ending to draft 1. Some people like to do a draft 0. Some people call their outline draft 1. What I’m writing below is what I’ve seen to be the most common meanings.

• Beat Sheet - This is written before the outline and follows the Save the Cat! plot structure. It breaks the story down into key plot points, spread out across three acts. 
• Outline -  This can be a written document, a spreadsheet, revision cards on a wall, or not exist at all (shout out to the pansters). This is where the main plot is laid out from start to end, including subplots, and divided into chapters. 
• 0th Draft - Also called a dirty draft, some authors use this name to take the pressure off while drafting. If you struggle to accept that your first draft won’t be as good as you want it to be, it might be worth doing a messy 0th draft that no one but you will ever read. 
• 1st Draft - By the end of the first draft, a book should have every chapter written at least once. The wording might not be perfect, subplots might need consolidating, plot twists might need foreshadowing and clarity might be required on a number of things. Most people share their 1st draft with a critique partner, a first reader or an alpha reader, but personally, I like to ensure contingency in my 2nd draft and then share that.
• 2nd, 3rd, 4th+ Draft - This is where the waters get muddy because every writer does these very differently. I create a new draft every time I do a round of edits from start to finish, chronologically through my book. I also start a new draft on each round of beta reader feedback, but really there are no real rules about drafts 2+ and you can divide them as you see fit.

Which draft do I submit to agents/publishers? 

Again, there are no hard-set rules on this. It is advised that you do not submit your first draft. You should have completed at least one round of edits and have had a few beta readers before submitting to agents as they want clean manuscripts without plot holes, contingency issues, and grammar mistakes. 

I hope this has helped and feel free to add to this below as drafts are hugely subjective!

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Now be honest with me, how many beautiful notebooks do you own? How many of them are empty right now? Yes, I know, you’re waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them. The perfect story. The time you won’t cross anything out. The time you won’t change a thing. Well that time won’t come and you’re wasting them. *Bops you on the head with a pretty notebook* 

The purpose of a writers journal is not to create artwork worthy of a museum, but to help your ideas flow. Sometimes when writing things down, you can even bounce ideas off yourself! It’s amazing! So stop holding back and give it a go. 

Here are my top tips on journaling: 

• Don’t worry about keeping it neat (as long as you can read it, it’s good)
• Use different notebooks for different things (Plotting, Research, World-building, History, Magic, Religion)
• Use headings so topics are easy to find
• 3am inspo? Write it down! No don’t get your phone out, you want to go to sleep after this. You can develop it in the morning. 
• SketchIf you’re struggling to visualise something in you WIP, sketch it even if you can’t draw. Remember, this is just for you.
• Solving plot holes? Use an idea dump. This is where you just vomit every idea you have to solve it onto the page and then work your way through each option. 
• Write ideas for made up names/words down. Stick every variation you’ve considered on the page and then you can try merging them or you can simply see which one looks best. Bonus points because you can look back on how you cam up with it. 

For editing journals specifically try:

• Make lists of things you still want to ‘show’
• Make lists of things you want to add
• Write down problems you find when reading through, then you get to cross them off when you solve them. 

I hope this was helpful. Leave any additions below!!!

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Good beta readers are a life saver and you cannot convince me otherwise

Drafting me: this isn’t perfect, but I’ll sort it out in the editing phase :)

*Two months later*

Friend: How are you doing with your novel?

Editing me:

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We’ve all been there. Staring at our planning document with a long list of characters who are like our children. We love every single one of them, but what about the reader? Will they get confused? Will they be able to keep track? Will they care about any of your characters if they don’t get enough page time? 

If these questions have plagued you, it might be time to think about who gets the chop. To help with the dilemma, I have put together a list of questions to ask yourself.

1. What does each character bring to the story thematically?
2. List what each character does to advance the plot?
3. Could any of these things easily be done by another character?
4. Do they all have distinctive personalities? 
5. Do they all have distinctive mannerisms/speech/appearances?

If you’re struggling to answer these with a clear yes or no, it might be time to bin some characters. Bonus questions to consider are:

1. Is there potential to merge two characters into one? 
2. Does this character need a name, or are they just an extra?

Hope this helped!

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nanowrimo:

Writers often dabble in the surreal, especially when writing fantasy or science fiction. We asked a few writers to share how they approach creating magical worlds. Today, K.M. Vanderbilt shares her three rules of thumb for creating a believable world:

When dealing with surrealism, writers often struggle with believability. It isn’t always easy for readers to embrace your vision. 

Here are a few handy tricks:

First:Consistency.

Apply rules, world-build until your calluses are thick, and stay consistent within the bounds of your universe.  

 

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