Writing Demystified

So, you want to be a writer but you have no idea where to start, what to do, how to do it, or really what your story is about?

That means you pretty much look like this guy. Lost, no idea where he’s at, where he’s going, who to ask for help or even what to ask.

It also means you’re where most authors are, or soon get to, when they start.

Are we going to write it for you? Nope, we have enough trouble writing our own stuff. Besides, it’s your story, not ours. But, we’ll get you started by:

• helping you collect your ideas
• pushing them around to form a rough story
• building an outline
• adding details
• forming a story
• creating nice guys, not so nice guys and plain old villains
• adding lovely women, sexy women, ugly women and even evil women
• inserting characters that support and bring out your main characters
• developing plot twists and turns
• inserting flashbacks, flash forwards and maybe a flash sideways into a parallel world, if you’re into Sci-Fi
• helping you build settings that put the reader into your scenes
• wrapping it all up with a bow around your ending.

WOW! All that? Yup! And we’ll even throw in:

• how to find the rules of your genre, style sheets and outlines
• getting help from a developmental editor
• what NOT to do
• how beta reading and editing fit into the writing process and why they are critical
• covers
• book descriptions
• chapter titles
• writing software.

If you’re already an author with a story partially or fully written, you’re probably thinking this is pretty lame stuff. Perhaps. But why not give it a read? It’s never too late to learn something new. Then bouncing your work against new, different, or even rehashed writing ideas may just help you tweak your characters, fine tune your plot, brighten your settings or make that boring subplot really work for you.

So grab a note pad (lap top or tablet if you prefer), pull up a couch like Oscar Wilde here and get ready to become famous. Once you are, you too can wear a cool fur coat, boots and spats like his.

****

This blog is intended to cover the basics of writing your story, but is there something we haven’t covered? Something you think might help you develop or fine tune your draft? If so, jump in there and let us know.