Learn the craft of writing
Many would be writers fail before they start.
They fail because they have not learned the basics of the craft of writing. They assume that they can write a best seller on the basis of their ability to string together a few words. They have not done their apprenticeship in the craft of writing. Then they get upset because their manuscript gets rejected the first time they send it to a publisher.
Time for a reality check.
I read recently about a successful editor working for a large publishing company who stated that at least 80% of manuscripts fail in the first page or two and deserved to be rejected. That’s a staggering statistic. Novice writers are almost all rejected because they fail to study or understand the writing and publishing process.
This editor made some simple to follow observations:
- Follow the publisher’s guidelines to the letter. Most writers don’t bother to do this basic first step and so their manuscript will be rejected. That is the harsh reality whether they like it or not.
- Format the manuscript correctly. Presentation is everything. Most publishers have their own way they require a manuscript to be presented. Find out what that is and follow it.
- Check the grammar. A poor grasp of the English language, its structures, formalities and conventions will make it easy for the editor to reject a manuscript. If you lack confidence or knowledge in this area get someone to teach you – or find a book or course to help you.
- Check the spelling. Spelling mistakes can and must be avoided. Check every word, recheck and check again. When writing my current novel I’m on the 7th draft and I’m still finding typos.
- Check the punctuation. Again, check, double check and then some more. Get someone else to check the manuscript for you. Pay a professional copy-editor to check it for you. You will be amazed at how many simple errors can creep in under the radar.
In short – give yourself the best possible chance of having your manuscript accepted for publication.
Good writing.
Journal Writing
1 Comment »18th May, 2010; Category: Articles, Journal Writing, The Writer's Life, Writing a novel, Young Readers
Some writers do not understand the power of regularly writing in a personal journal.
Journal writing is an excellent way of honing many writing skills that are essential to the writing process. It doesn’t matter much whether you write fiction, non-fiction, articles or blogs, regular writing practice is essential. If possible, I’d encourage all writers, especially beginner writers, to write every day, even if in the first few months or years journal writing is all you do.
I’ve kept a personal journal since July 1990. That means the 20th anniversary is coming up very soon; I must remember to celebrate it here on this blog. I write about anything that comes to mind about events and people in my life. I filled several hand written volumes at first but in recent years I have tended to use my computer. One day I might get around to printing it all out and binding the pages into booklets.
More recently I have also been keeping a writing journal. In this I have recorded the processes I have gone through in writing my stories, especially my recent novels. The journals include details of my ideas, sources of inspiration, research findings and the decisions I had to make along the way. In part you can read how I went about ‘Writing a Novel’ here.
When I was a classroom teacher I used Journal Writing as an integral part of encouraging children to write. The skills developed in my programme had some amazing results, not just with writing. I wrote about it in this article: The Power of Journal Writing – a Story of Hope.
This article relates the experience I had with one of my former students. I bring it to your attention now – especially for my many new readers who may have missed it at the time.
Good writing.
Distractions from writing
There are many things which can distract writers from their writing. Some example:
- Illness
- Holidays
- Television
- Family
- Full time jobs
- Hobbies
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of ideas
- The internet
- _________________ (inset your own prime distraction).
Successful writers keep writing despite the distractions. They find ways around the distractions and keep writing.
It has been quite a few days since my last entry here on this blog about writing. I’ve still been writing – just not here. Instead I’ve been busy posting blog articles on my other two blogs. These numerous articles will appear on those blogs over the coming three weeks while I take an interstate holiday. I’ll be playing with my 19 month old grandson. That’s very important to me. While I’m away the blog posts will keep on appearing, both here and on the other blogs.
Why not take a look at those other blogs? I’d love you to leave some comments too.
- Trevor’s Birding – about my love of Australian birds – complete with stunning photos of our beautiful bird life here in Australia.
- Trevor’s Travels – about my adventures here in Australia and in Thailand and Nepal. Complete with lovely photos of some beautiful places I’ve been.
Chocolate as an essential writing tool
I have not read a single book on the craft of writing which has mentioned the benefits of chocolate as a tool essential for writing and writers except one who mentioned it in an interview and only then in passing.
I think there is a niche market there just waiting to be exploited.
Some working titles for books about chocolate and writing:
- How chocolate can improve your writing (a book for beginners)
- The age of chocolate (for historical fiction writers)
- Hand over the chocolate and no-one will get hurt (for crime writers)
- Zen and the art of eating chocolate while writing your novel (for novelist bikies)
- The elements of chocolate and your writing style (to help with your grammar)
- Fiction and the art of choosing chocolate (for fiction writers)
- Chocolate and inspiration (for religious writers)
- Dark chocolate (for horror/gothic writers)
- Choc Wars (for SF writers)
- Star Choc (for SF television series writers)
- N.C.I.S. Down Under (N.C.I.S. = No Chocolate Is Safe) (a manual for writers of the proposed television series)
- Chocbusters (for those writers about debunking the myths about chocolate)
If you have any other suggestions please leave them in the comments section.
Television writers acknowledged
I don’t normally watch awards programs shown on television. They tend to be long-winded, drawn out and frankly boring affairs. Of course, if I was in the running for an award of some sort, they’d be as exciting as.
I didn’t watch all of Australian television’s Logies Awards presentation last night but did catch the last half hour or so. I should have gone to bed as I was very tired, but kept putting off the effort of doing so.
What I did see pleased me. Not one but several of the award winning actors paid tribute to the excellent writers of various television series. Writers are far too often overlooked in such events, but where would they be without the writers first having the ideas for the story lines, and then doing the hard work of putting the plot, characters and setting and all the other elements of a good story together? Without writers – good writers – we’d have no television drama, no comedy series, no films and little entertainment.
I know it’s not an Australian series, but I’ve recently become a fan of the American crime series called Castle. In an interesting twist, the main character is a crime writer called Castle who helps a detective and the police solve everyday crimes. I also enjoy the gentle humour incorporated in the scripts.
Enough from me: I’d like to acknowledge the fine skills of the many wonderful television and film writers out there. Well done.