10 Tips for Making the Beginning Count

Writing a book, short story, novella, all can seem intimidating at first. Don't be afraid of what lies ahead. The process of writing can bring joy and satisfaction to your life if you start off on the right foot.

Here are 10 ways to prepare yourself for your writing adventure.

1. Think Out the Story Line

Fiction or Science Fiction, all story plots are the same: main character(s), setting, problem, transition, solution. As simple as that may sound, many writers bring in too many outside distractions, turning a simple (yet engaging) plot into a muddle. A good story needs emotions, thoughts, problems and solutions. But add these only as necessary to move the story along.

2. Do a Mini Bio On Your Main Characters

Most of the characters' backgrounds will never see the light of day. But having a life story of both good and bad times enables you to understand their point of view. You don't have to like the way the character turned out, but you do need to understand how they got there.

3. Finish One Section at a Time

Most writers fall into one of two categories: write everything first, then go back and edit; and write parts and go back and edit. I know from experience how frustrating it can be to constantly go back to what you've just written and correct all the mistakes. But try to fight that temptation. You can't get a feel for what to cut until you've seen the whole picture. If you can't resist, edit one chapter at a time, then go back to writing. If you can hold on, write several chapters. 30 pages. Distance yourself between edits. You'll edit more times than you think later on.

4. If You're Not Sure, Look It Up

Research is not just for professors. You may be antsy to get your story going, but don't be afraid to check out facts. Nothing is more embarrassing than writing wrong information. Flipping the light switch when electricity hasn't been invented yet. Taking Highway 90 to Highway 392 when the two aren't even in the same state. Your research can be as detailed as you want it to be. Just make sure you do some.

5. Find a Balance

Settings and atmosphere both are important in bringing the writer into your world. In the past, authors would take pages to describe places and histories. But readers these days don't always have that much patience. Unless there's a reason for that much detail, write it, then trim it. It's a balancing act, one that's hard to learn.

6. Don't Over Explain

Unless you are writing a manual or thesis, you don't need to explain every technical aspect of your story. Just as people don't have to know how an airplane or car works in order to ride them, readers don't need to know how a new technology or primitive way of doing things actually works. You don't need to anchor in the world of exact truth; you just need to make it sound true. If you are confident in your description and then move on, readers won't ask.

7. Know Yourself

This point may sound like a waste of time, but it's not. Write what you know. Especially for your first few manuscripts. Don't write content that makes you uncomfortable. Don't like writing (or reading) about bloody murders? Don't write them. Don't like to get into a religious debate? Don't bring it up. As you develop your writing skills you will be able to move away from your point-of-view. If you are uncomfortable writing things, the reader will know.

8. The Main Character Isn't You

As a side bit of advice, we are all what we write. Our characters are created in our head, in our heart, and their actions come from our own mind. That doesn't mean your character is you. Just because you don't drink doesn't mean your character can't. Just because you are faithfully married doesn't mean your characters can't cheat on their spouses. Don't take their guilt upon your shoulders. Interesting characters all have flaws. They don't have to be - nor are they usually - your flaws. And if you enjoy writing sexy, bloody, goofy characters, by all means, do it. Don't let your morals always be theirs.

9. Don't Let Your Heart Get In the Way

I have written some of the best, gut wrenching, love-soaked passages the world has ever known, just to cut them out of the final edition. You may want the hero and heroine to walk off into the sunset happily ever after, but the feel of the book doesn't bode well for that ending. Don't let your love of your work blind you to the editing and rearranging you will most likely have to do. Make sure all crescendos have their place. Know that in another book, in another situation, all those words would fit perfectly.

10. Don't Give Up

The easiest to say, the hardest to do. You've been writing and writing and getting stuck and the phone rings and you have to go to your cousin's this weekend and you work full-time and you have to watch your kids play soccer just when you get into the heart of your story. Distractions abound in the writing world. If you can set up your own quiet corner of the writing world, do it. If you can't, so what? The writing will come. The editing will come. Don't give up the story just because you can't get to it on a timely basis. The more you write the more you will rearrange your schedule to do so.

All of these points are part of the "beginning" mindset because the most important thing you can do is write your heart out. Don't let your fear of writing something good stop you from writing, period. Writing something is better than writing nothing. And with time and practice, your book will be as perfect as the heart that wrote it.

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