Making Your Ideas Make Sense
+ Learn the terminology for the industry in which you are looking to work
+ Elevator Pitch: An "elevator pitch" is a quick pitch (30-45 seconds) to introduce yourself and what you are trying to sell. This is useful in sales in any industry, but especially true in writing.
- Learn to start a conversation with anyone, anywhere - focus on something in which the person may be interested, such as an item on their person (jewelry, clothing, bag, etc)
+Target Audience: Learn who your target audience is in your writing - without a defined target audience, you risk creating a work with lines too blurred to appeal to any specific readers
- Target audience may find you based on your writing
- Target audience may be defined by reading other works in the genre you'd like to focus
- Learn about your genre - even the font may affect your sales, even if you don't think it will!
+ Story structure
- In mystery, suspense, action, and thrillers, usually starting the story at the climax and flashing back to the beginning (then working your way back to the climax) is the best bet. In
romance novels, stories tend to be more linear and formulaic in structure, so be mindful of your genre's tried-and-true structures.
- Try to keep exposition (background information) to the first four chapters.
- Try to break your story into 3 acts - this will help immensely if you need to compose a screenplay or play later on.
+ Generally modern audiences are looking for shorter novels (under 400 pages, 1400 words), with chapters about 10 pages. Make sure you test your manuscript with editing groups,
writing classes (check local universities, but stick to advanced-level writing courses), etc. to ensure you understand the wants and needs of your audience. Don't assume what your audience wants!
+ Opening scenes should grasp the reader's interest; try something exciting or intriguing.
+ Book synopsis: Write this in 3rd person, keep it simple. Each paragraph should be a summary of one or two chapters through top the end of the novel.
This should be limited to 2-3 pages, and should include "spoilers" and other plot points that the publisher would be interested in knowing without having to read
the book. These are included with every query letter to a traditional publisher. You can't get a book deal without this.
+ Book summary: is short - this is what you read when you turn a book over and read the back of the book. Again in 3rd person, this should present the main plot points without
giving anything away - it should in fact pose more questions than provide answers, so as to pique the reader's interest.
+ Completing your manuscript: remember that your first draft is a ROUGH DRAFT; treat it as such and nothing more - so get your ideas on paper! If you were to die tomorrow,
would you want to leave your manuscript incomplete? The important point here is to FINISH your manuscript - you (or someone else) can always go back and edit later!
+ Editing: Finish your manuscript and let it sit for a bit - go back to it after some time (I wait 2-4 weeks) and edit then. The most important thing to remember now is to just
finish the manuscript. For editing resources, contact me (Joe_Crisan@yahoo.com) or seek out universities to have writing or English students edit for you for free.
- Know what a good editor is - make sure you have a basic understanding of the language so you know if an editor is worth their salt or not - you will not be editing, but don't
allow yourself to be suckered into paying someone who doesn't know what they're doing!
- There are two types of editors: story editors who edit the flow of your story, and copy editors, who will edit the more "scholarly" aspects of your writing like grammar and spelling. Be
aware of who you are hiring and what the expectations are.
+ Show don't tell: Read the short article at the following link: https://www.createspace.com/en/community/community/resources/blog/2013/05/14/show-vs-tell-do-you-know-the-difference?sitesearch_query=show%20vs.%20tell&sitesearch_type=SITE
+ Sensory detail: Use ALL 5 senses when describing a scene. Remember that the most memorable of the senses is TASTE - yes, believe it or not, taste is the winner. Use it to make your writing successful.
+ Learn the difference between passive and active voice: " The door was closed" is not good because it does not say who closed it, leaving the reader wanting more information. "The door slammed shut,"
on the other hand, tells you the closed by itself, probably as a result of a gust of wind. Clarifying sentences is an art that can differentiate you from your competition.
+ Avoid verbose descriptors such as, "the dead corpses of bugs lay all around" is too verbose - wouldn't you appreciate, "dead bugs covered the floor" much more as a reader?
+ Find writing prompts with resources like "642 Things to Write About" - find it on Amazon.com here: http://www.amazon.com/Things-Journal-Francisco-Writers-Grotto/dp/1452105448/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375414063&sr=8-1&keywords=642+things+to+write+about
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