By Leticia Jensen
When you have a lot of vague ideas in your mind for stories and other writing projects, it is exciting to see the finally start to develop into something cohesive. Suddenly, you have a book on your hands. Perhaps it is the first in a series of crime thriller novels, or an autobiographical account of your childhood. Maybe it's a books of poetry. Whatever the nature of your project, you will need some guidelines for staying on track and maintaining your motivation.
1. Figure out your best process. Decide whether you write better at a particular time of day. Figure out if you work best by creating and following a plot outline, or whether you need to come up with characters first. Maybe you just want to start writing and see what comes out. When you figure out your most productive writing process, it will be easier to stay in your groove.
2. Find a mentor for your project. It is extremely helpful have the guidance of someone who has experience as a published writer, especially if they have written in the same genre in which you are working. You can benefit from your mentor's expertise and get his or her opinion on your writing.
3. Save all of your work. You will probably add and remove things as you go, cutting out certain passages and occasionally even chapters. However, it is important to not throw anything away. Just put the removed work to the side; you may decide that you want to add it in again later, or you may find that you an use it for a different writing project.
4. Step away and take a break when you need to. Sometimes you need a few days of working on something else, or a break from writing altogether. The break may even last for a couple of weeks or more. This is alright, as it can allow you to see your work with new eyes when you return.
5. Run your drafts past more than one person. You should definitely have your mentor look at your drafts, but you should have other people read them, too. It helps to get several different perspectives on the work, and to listen to the suggestions of various people. This will give you a better sense of how you can appeal to a wide audience.
6. Choose your publishing method and develop a marketing strategy. While some authors still go the traditional route of submitting samples and query letters to publishing companies, more and more people are taking advantage of self-publishing tools. These are available for both print and electronic formats. When you self-publish, you have to handle your own marketing and your own costs, but you also get to keep all of the profits.
Take the excitement you feel at the beginning of your project, and use it to motivate you throughout the course of getting it finished. There may be moments when you no longer feel as thrilled about it as you once did. In those times, look back over this list. Speak to your mentor, or take some time away, but make sure you come back to the project eventually!
1. Figure out your best process. Decide whether you write better at a particular time of day. Figure out if you work best by creating and following a plot outline, or whether you need to come up with characters first. Maybe you just want to start writing and see what comes out. When you figure out your most productive writing process, it will be easier to stay in your groove.
2. Find a mentor for your project. It is extremely helpful have the guidance of someone who has experience as a published writer, especially if they have written in the same genre in which you are working. You can benefit from your mentor's expertise and get his or her opinion on your writing.
3. Save all of your work. You will probably add and remove things as you go, cutting out certain passages and occasionally even chapters. However, it is important to not throw anything away. Just put the removed work to the side; you may decide that you want to add it in again later, or you may find that you an use it for a different writing project.
4. Step away and take a break when you need to. Sometimes you need a few days of working on something else, or a break from writing altogether. The break may even last for a couple of weeks or more. This is alright, as it can allow you to see your work with new eyes when you return.
5. Run your drafts past more than one person. You should definitely have your mentor look at your drafts, but you should have other people read them, too. It helps to get several different perspectives on the work, and to listen to the suggestions of various people. This will give you a better sense of how you can appeal to a wide audience.
6. Choose your publishing method and develop a marketing strategy. While some authors still go the traditional route of submitting samples and query letters to publishing companies, more and more people are taking advantage of self-publishing tools. These are available for both print and electronic formats. When you self-publish, you have to handle your own marketing and your own costs, but you also get to keep all of the profits.
Take the excitement you feel at the beginning of your project, and use it to motivate you throughout the course of getting it finished. There may be moments when you no longer feel as thrilled about it as you once did. In those times, look back over this list. Speak to your mentor, or take some time away, but make sure you come back to the project eventually!