Today my dear friend and one of my favorite authors, Marilyn Meredith is my guest. If you ever wanted to write a book, she offers some great advice. Lorna
Some things
people have said to me over the years:
“When I get time, I’m going to write a book.”
“I’ve started a book but can’t seem to finish it.”
And there’s
the person who attempts to tell me the whole plot of a book he or she plans to
write one day.
Number one,
if you really want to write a book you’ll make time and write it. Maybe you’ll
have to get up a couple of hours earlier or stay up later. Perhaps you’ll have
to give up some TV time, or whatever it is you do that’s really a waste of
time. Do whatever it takes.
Number two,
when writing a book write the whole thing first, then rewrite it. The first
book you write probably won’t be all that good anyway. I wrote several that were
never published.
Never tell
the whole plot of a story you plan to write to anyone—sit down and write it. It
doesn’t matter how, just do it.
And my
biggest piece of advice, don’t let anything discourage you. You probably will
get rejected—so what, do some more editing if necessary, and send it out again.
If you’re going to self-publish, if you want sales, get a professional to edit
it for you.
If you’ve
read any of my other posts, I’ve had all sorts of discouraging things happen to
me besides plenty of rejections, but I never let anything stop me.
If you are a
writer, you will write.
Marilyn
Meredith
A
Cold Death:
Deputy Tempe
Crabtree and her husband answer the call for help with unruly guests visiting a
closed summer camp during a huge snow storm and are trapped there along with
the others. One is a murderer—and a ghost.
Anyone who orders any of my books from
the publisher’s website: http://mundania.com
can get 10% off by entering MP20
coupon code in the shopping cart. This is good all the time for all my books, ebooks
and print books.
You can also find it on Amazon.
You can also find it on Amazon.
Marilyn
Meredith’s published book count is nearing 40. She is one of the founding
members of the San Joaquin chapter of Sister in Crime. She taught writing for
Writers Digest Schools for 10 years, and was an instructor at the prestigious
Maui Writers Retreat, and has taught at many writers’ conferences. Marilyn is a
member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime ,
Mystery Writers of America, and serves on the board of the Public Safety
Writers of America. She lives in the foothills of the Sierra, a place with many
similarities to Tempe Crabtree’s patrol area.
Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com
Blog: http://marilymeredith.blogspot.com/
and you can follow her on Facebook.
Contest: Once again I’m going to use
the name of the person who comments on the most blogs on my tour for the next
Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery—which may be the last in the series.
Tomorrow I’ll be answering Jackie’s Questions here:
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Lorna. Lorna and I share many things--including our birthdate. Besides being a good friend, she almost seems like another daughter.
ReplyDeleteAs always, you're welcome. This time you bring great advice.
DeleteAnd that is the hardest part for me..to just put my butt in the chair and write. I take spells when I write for hours and then days when I don't.
ReplyDeleteIf you really want to get that book done, you'll make yourself do it--that doesn't mean give up your life, just find time when you can.
DeleteAnd that is the hardest part for me..to just put my butt in the chair and write. I take spells when I write for hours and then days when I don't.
ReplyDeleteI like your last line very much, "If you are a writer, you will write."
ReplyDeleteYep, Madeline, that's it!
DeleteGood advice, Marilyn. I, personally, set a goal of a particular number of words I will write each day and stick to it when I'm writing a book. It moves things along nicely.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. I don't do that though, I write until I have to quit because something else has come up that I need to do.
DeleteWhile I appreciate why you don't want to spend your time talking about your book rather than writing it, I do find that talking through sticky bits of my plot with either my husband or a trusted friend can really help me focus. But excellent advice.
ReplyDeleteAnne Louise, brainstorming can really help--however I know people who tell the story of what they are going to write over and over--and never sit down to do it.
ReplyDeleteToo many people do this. Sometimes just want to say, "Just write the darn thing!
DeleteYep, that's what I was trying to get across.
Delete