...You have an idea and, as stunned as you are, you have time to write…so just do it: Write! And just keep going, from beginning to end. You have a general idea of where the story is going, so keep writing and don’t keep going back and edit. Keep up the momentum…get to "THE END"....I love writing this way because, after a while, my characters will tell me what they like and which way they want to go - eventually. I could have drawn up the best character development plan at the beginning, but by the middle of the story, their true personality comes out and everything gets turned upside down…and for the better!
...I LOVE LOVE LOVE listening to my characters talk in my head…all day long sometimes. Their conversations with each other, what they want, like, dislike…it’s a writer’s thing, not necessarily something you tell other people…that you hear ‘conversations’…
...get some writer-buddies…surround yourself with like minded people, even if they are of a different genre. I found a local writer’s group - they're romance writers - and although I’m not, some of the meetings have good info/advice and sometimes I get free books.
…oh, and editing…oh, the joy…First read straight through it, if you can, without editing. Then go back in and start chopping away! Do this about 5-10 times, start to finish, and then let a writer-buddy read it if you're brave! While you are reading it, take notes - either on the manuscript or on a different pad of paper - and jot down notes to yourself like:
What day is it supposed to be?
How did she get to the beach?
This doesn’t make sense…fix!
This is dumb...delete!
...And then, after you’ve read through it, make the changes and then do it again…and again…and again…until you’ve answered all those questions and can’t think of any more to say…
...and that's my writing advice for the day...
