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. Seek out a mentor. Find someone who is willing to guide you through your project, preferably a person who is a published author him or herself. It is even better if the person has published something in the genre in which you are working. You can share your drafts with this person and gain wisdom from his or her experience and expertise.
3. Save everything. As you are working, there will be passages, or perhaps entire chapters, that you decide do not fit into your vision for the book. Rather than discarding them completely, simply set them aside. You may find, once you get further in, that they do have a place in the book. Also, the may fit into future projects.
4. Take time away from the project if you need it. There is nothing wrong with taking a break for a few days, or even several weeks. Sometimes, stepping away from a work in progress is the best things you can do. You may return to it with new insights and ideas.
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.
Try to keep up the momentum that you build at the beginning of a new project. Us that feeling to keep you motivated as the writing progresses. It is natural to lose some enthusiasm as you go, but try to take different approaches to get it back. Use all of the tips on this list. Step away from the project for a bit, or ask your mentor how he or she deals with this feeling. Just don't stop altogether.
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. Seek out a mentor. Find someone who is willing to guide you through your project, preferably a person who is a published author him or herself. It is even better if the person has published something in the genre in which you are working. You can share your drafts with this person and gain wisdom from his or her experience and expertise.
3. Save everything. As you are working, there will be passages, or perhaps entire chapters, that you decide do not fit into your vision for the book. Rather than discarding them completely, simply set them aside. You may find, once you get further in, that they do have a place in the book. Also, the may fit into future projects.
4. Take time away from the project if you need it. There is nothing wrong with taking a break for a few days, or even several weeks. Sometimes, stepping away from a work in progress is the best things you can do. You may return to it with new insights and ideas.
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.
Try to keep up the momentum that you build at the beginning of a new project. Us that feeling to keep you motivated as the writing progresses. It is natural to lose some enthusiasm as you go, but try to take different approaches to get it back. Use all of the tips on this list. Step away from the project for a bit, or ask your mentor how he or she deals with this feeling. Just don't stop altogether.
|
0 nhận xét: