Writting Skills With Alice Adams

Beginner writers

Hi, I'm Alice Adams.

Are you a new writer? This book is  for beginners will help you become a better writer, faster.

Writing can be easy or difficult.

It’s easy if you’re knowledgeable about your topic and confident about your grammar, sentence construction, vocabulary and overall writing style.

Beginner writers

•Writting is a learnable skill

This is important. There was a time, many moons ago, that I was naive enough to think you either had it or you didn’t. I am not ashamed to admit that I was wrong.

Having spent a lot of time in recent months meeting writers, from those who have many books published to those that are just starting out, as well as attending various writing courses, one thing I have learned is that no one starts off amazing at writing.

Who is your favourite author? Do a little digging—I would put money on the fact that they did not get their first idea or story published.

If you have the passion and the enthusiasm, you can make yourself into a great writer. And hey, you’re here looking for tips—you are already on your way.

• Read everything and anything.

The famous Stephen King once said that, ‘If you don’t have time to read you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.’ Now, regardless of your feelings on Stephen King, you can’t deny that the man knows his stuff.

If you write in a certain genre, read stuff from that genre. It will both consciously and subconsciously help you to build up a knowledge of writing for said genre.

However, do not overlook the value of reading everything! There is no reason to limit yourself—even a magazine on the bus counts! You can always learn something, no matter what you are reading.

Some people don’t have time to sit down and read a novel every week. I am one of those people—I struggle to fit reading into my schedule sometimes.

That’s normal. I often feel a pang of guilt if I am behind on my reading, or it’s been a while since I actually finished a book. Try to ignore it.

• Write what you know

This rule is made to be broken.

Yes, write what you know. But that doesn’t mean write about your day job and your significant other. Chances are, no one wants to read that.

Writing about what you know can mean simply writing about an emotion that you know.

Have you been through a divorce? That sucks. But you know what that is like, and so can include that kind of emotion in your story.

Lost a loved one? Had an affair? Achieved something awesome? Got angry about something?

You can use any of your previous experiences, take how you felt from that, and use it in your writing.

Okay, perhaps you have never used a magic sword to defeat a dragon. But have you used your skills in negotiation to win a big project?

You will find that you know something about most things, even if it’s just the basics, so writing what you know still applies. Researching anything additional is key.

Use your emotion, your experiences, and build on them. Real emotions in a story make it more believable and more relatable.

• Never stop learning about writing.

There's a saying that you can never share what you never have. This is true even if you’re applying writing tips for beginners.

You can’t teach people what you don’t know, and you can't enlighten others when you are confused. To share valuable information and insights with your readers, make reading and learning regular habits.

You can learn practically anything. Sometimes you limit yourself and sabotage your own mental development. Don’t let complicated topics stop you from learning.

• Established your key scenes.

Scenes are not quite the same as plot points, though they can overlap. Your plot point might be the discovery of a dead body; the scene might be the description of the wet, wintry day when a couple in the middle of a relationship crisis stumble across a corpse while they’re out walking and arguing. The inciting incident in your novel will definitely be a key scene, and there will be other set pieces that you will want to get your teeth into. Make a note of them, and by all means write them too – it’s not essential to write your book in chapter order, and if you have created yourself a plan or structure you will be able to see how they will fit into the rest of the text.

• Decide what you write about.

The next tip for writing a book is to decide what you want to write about. Are you writing a children’s book or writing a book about your life? Do you want to educate your readers or give them a captivating story that they just can’t put down?

As for the topic or storyline that you choose, be sure to choose something that interests you so that you’re motivated to keep going and overcome the inevitable hump that most writers face during the writing process.

A writer who is passionate about what they write is more likely to become successful, but you also need to find the right category to get ranked in, identify keywords and track your books and those of other authors for sales ranking.

• Avoid zigzags in your storyline.

Although it might be tempting to flip back and forth from one time period to another, this is a technique best left to the masters and even among them only occasionally. Stick to a chronological storyline or you're likely to confuse and irritate your readers. Flashbacks and zigzags can have your readers spinning unless you are able to write them seamlessly. If you have mastered this technique go ahead and try it, but consider using a sequential timeline as well. You can avoid a lot of rewriting if the zigging and zagging doesn't read well.

You are bound to hear a lot of unsolicited advice from friends and would-be writers as you write and publish your book. Just make sure that the guidelines you follow along the way come from a professional or experienced source. The suggestions listed above are only some of the essential writing tips every successful writer knows and uses.