Manuscript Critique: a Comprehensive Guide

ADVICE: Advice for New Writers

So you want to be the next J.K.? The next Stephen King?  The next G. R. R. Martin?

Whatever physically unappealing idol you're trying to emulate, that's fine. This manuscript book might look intimidating but that's not the intent.

You must first decide what sort of writer you are.
A Plotter?
A Pantser?
Some sort of weird hybrid (I kid; hybrids aren't real. You MUST pick a side).

Regardless of which one you fall under, are you just starting out? All right, here's some advice.

1. Ignore ALL writing advice. (For now). You don't need it. Your goal as of this moment is to FINISH something. Anything. Adverbs? Good, use them. Over-telling? Yup. Take that, too. Stiff dialogue? Oh yes! Do it all, use it all, GET THAT DRAFT FINISHED. You're just starting out and like a new born trying to walk, grab EVERYTHING and anything you can to get yourself up and out there.

2. Abandon that unfinished draft. (For now). Yes. I've just said finish something, but here's the thing, you can't finish them all. You can't. It's impossible. There are some that just won't work. Abandon it and move on to something else. You might even come back in a few months, or years and make something incredible out of it. (I wrote chapter 1 of The Aftermath in May, came back in August and knocked out 80k in one month) But for now, don't beat a dead horse--idea.

Abandon ship.

3. Consider starting with Fan Fiction. Don't let the word 'fan' fool you. True Fan Fiction writers are SERIOUS about their craft. Some do amazing things. But the reason you might want to start there is the support you'll get. Fan Fiction readers are very good with praise and encouragement. The world is already created for you, so that helps offset any shortcomings you've got starting out. This will put a fire in your gut to keep on.

4. DO NOT EDIT. You are just starting; you don't need an editor for a LONG time. Absolutely NONE. You've got to learn to crawl, before you learn to walk. So keep crawling. And then baby steps toward the end of that first draft.

5. WRITE SMALL. Everyone's aiming for that 50,000 word goal, huh? Not you. Any size is A-okay. 50k, 5k, 500 words. 5 words. You should even pat yourself on the back for that much. Any amount.

6. Write every day. It doesn't have to be big, interesting, or good. It's just to get your body used to writing on the fly. Even if you'll eventually abandon/delete whatever it is you write, don't worry, write SOMETHING. Anything. But keep writing.

7. Don't ask for feedback. (Not yet). Whatever feedback you get now (with your early attempts) will just discourage you. Even if they tell you your writing is great (that's a lie), it won't be useful for you. Get that first draft finished first.

8. ABANDON that first draft. (For now). Look, it's terrible. No matter HOW good you are, it's terrible. But that wasn't the goal. The goal was to make writing become second nature to you.

9. READ. No matter how hard you want to avoid it, you can't. You MUST read, even a little.

10. Stop writing ... if you can. If you wake up tomorrow and have NO interest in writing, good. Stop. But if you wake up, as I suspect you will, with a nagging feeling to write something, to get something out, then do that instead. Don't make this a chore. This should be fun. This should be your escape. So when it gets too much and you've got nothing in you, if you can...you should stop.

But I don't think you will.