Dearest Darlings,
I (Emily Skye) am an author! That's right, an author. No, I am not published (yet), but that isn't the point. After writing a 300+ page book I have learned a lot of things and because I love you, whoever you are, I will share some of these things with you!
Writing do’s and don’ts
DO write a book that you would love to read.
DON’T look up synonyms for every word and choose the
biggest one. You will just sound pretentious.
DO know how to write a conversation between two
people without confusing your reader with who said what.
DON’T try to write a book with paper and pencil;
chances are you will never finish it. You aren’t John Steinbeck.
DO think about your book for a long time before
starting it. Many people can start a book. The key to finishing is to know how
your book will end and what the climax will be before you start.
DON’T name your characters something difficult to
pronounce. If you absolutely HAVE to name your main character Xyconyious then
do JK Rowling’s trick and have Xyconyious teach another character to pronounce
their name (like Hermione did for Krum). Even then, seriously consider changing
it.
DO love your characters, but not to the point where
you are not willing to let them die. Sometimes, characters die, and sometimes,
it makes a book 1000000x more heartfelt. Admit it; Hunger Games just wouldn’t
have been the same if Rue hadn’t died in such a heartbreaking way.
DON’T be afraid to let others read your book (or to
read it to them yourself). One of my favorite parts about writing is reading my
book aloud to my twelve year old cousin, and watching her reactions.
DON’T write things that would be embarrassing to
read to your parents. When I say that, I don’t mean embarrassing in the sense
that you think your writing sucks… what I mean is you don’t want to read
something Breaking Dawn-esque to your dad.
DO have a clear image of the world your character is
living in, especially if you are writing Fantasy or Science Fiction. This was
the hardest part of writing for me, and if you don’t know exactly how your
world operates, your reader will be left very confused.
DON’T be bland when you are describing a character’s
appearance. For example, which sounds better?
“She
had really red, messy hair and black eyes. She looked very bored.”
Or
“The
frowning, beautiful girl next to him looked more intimidating than the rest.
Her hair was shoulder length, shaggy, and disturbingly similar to the color of
blood. Her black eyes scanned the room with a perpetually bored guise.”
DO realize that you are going to write things you
don’t want to write. Books are long and there is a lot of describing and a lot
of conversations you will have to create. I like writing conversations, my
brother only likes description, but you can’t write a novel with only one of
those elements.
DON’T give up. Writing a book is honest-to-God work
and it is HARD. That is something people don’t usually don’t tell you. But in
the end it is SO worth it, published or not.
DO (this is going to sound cliché) have fun! You get
to create an entire world and people who never existed or if you are writing
nonfiction, you get to show people what life is like through someone else’s
eyes! I may sound like a nerd, but do you know how cool that is?! Very cool.
Now I will leave you with one last quote that I
love!
Au revior, Sierra and Emily Skye
Song of the Day:
