#readwriteplan

I love this hashtag. It encompasses my take on how to improve as an author. Many of the writing tips I've accumulated over the years are from successful authors and other industry experts.

Read

Read, read, read. Read as much as you can. Read the genre you want to write. Read other good books. I love reading. I imagine most authors start out as avid readers who are inspired to create their own works. Reading actually helps improve your writing. When I read an amazing book, especially if it provokes the emotions I want to provoke in my own readers, it's inspirational. I want to write something as amazing. It's like the ultimate creativity charge.

Write

Practice makes perfect. Every book starts off as a rough draft. It's easier to edit something than nothing. And all the other appropriate platitudes. Improving as an author involves a lot of writing. It's about finding yourself, your unique voice. It's about writing for yourself, getting your story down (without getting caught up in semantics). It's self-expression in its purest form.

Plan

Whether you write a detailed outline or simply wing it like a pantster, at some point you need a plan. A writing schedule. A plot direction. An understanding that, despite best efforts, plans change. Making plans involves both time and story management. That's why even a pantster needs a plan. I consider myself a reformed pantster. When I first started writing (seriously as an adult), I incorporated zero planning into my writing. With a little bit of luck, my stories would come together at the end. But, more often than not, I would start and not finish stories. A Wizard's Choice (The Magicals Series, Book 2) was the first book I outlined. I was able to write the majority of it in a month, during NaNoWriMo. Ironically, my original ending didn't pan out, but that's another story.

Short post this week... Back to writing...