To everyone who downloaded a free copy of my Volume 1, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support! Watch for my next free giveaway copy: Volume 2 through Canada Day weekend! June 29-July 3! Pass the word and get a free Kindle copy here!
To everyone who downloaded a free copy of my Volume 1, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support! Watch for my next free giveaway copy: Volume 2 through Canada Day weekend! June 29-July 3! Pass the word and get a free Kindle copy here!
Rule #7
Don’t worry about mechanics at the start. If you worry about the mechanics or technical aspects of writing from the onset, you will most likely get bogged down and lose your trend of thought. What are the mechanics you shouldn’t worry about at the start? Spelling, punctuation, usage, sentence structure, and typographical errors. These are things that you can always go back to after you’ve put all your ideas down on the page. Many famous writers owe their editors for the polish and cleanness of their works. I even have it on good word that some popular writers can’t spell very well! What is important is to get the ideas written. Your ideas are what make your work original and interesting. Remember first and foremost that you are a writer and not a proofreader or an editor.
Rule #4
Read. Everyday, whenever you have a bit of time, read. Not just anything, although that is good for a different reason, but the kind of writing that you want to do. If you want to be a journalist, read newspapers and magazines. If you want to be a novelist, read novels. If you want to be a poet, read poetry. Not just a little, but a lot. Get to know different styles of writing. Read works by great writers that you can model your writing after. Yes, I believe a lot of what you learn as a writer can happen by osmosis–in this case, just reading a lot of excellent writing–because you remember a bit of what you read (if your memory is better, you’ll remember a lot!), and what you remember will seep into your writing. But don’t just read excellent writing. Read the really bad writing too, and those in between. If you can distinguish the bad writing from the good writing, you’ll be able to apply that to your writing. You will know when your writing is good and when it is bad. You will learn how to avoid the bad writing and write better. I’m willing to bet that no good writer ever became good at writing without having reading a lot. What are you waiting for? Go get something to read!
Rule #3
Write about something you don’t know. Admit it. You don’t know everything. Nobody knows everything! There will always be something out there that’s new to you. If it’s totally new to you, it’s also probably totally new to a lot of other people. You could be filling up a niche. Who knows? It’s a great challenge to see how much you can write about something you don’t know. How do you go about it? Simple. Research.
Rule #2
2. Write about something you know. This is the easiest way to begin. Write about people around you, places you’ve been to, experiences you’ve had. Try to describe them in as many ways as you can. Observe very closely and note every detail. You’ll be surprised how much detail you can write.
Benjamin struggled some more as the mound held him up in mid air. In the dusk, it looked like some kind of hairy giant with grass covering its body. The smell of stale tobacco rose from the earth around the hill. The giant had settled down into a crouch, with the young boy in one outstretched hand. Slowly, it brought its other hand up to reveal a smoldering fag of tobacco that was about the size of the boy’s arm. It brought the gigantic cigar to a gap in the grass and seemed to inhale, then it slowly blew out the smoke in wisps, not unlike the smoke you would find coming from the embers of a dying fire.
**Artwork by Kitt Lapeña, as originally created for Melay Guanzon Lapeña for an article reported on GMA News Live.
Cindy Lapeña is a seasoned writer who, for the first time, has written a full-length novel, The Lost Amulets.
This book is the first in her ambitious fantasy series, The Amulets of Panagaea.
The whole series is Cindy’s way of incorporating and preserving Philippine myths and legends into world class literature that can be appreciated by readers young and old alike. It is also a way to acquaint the global community with the rich folklore of the Philippines in captivating and exciting fiction.
The first series will be a trilogy with a prequel that will narrate how the world of Panagaea came to be what it is in this trilogy.
http://nextbestauthorcontest.com/authors/
Also, would really appreciate it if you got everyone you know to vote! 🙂