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Created: Tuesday, 13 January 2009 00:17

Make your Manuscript Friendly
Many times, brilliant pieces of writing are discarded simply because they appear amateurish. Improve your manuscript to the best of your ability, have others read and make suggestions, get your details right and your grammar correct so your manuscript is not thrown into the recycling bin. Silly errors cause manuscript rejection. Spell checkers don't always catch everything and they miss many mistakes. Have your work proofread by a professional. Editors are trained to pick out little mistakes, the kind of mistakes that most people couldn't recognize. Before submitting, you must get your manuscript presentable.

Take time to Read
The more you read and learn, the better your writing skills will be. Don't get stuck in a rut! You should try to read all types of books. Don't just read books on the subject you are writing about. Read about everything, watch for how an author develops a story, or develops a character. Read everything, novels, thrillers, romance, self-help, cooking, even children's books. Watch and learn how the authors of the different books develop them and put their own style into the book they have written.

Write
As well as reading, you should write everyday. Brainstorm words and thoughts on paper or in a journal. These brief thoughts that pop into your head when you are driving or at a meeting could be the basis of a beautifully written manuscript. Keep your notes and thoughts that you write to yourself, you never know what could develop from these thoughts on paper.

Writing Style
Everyone has his or her own style when writing. Learn how to incorporate your style into what someone else would want to read. Keep the story yours work confidently and strongly with your editor. Know your stuff before submitting your manuscript; know your grammar and the basic things an editor is looking for. By knowing and being smart about your writing, it will make your manuscript more editor friendly.

The Heart of Writing
Write from your heart. You know how you feel about certain things, and if you want to write a novel, let it develop naturally from your heart. You have the drive to write, now take that inspiration and take the time and put your ideas to paper. Keep your emotions real, how strongly you feel about something, will be felt by the reader if your emotion comes through on paper.

Write from Life
Writing about aspects of life and your life experiences is where your writing will probably start. True feelings on paper help you express your emotion and that can turn into a story. This helps the reader understand you and shows that you have a deeper feeling for the emotional aspects of your writing works.

Most Importantly, keep writing and keep your dream alive.