GETTING TO "THE END"

Is this your year? Always wanted to write a book?

10 Quick Tips for Getting to THE END.

1. Decide what you want to write. A novel? Memoir? Full autobiography? Figure it out. Start with a sentence: I want to write a book about ___________________. When you’re ready, expand that sentence to a paragraph, then a full page. Don’t self-edit, just let your thoughts flow.

2. Name it. The title will guide you and keep your story between the rails. You can change it later but if it doesn’t have a name, it doesn’t exist.

3. Give it a world in which to exist. It could be a world set in the future, or one that existed only in the past, but a story needs parameters. Keep it tight. The smaller the crucible, the tighter the story.

4. Set a timeline or period of time that the story will cover. This is critical with a memoir. What slice of your life will you tell – teenage years, marriage, a particular tragedy, or college days?

5. Decide who will tell (narrate) your story. First person (you)? The voice you choose will also set up the tone of the story (funny, worldly, philosophical, scary).

6. Write the first line. Make it great.

Death is my beat. (The Poet, Michael Connelly)

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. (George Orwell's 1984)

Call me Ishmael. (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville)

And who could forget the brilliant, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." (Charles Dickens-A Tale of Two Cities)

7. Write the ending. (Optional, but having a destination helps make the journey.)

8. Make a list of chapters to include and give them titles. Some might call this an outline, but it doesn’t have to be that complex. Keep it simple. You can add, subtract, and reorder the chapters at any time but a structure will keep you in the game.

9. Designate a time each day to write. Ten minutes is better than nothing, and much better than an odd hour here and there. The more you write, the more you write. It’s a habit, a muscle that must be exercised. Do it. Can’t think of anything to write? Take your favorite book and copy it. That simple exercise will inspire you and pump up that flaccid writing muscle.

10. Read a lot. The more you read, the better you will write.

Before you know it, you’ll have a book-length manuscript ready to be re-written and edited to kingdom come! Good luck, good writing, and good reading.