10 Writing Tips For Budding Authors

During my book tour assemblies in schools (where I’ve been sharing my bestselling children’s book Greek Myths for 8-12s) I’m often asked by children how they can begin to write their own books. It’s my favourite question because it demonstrates true engagement and importantly ambition. 

Harboring dreams is not reserved to children though and below I wanted to share 10 writing tips for budding authors (big or small), following on from previous posts I’ve shared. 

I’ve intentionally kept them brief as I know how busy cultivating a creative life can be and hope that my simple, straightforward tips will mobilise you. 

1. Read widely. Reading across genres and as much as possible, be that comics or literary classics will inspire and educate you. Reading and learning from other authors is the first step in becoming a writer.
2. Start a journal or diary where you can write with abandon, daily and as a stream of consciousness.
3. When writing fiction, remember that character often comes before plot. Write detailed character studies so you get beneath the skin of your protagonist/s knowing them fully.  Categorising character studies into: physiology, sociology and psychology are helpful dividers. How they look, how they live and how they think. Understanding others requires self reflection and understanding yourself deeply too which is not always comfortable. Therapy has taught me the most about myself but importantly about others. Their complexities, trauma and lack. You need to understand why people do what they do in order to write strong, relatable novels for example. Whilst you might have a rough idea of the plot before you start, detailed character studies will strengthen and no doubt change the plot as you write.
4. Research informs non fiction and fiction. Interview people who might be useful to your book and seek out sources which will help you in creating the world within your book be that studies, newspapers, videos you find on Youtube etc. If your book is set at a time in history, seek out museums, artifacts and historical sources which can support you in learning as much as possible about that period. 
5. Write often, so writing becomes a habit. Forming a habit often takes 22 days. I’ve recently required a long break from writing my own novel due to a slipped disc but as soon as I’m able to write more than a short blog post such as this, I will recommit to writing most days until I have completed my first draft. 
6. Know that strong writing doesn’t magically present itself. Potential yes, never the finished piece! Great work is often due to endless rewriting and polishing. Many novels have seen hundreds of drafts before they reach your hands and heart. Whilst there will come a time you must stop writing your book (everyone has deadlines), the first draft is the most important, it’s the foundation on which to build upon, then comes the reworking of your art. Nobody publishes a first draft!
7. Only show your work to one or two trusted people (after the first draft is written ideally not during as this might stall your progress) and refrain from speaking about your work in too much detail before you have committed ideas to a page because sometimes your brain cannot distinguish between having spoken or written something and your priority is the latter. 
8. Don’t be afraid to ‘kill your darlings’ as often rewrites require just that. Some characters were simply meant to be conduits to others or to help you improve plot points and are no longer needed in later drafts. Become ruthless about the vehicles in which you tell your story. I cut out many characters I deemed surplus to the Greek myths I retold in my book who I felt didn’t drive the narrative forward or had a strong enough purpose to remain in the story (despite being present in the mythical versions shared thousands of years ago). 
9. Don’t doubt yourself. You deserve to do what you love. If every author allowed self doubt to creep in and take over them, nothing would be published. Accept how you feel but know it shall pass. The remedy for self doubt is action. Get to it!
10. Research literary agents who represent authors you admire or are similar but not the same as you and send thoughtful emails/ cover letters along with your work. Check on the agents’ websites which ones accept unsolicited work (most do nowaways) and keep going.