Do you want to be an author? Write stories from great epics to side story novellas? Writing books isn't an easy practice, so having a few tips or warnings, never hurts. Before you begin the out of this world journey of becoming a great author, there are just a few things you should know.
1. Don't worry about the title.
You don't need to worry about the title of your novel because you will change it a countless amount of times before you finish it. Then you will continue to change the name throughout the editing process. In the end, the title will likely be chosen by the publishing company you sign with.
2. You will spend more time on the Internet than you will writing.
If you find yourself scrolling through all these different websites instead of writing, then don't scold yourself. The majority of writing a novel is scrolling through Pinterest for ideas for your novel or Googling random information for a chapter you're coming up with.
3. Download Pinterest.
As funny as it may seem, Pinterest is one of the best places to turn to if you have writers block. There are loads of writing prompts to practice from as well as photos to create a make-shift cast from to have something to model each character from.
4. Create a chapter guide.
If you are serious about writing your book and need another way to get through writer's block, then you need to come up with a chapter guide. Start off small with a simple chapter by chapter guide then go into more detail for each one. The more you have each chapter planned out the easier it'll be to write.
5. Create a character sheet.
One of the worst things about writing a book is remembering all the small details about different characters: eye color, hair type, skin color or even name. The best thing you can do to remember is have a character sheet open for every time you create a character you can add each of the traits to the list so you can reference them later.
6. Read books constantly.
While writing a book, it is easy to get distracted. Without realizing it, you can be developing your story a little to quickly or become lazy with your writing. It is always a good idea to be reading a book as reference for different writing styles and to have an idea of how fast certain types of stories should flow.
7. Revision, revision, revision.
Always revise. It is good to reread what you have written on a regular basis. It gives you the opportunity to add fluff, change names or remove certain things. Bring friends in on the revision; a new set of eyes is always good to have when writing a book.
8. Do not base characters off of people.
As fun as it might seem to base your characters off of your best friend or people you know, it is a bad idea. This gives them a window to change your story to something it is not. Not all friends or people would try that, but there are some who would want specific things about their character, and to change it would change the plot. Plus, you wouldn't want to offend anyone by writing them incorrectly.
9. Write excerpts whenever you get the chance.
Whenever the opportunity presents itself, sit down and start writing excerpts for your book. There are several things that are good about them such as, exposure, anti-writer's block and it gives you something to do while you are away from a computer.
10. Multiple copies.
Your book is your baby, but unlike a baby it is hard to bring everywhere with you. Save your story to everything thing you have access to -- Google Drive, Word, Google Docs, flash-drives and even download it on your phone. Having multiple copies is always a good idea, so you don't have to worry about losing your story.
11. You will Google the strangest things.
As I said before, you will spend a lot of time on Google; more than likely looking how certain jobs are done, diseases and there cures or even how and where to bury a body without getting caught. Being a writer means you have to have accuracy for things you write about and Google will become your best friend in finding what you need.
Now you know all you need to about being an author; all the strange, weird things you'll have to Google to get the accuracy in your book.
