Phillip Williams - Author
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As the title suggests, I took my first step this week towards becoming a published author.
The interweb is an incredible resource for budding writers. Yes, there's a lot of crap out there that you definitely shouldn't take any notice of. However, if you're gleaning your information from a reputable source (like, perhaps another author), then you can be a little more re-assured that things are taking a step in the right direction. So, I did just that. I took to the oracle that is YouTube and came across a self-help video from author Scott Sigler. These are the steps that he recommended: 1. Write your first novel (sounds simple enough). Don't worry about a good storyline, non-two-dimensional characters, plot holes and bad grammar. Just get to the end of it. This gives you power in knowing that you can write a full novel (much like this first blog). 2. Put your finished first novel away and don't look at it for six months. That way, when you come back to it, you can read it as though you were reading it for the first time. Then you can learn from your mistakes, 3. While your first novel is 'in the oven' , plan out book number two. This is your actual novel that you will want to try to get published. Develop the characters, develop the storyline and iron out potential plot holes. 4. Six months are up, so take out book number one and read it front-to-back. Make notes, evaluate your own work and learn from things you would like to change and incorporate these in book number two. 5. Write your novel. I know that this writing thing isn't just going to happen over night. It's going to take will and determination. Months and months will pass before there is something fit for human consumption written down. I'm in it for the long haul... I hope you'll join me! Any tips and pointers are welcome also. Until next time! Thank you for reading. reference: Scott Sigler - How to Write your First Novel - YouTube - https://youtu.be/3UW4Y3svkA
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Okay, the plan is in place... so what's the best thing to consider next?
Do I focus on characters; what they look like and their ideals? How about setting... where do they live? What do they do for work? Nope... as the title would suggest, I need to figure out a genre. Work from the outside, in. So what do I do? There are so many genres to choose from. Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Crime, Fantasy, Horror. Well, thankfully I've already given that a great deal of thought. As established in my first blog, my plan is to first simply write and finish a novel. Nothing too complex, nothing that's going to take years perfecting before submitting it into the public domain. I can do all of the clever referencing and focus on accuracy in book two. It would seem like the best path would be to draw on feelings... nothing that requires extensive research. Fantasy is a good idea because it mainly stems from imagination. That's out of the window, though because at present, I don't really have time to construct a new world with communities and clans and such. Romance is also a no-go for me. This is just my personal preference at the moment... never say never, though... just don't let my mother read it! Sci-Fi isn't really my forté either... I was never a fan of Star Trek or Star Wars as a kid. So how about crime fiction? I read a tonne of crime fiction and I'm quite partial to the works of Simon Kernick, Jeffrey Deaver and Sean Black and I actually have a BNC in Forensic Science, so I could quite easily harp on about Luminol, fingerprint analysis, gas chromatography and walking the grid (as Jeffrey Deaver would put it). This is probably a genre I'll return to but my first book needs to be simplistic so for me... it just has to be horror. I remember reading Chasm by Stephen Laws when I was about 14 years old. I'm one of these people who likes to listen to music while I read because I find it really immerses me in the world that the author wants me to sit within. So, I read the whole book whilst listening to the Believe album by Disturbed. I can honestly say that was the most immersive experience I've had with reading (other than, dare I say, the Harry Potter series). Horror has it's challenges, mind you. Do you write in the first person as a person committing the unthinkable? How do you get into that head-space and make it believable? Do you write in great detail, or just stick to the implications and let the reader's mind do the rest? I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. In all fairness, there's a good chance nobody will get to read this practice novel... so I'm not going to worry too much. I'm just going to have some fun with it. Oh, and spoiler alert... there's going to be some supernatural stuff in there, too! This 'working from the outside, in' thing seems like the right way to go. Genre... tick! Next up... rough story line! What do you think? Have I made the right choice? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Until next time! Ok, so in my last blog I talked about a step by step program which should help me on my way to becoming a published author.
Admittedly, I missed a step when I was noting them down. This was on a completely sub-conscious level but when returning to the topic, it made sense to leave it off the original post. That step was to write every day. Have I been? No, no I have not. However, I have been making changes in my life to accommodate this. I've put time aside in the evenings and at weekends to plan out these blogs, I've made the decision to take the train to work instead of driving to give myself an extra eight-or-so hours per week to write and (equally as imporantly)...read! It's been over nine months since I've sat down and read a book. Sure, I can spout all of the "It's been hectic at work", "I just don't find the time" and a multitude of other poor excuses until the cows come home but the truth is... I've been lazy. Changing your life to accommodate things you want to do is smart! I could be binge-watching 13 Reasons Why on Netflix right now instead of writing this blog. But I'm not! Not just because I've already finished it, either! It's a choice! Now, before I get side-tracked... I do have a point; that for an author, reading is just as important as writing. You can learn different techniques from seasoned authors and find out the writing styles you prefer. Do you want to write in the first person or the third person? Which tense are you going to write in? Which genre interests you the most? Personally, I started reading a book the other day that was written in the third person... but in the present tense. It weirded me out! Thus, I have learned that I don't want to use that for my own work. Yes, I may have spent £7.99 on a book that I'll now never read but it was a good lesson learned. So... although I've not been writing every day I am making some progress and on the next blog... I'm going to be discussing genres. Things are going to start getting technical! Hope you stick with me! Please drop a comment if you've got anything you want to add! |
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Hi, I'm Phil Williams. Welcome to my blog.
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