Archives:

Tip#1: Begin at the beginning

Tip #2: See the whole

Tip #3: Learn to walk before you run

Read everything you can get your hands on. Read in the dentist's office, in the bathroom, in bed. Read every chance you get. And not just the stuff you like to write. Read outside your genre. Read non-fiction. Poetry. Essays. Know what's being done in the field.

Then . . . you will begin to develop a "reader's eye."

What's the reader's eye? It's a mystifying part of the creative writing process that you can develop—like a pitcher's arm or a golfer's swing— that works best when it's reflexive and unconscious.

Specifically, I'm talking about reading what you're writing as you write it. Almost as though you split your brain into two parts. The "reader" follows along with the writer as the first draft is being composed, and serves as a sort of cerebral cheerleader. When the story is flowing, the "reader" knows it.

In other words, always try to write for yourself first. Write what pleases you as a reader. Your work will improve tenfold.

Bottom line, the reader in your brain will keep the writer in your brain fresh and honest.