Writing Tips—A Writer’s Dozen—Archive

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From Beginning to End:

12 steps to completing your book

By Lorraine—First Posted October 2007

1. Premise

What do you want to write about?  What intrigues you?  What is the “Big Idea” you’re thinking about?  In simple terms: write 5 sentences answering the 5 W’s (who, what, when, where and why).

2. Characters

Characters make a story memorable, so who are your readers going to care about / remember / root for?  Spend some time getting to know your characters inside and out; even though most of this information won’t end up in the book itself… it will still help you to understand the character.  Think about personality, their desires, their fears, their happiest moments, their saddest moments, the ups and downs in their childhood, what they have in their glove compartment, their pet phrase, their vocabulary, etc…

3. What drives them apart?  (Conflict/Motivation)

In a romance, although you know the hero and heroine are meant to be together, there is something in the way.  Part of the romantic story is getting past that obstacle.  It is best when the conflict / motivation are at the core of the characters themselves.  For example, the hero deeply desires one outcome, that if it comes true, the heroine’s desired outcome can’t happen.  Think: developer vs. preservationist, investigative reporter vs. secret holder, etc.

4. What keeps them together?

But then you have to ask yourself… if their goals and desires are so different, how do they get past them?  They need to have time to get to know one another and it has to be more than just random meetings.  Think: snow bound cabin, secret baby, etc.  The characters have to interact with one another to build a relationship.

5. Plot

So now you have all those pieces and it is time to tie them together into a story.  What happens?  Again, these events would be tied to the things you discovered in steps 2, 3 and 4.

6. Theme

You’ve spent some time thinking about your story now and perhaps it is time to revisit the “big idea.”  Pull out your premise.  Compare it to where you are now.  Can you see a theme?  What is it?  If you can identify it, it will help you strengthen your writing as you move through the final steps.

7. Synopsis

Synopsis… Outline… Plan… Call it what you will, but this tool will help you get from the first to the last page of your manuscript without too many tangents along the way.  There will of course be things you discover about your characters / conflict / plot / theme as you write, but you need to have some idea where you’re going with your story.  When your synopsis is complete, step back from everything again.  Revisit your premise.  It may need to be tweaked.

8. Feedback

Now, this next step is going to feel premature… but get some feedback on your synopsis.  Find an honest, trustworthy, caring writer to help you with this.  Tell them about your story or get them to read your synopsis.  They may see weak or inconsistent points in your story, and it is better to find out now before you write the whole manuscript.  Think about their comments before you use them, don’t blindly accept everything they say.

9. Write it

10. Revise

Revise, revise, revise.  Strengthen your characters, conflict, theme, dialogue.  Clean up your grammar and punctuation.  Cut scenes that aren’t adding new and fresh information to your story.  Read your work aloud.  Revise, revise, revise.

11. The Final Push

Find another honest, trustworthy, caring writer to review your work: someone with an eye for style, grammar, and punctuation would be ideal. While they are reviewing your work, work on your selling synopsis (which is different from the synopsis you put together in step 7) and your cover letter.  Give yourself a couple of weeks at least to step away from the manuscript itself before going back to it.  Go through everything one last time. 

12. Submit

Confirm the editor / agent’s information.  Review their submission guidelines.  Dot your I’s and cross your T’s, then take the plunge and send that baby out!