PART ONE: JUMP-STARTING

Whether you're struggling to write your debut novel or experiencing a writer's block, you are not a writer if you don't write, so let's try to fix this today. It's going to be a lot easier than you think. You just need someplace to work, a pencil and paper (or computer) and an hour or so a day to get started...

As you're already aware by now, writing is a craft, a discipline, and you've probably also heard that you should undertake to do it everyday. I'm not going to contradict this because it is essentially true—the more you write, the better you become at it. But, for some writers, even the most prolific ones, writing on a daily basis can prove to be a daunting task. And, since writing is such a solitary activity, there's no one else on earth that can make us do it. Here are a few useful tools and some simple tricks that I rely on to keep myself focused and motivated everyday:

1. ENVIRONMENT IS A FACTOR. The phone's ringing, the TV's blasting, the dog's yapping and your partner's grumbling about dinner—YOU'RE RIGHT, it's absolutely impossible to focus on your novel with all this stuff going on in the background, so, first things first, you need to find yourself a decent size hole to work in, preferably with a door on it, and get in there once a day. ALONE.

I deliberately write (and write deliberately) in a very small room. My modest study is only about 8' x 9' square and, aside from one stalwart black cat and a stoical houseplant, a desk, a chair, a computer, four walls and some reference books, there's nothing else in this tiny universe but me and my manuscript. This is, of course, the ideal setup for a novelist, a quiet room with a door one can close and even sometimes lock when necessary, but, if you don't have access to such a luxury, then just pick a peaceful setting, such as your public library, and choose a peaceful hour to regularly and ritually work there. PEACE is an operative word in all this, because you need to CONCENTRATE to write well. And to hear what you and your characters are thinking.

2. AVOID WINDOWS. Windows are for watching out of, for daydreaming in, or even, on special occasions, for jumping from, but you know you can't write a novel if you're staring out the window, watching traffic or about to take a flying leap, so just pull the curtains on those babies if you have to. Or, even better, sit with your back to them. By the way, if you consistently find that what's going on outside is more interesting than what's going on inside, it's a sure indication that it's time for another REWRITE.

3. LOOK FOR SOME GOOD SIGNS. I've got these four posted in my study. Yes, right over the window. There are a few other signs in there, too, of course, and I'll get to them below, but here are the ones you need to begin with, what I would consider to be the essentials:

• Describe, describe, describe...

• Advance the [goddarn] plot!

• Edit, edit, edit.

• Wrap it up!

Type these out, click the 'print' button, and post them today. Or just make flashcards of them for whenever you're writing away from home.

4. CHALKING IT UP. (Now for the really fun part. You'll need a box of chalk for this...and, quite possibly, an inner child.) I don't know about you but, on those days when I can actually locate my notebooks, I usually can't decipher very much in them, either because I don't have my reading lenses handy, or simply due to the fact that my handwriting is so sloppy. I've tried to compensate for these shortcomings by relying more heavily on my mental notes, but sometimes that's just not enough to go on. Thank god, then, for four virtually blank walls and some chalk! Actually, you can chalk-up your notes just about anywhere. I also use my desktop and the doors. I make sure to keep plenty of the stuff around the house, too, so now, as long as I don't misplace my study (hah) I can always find my notes and diagrams when I need them. Moreover, everything's in super large print and, when I'm finished, it's all perfectly washable.

(Go get yourself some chalk today. A wall is as good a place as any to start writing your novel.)

5. NOW THAT THE WRITING'S ON THE WALL. With the other half of my brain, I'm a visual artist, and, as a matter of fact, I even used to instruct drawing in a one-on-one course I designed called Advanced Drawing For Beginners. One day, while teaching, a student of mine who was making particular good progress asked me out of the blue, "What is art?" That caught me off-guard a bit and I hesitated before answering. What is art, I repeated to myself. Wow, what a question.

What is it that makes a sketch more than just a nice picture or a good illustration? What makes it rise above that, to the level of a work of art? After some consideration, I finally told my student that ART is, in essence, the profoundly unique and masterful expression of a human-being commenting somehow upon the human condition, a work that manages to transcend what it's made of. "Ah," she replied thoughtfully, and went back to her drawing. The following week she asked me, "But how do we create art then? Where does art actually come from?"

Where, indeed? It took me much longer to answer that one:

The brain has a tendency to fixate on those things that stimulate it and it's very stimulated by conondrums. That's why we seem so obsessed with our problems sometimes, because our brains are fastidiously attempting to solve them for us. This fixation is only natural. It's precisely what the brain was made to do, to problem-solve, doing so with all the information it's been fed, so that it can arrive at some reasonable conclusion and, whenever possible, actively CREATE a solution for us. Thus, because our experiences and our knowledge vary so widely from person to person, you and I might be faced with the exact same problem, but the way that our brains approach it and the ultimate solutions to it will be, necessarily, uniquely different.

When we regularly set our minds to the creation of a work of art, be it a drawing, a piece of music or a novel, we pose ourselves with a truly fascinating problem that our brains cannot resist tackling, that they are, in effect, utterly and artfully compelled to solve for us. And the beauty of it all is that, they will continue to work toward their profoundly unique resolutions even as we sleep.

So, all we are really required to do in this formula is to be present in the creative process and to faithfully devote ourselves and our minds to it, because:

DEDICATION = DISCIPLINE = MASTERY = ART.

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PART TWO: KEEPING YOURSELF ON TRACK AND WRITING WELL

You've found a peaceful place to work, you're in it, you've got your chalk nearby, and your hands are hovering over the keyboard, or they're gripping a brand-new, number two pencil. Excellent. START WRITING. This section contains tips, tools and secrets that will help to guide you along the way. Think of these as THE GOLDEN RULES, if you will. You can bend them a little, of course, but not too much, lest you break them. (And please make sure to scroll down to Part Three once you're done here. You'll find a quick and easy Troubleshooting guide in that section.)

1. TRUST YOURSELF: Okay, you still have some trepidation because you've tried to do other things before and you discovered you weren't any good at them.

But this is totally different. The only way you can fail here is if you won't write. Besides, writing isn't about trying to do something, writing is about writing, and, if you can hold a conversation with someone, describe the dream you had last night, share a childhood memory, or discuss what happened to you at work today, then, believe me, YOU CAN WRITE.

2. APPLES ARE NOT ORANGES: Sitting at your desk and contemplating your navel is a good thing. Sitting at your desk and comtemplating your neighbor's navel, or—to get straight to the point—comparing the quality of your writing to that of a contemporary's, is a bad thing. Don't ever do this again. Remember, it's not about their story. It's all about YOURS.

That being said, however, it is not forbidden to refer to the masters from time to time and, indeed, it is a very good habit and advisable. Feel free, then, to peruse your favorites whenever you need to get your bearings again and to see how they have resolved their own writing challenges.You'll be scanning those classics for prime examples of action, description, dialogue and love scenes. Don't be embarrassed to have to do this. These are usually the areas that tend to tongue-tie a new novelist. (Important: study the masters' techniques, of course, but never, ever imitate them.)

3. CRITIQUE BUT DON'T CRITICIZE: All artistic endeavors are achievements unto themselves and, while it's important to be able to recognize what is inferior in a piece of work, either yours or a colleague's, it's best not to singularly dwell on it. Bear in mind that, if you criticize all the time, you'll only become a critic, but, if you critique all the time, you can become a GREAT artist.

4. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT DISTRACTS YOU: What distracts you is what you find interesting. It could be that woman's legs over there or a seemingly banal conversation you just overheard in the diner. Odds are, if you find your curiosity piqued by these things, you'll find a way to convey them to us so that ours will be, too. Moreover, it's these ordinary snapshots of life that provide a realness to your plot and, as a result, an extraordinary quality and VITALITY to your prose.

5. BIG WORDS, FOREIGN PHRASES AND SLANG: Don't, unless it's in the dialogue. (Or, since we are only human and can't resist showing off sometimes, at least keep these things to a minimum.)

6. THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: WHERE IS EVERYBODY? What have they done? What are they doing? What do they want to do? What are they destined to do? Just answer these five questions constantly as you're writing, and you've got the whole story! It's that simple. (By the way, this is another good sign. Print this up, too, and post it.)

7. STICK TO YOUR STORY: Romance, murder mystery, spy thriller—you know the story. JUST TELL IT. If you senselessly dawdle while spinning your tale, if you deviate from it or switch genres on us, if you wander off on tangents and then lamely circle back...we will have no choice but to put your book down. And probably never pick it up again.

8. ADVANCE THE [GODDARN] PLOT: This means that every sentence, every paragraph, every chapter you write has to, in some logical fashion, move the story forward to its inevitable conclusion.

9. DESCRIBE, DESCRIBE, DESCRIBE, DESCRIBE: Always resort to description whenever possible, and do so with variety, yet never lose sight of the fact that life is a full sensory experience. We do not merely watch or listen to it like spectators. We touch life, smell it, and taste it, too. Be sure, then, that observations of these nature are peppered throughout your work as well. On a cautionary note, however, please remember when writing your descriptive passages that there are some things in life that just are what they are and simply aren't like anything else in the world:

Therefore, I say unto thee,

be mindful of your metaphors,

and sparing with your simile.

10. PACE YOURSELF: Think now of a great symphony. It moves fast at times and then it slows again. It's loud in parts and in others, soft and low. But still, the piece itself is completly cohesive to us, seamless. We say that it FLOWS. There's no volume switch or a fast-forward button accomplishing this, no special effects at all. It's simply the way it was COMPOSED. In a novel we call this seamless, flowing quality "pace" and, like the composer of a symphony, you, the writer, control it, composing, not with musical notes, but with each and every word that you choose, with well-crafted sentences.

As to the right words and sentences: Whether written down or spoken to us, there is an almost imperceptible rhythm in perfect prose, and a sense that each line of it contains everything it should, ends where it must, and leads where it has to. Such writing is effortless because THE PARTS ARE EQUAL TO THE WHOLE.

So always stop when you complete a chapter and then read and reread it before proceeding to the next. If you find that it feels choppy and it's moving too fast or too slow in places, ask yourself these questions:

a. Are there enough syllables in my sentence constructions? 

b. If so, am I punctuating those sentences sufficiently?

c. Is there more in this section I can tell the reader?

d. Am I telling too much here and/or being redundant?

e. Have I always chosen the best word/s for the job? 

11. TALK NATURALLY: Regarding voice, always use your own when writing. This is the one that supersedes everyone else's in your novel, even the narrator's. Hint: It's basically the same one we hear when you're telling us stories around the campfire or entertaining us with your jokes.

12. GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO SPEAK: Don't let your characters just stand around with their hands in their pockets. We can't see them that way. Put them to work for you. Dialogue is a nifty device for telling a story and for advancing the plot when it's gotten thick and tricky on us.

13. WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW. RESEARCH THE REST: And INVENT everything else in between.

14. BEGINNING TO END: It's often much easier to finish a story then it is to start it. That's chiefly because we're in the swing of things by the time we arrive at our conclusions and, generally speaking, it's more obvious to see how to end something than it is to begin it. With that in mind then, don't be dismayed or discouraged if, upon your first read-through of your completed manuscript, you discover the opening sentence, page, or chapter to be glaringly substandard. It usually is, so just rewrite it.

Approved methods: Beginnings suck us in. Endings drop us off. (I will admit to having thrown books which were masterfully written, but whose authors neglected to include one or the other of the above, or both. I'm sure you have, too.)

15. WRITING WON'T HURT YOU: It never hurts to write; it only hurts not to write. (Yeah, print it.)

PART THREE: TROUBLESHOOTING YOU AND YOUR MANUSCRIPT

1. "I've been sitting in this dark hole for hours, but I just can't write today." Then edit, edit, edit! Start by doing a search for common typos that spellcheck doesn't find (*for instance, where you might have used the word "your" when you actually meant "you're"). This is a necessary task that usually gets the juices flowing again, and, if you perform it routinely, your future editor will love you for it.

*OTHER WORDS: Double check your manuscript for their, there and they're as well as to, two and too. Words like these are so frequently used (and misused) that searching for them will force you to examine your work thoroughly enough to reveal the other more elusive mistakes you might have made in it.

2. "Editing is boring." If rereading your work fails to excite you then it definitely needs a rewrite! Remember, if the story's boring to you, it'll be boring to us, too. By the way, be sure to read your manuscript out loud as well as in your head. Some writing flaws can only be heard and not seen.

(FYI: I revised this particular hub article well over a hundred times before I finally published it.)

3. "Everything was going fine and then I hit a brickwall." Your brain is processing something you've just written that's not making sense to it. Check the last paragraph or the entire last page or chapter and, if this doesn't work right away, then take a short break and let your brain sort it all out. It will.

4. "If I write this next passage, no one will ever speak to me again." First of all, congratulations! Second, be willing to accept that a novel, whatever the subject matter, is, by its very nature, a kiss-and-tell-all. As such, writing one is a fabulous opportunity to alienate all the people in your life, and you should be aware that, whether or not the flesh-eating antagonist in your tale is your mother-in-law or someone else you know, they will see themselves in that character anyway, so there's no use trying to spare their feelings now. In short, my friend, a novelist takes no prisoners. Write it. (You can always change your name if you have to.)

5. "If I write this next passage, I'm going to feel totally naked." You will, eh? Congratulations again! (Write it, please.)

6. "There's so much going on in my story now that I'm getting confused." Wonderful. You need to start charting your novel then. Use your chalk and your walls. If your novel is plot-driven, then do a timeline, including your proposed ending. If it's character-driven, then list all your characters, both major and minor, and describe their links to each other and their ambitions. They'll wrestle with you to finish the story, so don't worry about the end just yet.

7. "I dunno. Shouldn't I brush-up on my grammar and punctuation first?" Couldn't hurt—I recommend Strunk and White's handbook, The Elements of Style, as a terrific and engaging resource for this. Keep it close by WHILE YOU WRITE. And don't forget, whether your finished novel is published or you decide to take it to press yourself, you're going to have at least one professional editor look it over anyway and, ultimately, it is that editor's duty to make certain you look smart. So don't let a little thing like grammar and punctuation be the big excuse that stops you from writing

QUOTE: "If it sounds good, it is good."

You've probably heard that famous line before. Duke Ellington offered it as an explanation for how he created some of the world's most popular jazz songs even though he could scarcely read or write sheet music. Writing a novel isn't really that much different. In fact, it may be easier than making music since the bulk of writing consists mostly of commonplace terms, usage and phraseology. If, however, you have any doubts about how something is said, or find that you're stumbling over your words a lot, then I suggest you start listening closely to how good communicators express themselves (sample programs from NPR, though, as opposed to the rancorous mainstream talk-radio or television shows). If you do this on a regular basis, it will fine tune your "ear" and train it to hear how words are correctly put together so that they always sound right, both in speech and on paper. After that, don't worry too much. Good grammar, punctuation and ART will likely follow.

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WRAPPING IT UP: In closing, I just want to add that it has been an absolute pleasure compiling these tips and sharing them with you. I realize, of course, that there's a lot here to digest in one sitting, but I'm certain that, even if you only use a portion of this information at a time, it will still help you to work, and to do good work while you're at it.

If reading this article does motivate you to write now—and I'm hoping it will—then be sure to immediately set yourself an attainable minimum goal. Of course you can write a thousand words a day or better, but don't psyche yourself out. Aim for five-hundred words, instead, and a sense of satisfaction will be yours when you actually get there.

And, when you do reach your ultimate goal and you feel that you still need more guidance or you simply want some feedback, then feel free to contact me. Over the next few months I'll be taking a brief respite from my own writing projects (currently three novellas) in order to assist authors like you in finishing their novels and writing their very best. To learn more about this, just send me an e-mail at francinesaintmarie@yahoo.com. I'll send you a reply, usually within 24 hours, setting forth my criteria for reading and critiquing up to the first 8000 words of your manuscript.

In the interim, I hope you'll liberally consult these writing tips whenever you feel snagged or in a creative rut. And do look here again for more articles with tips on writing, in the months to come.

My very best regards to you—

Francine Saint Marie

PS. WRITE NOW!

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