Writing for business, writing for and about happiness.

Whether you hate it or love it, please let me know. Either rate this lens at the top or contact me directly. Please, if you really hate it, go easy. But if there is something you'd like to know more about - anything at all - please let me know and I'll do my best to cover it in the next update. And if you rated me -- Thank You!!!!

So you want to write a book? Congratulations.But before you begin know one thing: if you're writing to become famous or make a lot of money - don't. You might make it. Hopefully you believe you will - if you don't no one else will. But if that's your sole reason for writing, you're bound to become frustrated and depressed. No, if you write, write for the process. Write because there's nothing like getting lost in your own words, your own little world for a little while everyday.
Which reminds me of another tip. Write everyday. Or at least six days a week. It doesn't matter if you only get 15 minutes to write and you only get 100 words down. At least you wrote. It keeps your voice strong and steady and it keeps your mind sharp. If you write and then take five days off and then write and then take another three days off, your writing is going to sound forced.
Another tip is to read a lot. Find authors you like and imitate their writing. Obviously, you shouldn't try to clone any one author's style but your style should (and will if you read a lot) be formed from a collection of authors you admire. If you don't like to read or if you don't have time to read, your chances of making it as a writer are slim to none. (That being said - if you hate to read but love to write - screw it - you're only writing for the process anyway, right?)
Once you've written your draft - congratulations! But you aren't finished. I used to think I was finished and then run out and give a draft to a few people and they would find all kinds of errors and threads that were a little thin and all kinds of bad stuff. I had no pride back then. I was a slob with my writing. Now, I view all my works (books and short stories) as my children and I would never let my kids out into public all dirty, wearing torn, smelly clothes. Therefore, I make sure I present the best draft possible to the first people that see it. To do this, after I finish the first draft, I put it away for eight weeks. Then I dig it back out and read it through. I correct spelling, grammar, etc. I also look for holes in the plot and character flaws that shouldn't exist and everything else. I then rewrite where I need to, adding and cutting where appropriate. Some authors choose to practically rewrite their entire book but I can't do that. My first draft is my baby,remember? And the finished product is my grown child. Sure, I care if people like it or not but the most important thing is helping it reach its full potential.