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Bull s*^t! I’m no expert nor are most of the so-called experts out there. The few I consider experts are the ones who wrote the books we all love and the ones who marketed them well enough, we found them. These are the experts worth listening to. And even then, you have to take what they say with a grain of salt. What worked for them doesn’t mean it will work for you. Writing like Hemingway won’t make you Hemingway.

However, I have made this point again and again and still budding authors ask us for a game plan. A step by step to craft a novel. Most of them dream of becoming the next J.K. Rowling or George R. R. Martin and I don’t blame them. Who wouldn’t? 

Yvonne and I talked this over time and again. I didn’t want to do this. However, the requests continued. Yvonne decided we would do it. Do it in our own way. Which I am surprised doesn’t pass muster for the rest of the writing community. Which is good. Means we are being authentic. 

This is the link on our website where we post our Writing Tips. https://www.pyrateheartpress.com/writing-tips36d7ed5e. This will lead you to the blogposts we have written on writing and ask for your email so we can send you a copy of our list of writing tips.

Yes, tips. We want you to be authentic too. Take what we say with a grain of salt too. Use it to find your own way. Take what we show you and improve on it. Make the process yours and yours alone.

When you research the way some of the world’s best authors did their process you will laugh. One didn’t start until after lunch and only wrote standing up. Others isolate themselves and don’t come out until they are done. The list goes on and on.

Miranda Cummings, the author of Penelope’s Melody and co-author of The After Effects of a Good Time only writes her erotica wearing lingerie. Puts her in the mood she tells me. She also writes in what we call free form. She doesn’t outline anything, nor does she create character sheets to develop her characters. Says it stifles her creativity.

This is the complete opposite of Lillian St. Chyr, the author of Fem’s Final Fix and The Librarian’s Tale. Lilly charts out everything. She crafts her characters first. Lillie likes to know her characters before she decides what she wants to do with them. She makes lists. Their physical appearance, their personality, their flaws, etc. Once she has this done, Lilly will outline the plot point by point. Look for holes before she has even written a single word.

My other authors have their own method, their own process. These two are the extremes. Most fall between the two somewhere. When we developed the writing tips, we decided to craft them towards the first timers. The ones who are looking for guidance because they don’t have a clue.

Here is a sample from the Tips:

1. The Brain Dump. This is a big one. It’s important here to not worry about structure, such as chapters, definitions, or even grammar. The idea is to document everything pertaining to your idea. Just get it out. If you are a hand writer, get a notebook and start writing things down. If you are a laptop or desktop writer, create a file and just get it in there. If you are writing a fictional story don’t think about plots, story timeframes, characters, story locations or specifications, etc. – just write. The purpose here is to get everything documented. Take your time and be thorough.

This is good advice for first timers. Get what you want out of your head. Don’t think about anything. Just write. If you find yourself writing an outline or plot line instead of the book, then keep going. Let it flow. If you find yourself writing nonstop until you have a hundred thousand words, then so be it. If you can only write about the characters, then do it. Let your mind go and your fingers write. Believe me, it will all come together. When you write don’t worry about anything else. Just write. 

I’m Ross, The Editor-in-Chief at The Pyrateheart Press and I’m out.