Deal - Write It Right: Tips for Authors: The Big Book Paperback

Write it Right - Tips for Authors

The Big Book

Mary Deal

Write It Rig ht - Tips for Authors

The Big Book

Copyright 2013 by Mary Deal

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and the above publisher of this book. All contributed prose is copyrighted by the authors.

All statements and articles appearing here are the work solely of the author. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced herein, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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Table of Contents

15 Articles, 1 Poem, 1 Story

4 Articles

2 Articles

13 Articles

12 Articles, 1 First Chapter

9 Articles

7 Articles

6 Articles

8 Articles

5 Articles

5 Articles, 1 Story

16 Articles

7 Articles, 1 Story

6 Articles, 1 Eulogy

3 Articles, 1 Story

4 Articles

1 Article

11 Articles

13 Articles

10 Articles

4 Articles

5 Articles

4 Articles

6 Authors

A list of articles and stories by title

Mary Deal

About this Book:

Each of these articles was written for various publications and newspaper publication. This reference book is also available in paperback at amazon.com. If you wish to republish any of these articles, please contact the author through the Contact Me page on her website at writeanygenre.com .

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

What is needed is, in the end, simply this: solitude, great inner solitude. Going into yourself and meeting no one for hours on end--that is what you must be able to attain.

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

The First Time Writer

Some people seem unable to get a first story started no matter how many exciting plots they have rattling around in the attic. The advice given in some articles is meant to motivate would-be authors to begin. That same advice is sought by those already established in their careers and wishing to improve their talents.

You will...

~ have a story when you begin and then finish writing it.

~ develop your voice after you begin to write.

~ thoroughly understand character development when you realize how much fun it is to create story people.

~ learn all aspects of building a story. It happens naturally as you recognize your need to know more about composition.

~ learn to edit your work to perfection and will realize that the editing process begins from the moment you start to formulate sentences, paragraphs and then chapters.

~ discover ways to polish your prose and make it uniquely yours.

~ learn how to promote yourself even if thinking yourself a wallflower.

However, none of this can happen unless you reach the point of starting that first story. I would love to hear success stories from anyone who was helped by the advice in this book. I would wish everyone luck, but its not a matter of luck. Its a matter of letting go of all the reasons for not writing and then getting started. Its as simple as that.

Basic Reference Library

Serious writers have books and publications to which they refer. In my own reference library, I have had nearly 200 books but whittled it down to about thirty. Some books I purchased new; others I unashamedly scoured amazon.com, garage sales, flea markets, CraigsList , eBay and other sources to find what I wanted at a reasonable price.

Some reference books are now in eBook format. You can also find many printed on the Net and simply bookmark them for later reference.

The following is a brief list of only a few of my books and ones I would recommend every write have in addition to their personal favorites:

Dictionary an updated, thick, thorough one

Thesaurus the biggest and best you can find

Chicago Manual of Style University of Chicago Press These are the rules that govern not only the writing industry but all of grammar usage, and some rules change from time to time.

Tabers Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary These are updated periodically. When writing about medicine or health, youll need to keep your medical and anatomical facts correct.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers-How to Edit Yourself into Print by Dave King and Renni Browne, Harper-Collins

Elements of Style by William Strunk, Macmillian

Elements of Grammar by Margaret Shertzer, Macmillian

Also handy to have are character naming sourcebooks. You can find names by searching on the Net by country, nationality, or culture. In my thriller, The Howling Cliffs , it was imperative that I had the names of the Vietnamese Hmong characters spelled correctly and named for the parts they played in the story.

Character Naming Sourcebook Sherrilyn Kenyon, writersdigestshop.com. This thick volume separates names by nationality and culture and also gives their meanings.

Multicultural Baby Names MJ Abadie, Longmeadow. Although I have this book, you can also do a Net search for new baby and childrens names to keep up with whats popular as trends change and depending on the time period of your story.

50001 Best Baby Names by Diane Stafford, Sourcebooks, Inc.

Mystery and crime writers should have some police procedural books handy, or pay attention to the jargon and colloquialisms you hear officers using on TV shows. Here are two good ones that are updated periodically.

Police Procedural Russell Bintliff, Writers Digest Books

Cop Speak: The Lingo of Law Enforcement and Crime Tom Philbin, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

When you include foreign characters, their language, accents and brogue should also be accurate. Books are available quoting language nuances from different countries. Two such:

NTCs Dictionary of British Slang and Colloquialisms Ewart James, NTC Publishing Group

SLANG: The Authoritative Topic-by-Topic Dictionary of American Lingoes from All Walks of Life Paul Dickson, Pocket Books

When youre ready to publish, you should have some reference books that can both help you publish your work and manage publicity.

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing Tom and Marilyn Ross, Writers Digest Books

1001 Ways to Market Your Books John Kremer, Open Horizons Meet this helpful expert on TheBookMarketingNetwork.com.

This list is meant to help you build a usable library. I highly recommend the first five no matter what else you add to your collection or decide to pass over. Remember, too, to keep your information updated, no matter the source.

Nonfiction writers have certain books and instructions they follow. Too, screenplays, have a whole list of aids for that genre, but well limit this article as written, for now.