Writing Archives - Page 2 of 5 - MUSE • Leslie Keenan

Writing Your Book: Just Begin

Has everyone always said to you, “You should write that down,” or “That could be a book”? You know you have specific expertise, and perhaps extraordinary experience, in your field…well, why don’t you write it down? There’s no time like the present. Many successful books started just this way (think, Tuesdays with Morrie). Don’t worry if you’re not a writer. You don’t have to be. You just have to have a good story to tell or a special insight to share. All the rest–structure, grammar, punctuation, decisions about publication–you can…read more

What’s Going On With Amazon?

A lot of my clients and friends are wondering what my opinion is, of Amazon in its “war” with the publisher Hachette. The bare facts are these: We officially know nothing about the negotiations between the two, but most industry insiders are guessing that the issue is over terms for ebooks, and that Amazon wants to keep more of the money than Hachette wants. (For further details, here’s the link to the New York Times piece on it.) On its face I have no problem with this. Amazon is a…read more

Why you might subconsciously sabotage your writing – and what to do about it.

I have found in working with writers over many, many years, that underneath perfectionism and procrastination over why their manuscripts were never finished, is a deep subconscious fear. It is the fear of being rejected by other writers, or a circle of friends, who aren’t succeeding. This might sound laughable at first, but there’s a deep reason for it. It turns out that in order to survive as a species, humans have had to rely on the larger group. We literally have it bred into our bones to fit in…read more

How do you know when you are done?

After the excitement of finishing your first draft, and the tedium of making all the fixes and changes you knew you had to do, how do you know when you are really done and the manuscript is ready to send out, or that you need to polish it some more? The answer to this is tricky. On the one hand, you definitely don’t want to send your baby off to be read by agents before it’s done. You want to give it every opportunity to succeed. On the other hand,…read more

How to Select a Good Reader for Your Manuscript

•Pick someone you trust, but not necessarily someone you know well. Sometimes a comparative stranger can be more helpful than a close friend. •Pick someone who regularly reads the kind of book you’ve written (i.e., memoir, chick lit, mystery, history, etc.) •Pick someone who actively engages their own creativity. It doesn’t have to be a fellow writer, it could be a musician or even a scientist, but if they use their own creativity, they are less likely to feel jealous of your ability to manifest a complete piece of creative…read more

The Order to Follow in Editing Your First Draft

To ensure that you don’t waste time or duplicate work, take the advice of a seasoned editor and use a hierarchical system for making changes. First come big, structural changes. These need to be in place first. I’m referring to chapter order, or large chunks of writing within chapters. Then move on from there to the level of paragraph. This has more to do with the way information is flowing on the page. Only after you have dealt with the paragraphs can you come down to the level of…read more

How To Do Transitions

Many writers I know obsess about transitions from one section or scene to another. It comes up particularly when you are in the editing stage and are moving big chunks of manuscript from one place to another. Everyone (including me) always thinks it will be hugely complicated and difficult, but I have found that it is usually simple. In fact, there often doesn’t need to be a transition at all. That’s why I recommend marking where you think you need them, but then waiting until you read through the manuscript…read more

How To Approach the Second Edit

Once you have your list of things you know need to be done to your first draft, then you need to go back into the manuscript and make them. There is a specific way to approach this that will make things easier and smoother. Here’s what to do: Make a list (if you haven’t yet) of all that you want to do in the manuscript. Divide it into these sections: moving things/transitions/new additions/cuts/line edits Make a new copy of your file. The simplest way to do that is to rename…read more

Part One: Why You Must Read Through the First Draft before Editing

Have your first draft done? Good! Here’s what to do next. First, you must print it out. I know everyone hates to use paper these days but I’m sorry, you just need a hard copy for this. Now, take a pad and a pencil or pen, and sit down to read it through. Since you were writing quickly, in flow, and you probably didn’t even write transitions (That’s good! Flow writing comes first.) you will immediately see a lot of things that need fixing. Resist the temptation to fix them…read more