Wednesday, March 18, 2009

First...Just Tell the Story

If your bookshelves look like mine, crammed full of "how to" books that you've read, then you've learned your craft. It's easy to get caught up in doing everything correct when you are a new writer. But be careful not to lose the spark that makes you a great storyteller.

Remember your enthusiasm when you wrote your very first story? I'll bet you didn't worry about using too many its or thats or ing words. You probably just wrote the story as it unfolded in your mind from beginning to the end. It felt wonderful, didn't it? Until...you learned there are rules you must follow if you want to be published.

Books can help with crafting, classes can help with crafting, workshops can help with crafting, and so can your writing chapter friends. But no one can teach you how to spin a story.

So, toss out those rules and drilled in "have to's" and just write. Get the story down on paper, every wonderful scene, from beginning to the happily ever after.

The rest is just a layer of icing on the cake. During the edits, you can repair the rough spots by applying the rules you've learned.

Thanks for stopping by.

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