Getting Ready to Write

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Before we can sit down with pen and paper, or even on the computer, we have to mentally make ourselves ready to write. The thoughts that are jumping to the surface may well overcome us and cause us to bog down into inactivity, which at the beginning is NOT what we need.

I suggest first of all, a little mental clearing and in this section, I will give you some great ways to do this. Also forthcoming, will be some brainteasers to get your mind off the mundane and down to the business of writing. And if you like exercise, this section will definitely make you “fit”.

Never mind what others say, there are some “rules” to the writing game and we will be skimming over a few of those, and who couldn’t use a refresher course on the simple side of writing such as spelling, grammar, and un-coagulating your writing? I will do this with some easy tests. You have to think about the writing before you begin doing it.

You have to know the person you are writing about as well. I will provide a quick list to get to know your character and start you off thinking about what he or she will do in any given situation. You will be required to do some homework on this one though, as it means getting out in public and listening for your character to speak vicariously through another. This will be fun, and I may add a few of my own stories for your entertainment.

I will also explain what I like to call “authorial throat-clearing” and how just getting on with it will benefit you in every book you write. This is the REAL beginning in your getting ready to write.

Writing mysteries is a brutal business. There is competition on top of competition. We will examine briefly how to go above the others and shine even before we get through a first draft. After all, you already know that your mystery will beat out your critique partner’s from page one, don’t you? Don’t you?

Come on in and let’s get started.