| Ah, the Great American Dream: to write the | | | | pages...and then lost steam. Gradually the |
| Great American Novel. Or maybe just a great | | | | manuscript goes into a drawer to 'tinker with |
| thriller. Or romance. Or that horror novel that will | | | | later,' as we start the next project with gusto |
| get you a nice six figure advance. | | | | and repeat the whole process over again, like |
| It seems everybody wants to write a book. I | | | | being stuck in a writer's version of GROUNDHOG |
| figure I might be able to offer you a few | | | | DAY. (Trust me, I've been there.) |
| pointers, so I plan to write a series of articles on | | | | As an introduction, this piece will contain the most |
| writing your first novel. | | | | important piece of advice I could ever give you. |
| If you're already a published novelist, or even one | | | | Everything else, as someone famous once said, is |
| with several written-but-not-yet-published drafts | | | | merely footnotes. |
| under your belt, you won't find a whole lot to help | | | | Write. |
| you here. Likewise, this isn't really for poets, | | | | Yeah, it's glib and not very profound, but it's the |
| essayists, or nonfiction writers. If you're a short | | | | best advice I can give you. You wouldn't believe |
| story writer, there might be some things to help | | | | how many people I've met who say they want |
| you (like pieces on dialogue, character, plotting, | | | | to write a book, and when I ask how much |
| etc.), but the short story is an entirely different | | | | they've written, they answer, "Oh, nothing yet. |
| beast from the novel, and not just because of | | | | But I really want to!" |
| length. | | | | Don't be that person. |
| No, this series is more for the people who have | | | | In part 2 of this article, I'll explain how to avoid |
| always said, "I really want to write a book." Or | | | | that trap - both by writing, and maybe by |
| for those of us who have started a project, | | | | choosing not to write. |
| written like mad for the first 30, 60, 100 | | | | |