Novel Writing Made Less Impossible -- What To Do When You THINK You're Done Writing Your Story

I trust you're working on your book/screenplay/short story/whatever you call your creative endeavor.

You've got EVERYTHING you need, including the creativity to get this task done. You really do!

Yeah, it's not easy, but every day that you put the words down brings you that much closer to finishing your work.

But the work's far from over. Sorry, but it's best you hear it from a friend.

But first, contemplate this ... you just FINISHED your FIRST DRAFT ... that's an accomplishment that many "writers" never achieve. Heck, many so-called writers don't even START that Great American Novel, much less have something they can claim is finished.

So brag about it on Facebook and Twitter. Buy yourself something cool. Hoist a beer at the local watering hole. Call a friend you haven't talked to in a while.

Celebrate good times, c'mon! You EARNED IT! And I'm proud as hell of you.

But are you REALLY done?

Sure, you could release your first draft ... if you want to look like an amateur. Sorry, but EVERYONE'S first draft stinks. Even the great pulp writers didn't send out their first draft ... often it was their second, but many of them were awesome (and eager to get paid).

Writing is REwriting. But here's the first step in bringing your manuscript closer to completion ... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!

Close that file ... walk away ... in fact, start your NEXT book. Start this blog all over again and go through the steps. You will almost certainly find the work easier this time around.

Give yourself permission to take a break from this inaugural book. Remember, time and hard work make for quality wine and cheese. Quality takes time to produce. It's tempting to send your baby out for public approval, but it behooves you to wait.

After a couple of weeks, return to the first manuscript. Start reading, but with the eye of an EDITOR.

Take more than one swing through the manuscript. The first time, clean up your spelling and punctuation. Use the spell checker and correct all the mistakes you made. No one but you will see this draft so no one else will ever discover your (no doubt) numerous spelling errors.

And don't beat yourself up over your errors. We all make them. It means you're doing this right, okay? Then work on book #2 for a few days. Get some distance from the first work.

Take a break from the new novel to read your first all over again. This time, look for structure and pacing. Does it read well? Are all the characters introduced and described properly, to say nothing of consistently? Does the red-haired girlfriend become a blonde three chapters later? Any plot holes? Any glaring examples of poorly-constructed sentences?

Now return to developing book two. When you're ready to take a break, you need to fire up your favorite web search engine and type in TEXT TO SPEECH FREE DOWNLOAD ... and add the name of your word processor of choice.

Screen your choices carefully and be sure to download from a reliable provider. Also, be cautious that you don't download a new toolbar or wind up switching your home page to something weird.

Then install this program as per the instructions. The purpose of this program is to read your writing back to you, but almost devoid of emotion. Your spelling and syntax errors will scream for attention.

Only NOW is your manuscript ready for someone else to see ...

NEXT WEEK: If you can survive beta readers, you can survive anything ...

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See you next Wednesday, if not sooner! Take care and be good!

#Writing #FirstDraft #freedownload