At the beginning of my writing career, I was pretty much alone as a writer. I did not attend writing courses, writers’ workshops, or join critique groups, and there were no Facebook writers’ support groups. However, I had a burning desire to write my book and get it out there for my audience. I knew nothing about writing fiction novels, but I took my destiny in my own hands and tackled the problems I faced as a novice writer.

I was a ferocious reader. I love reading classic novels. So, I read my favorite authors: Thomas Hardy, Daphne du Maurier, John Steinbeck, Emily Brontë, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Leo Tolstoy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chinua Achebe, Elechi Amadi, George Orwell, not to mention morning newspapers, magazine articles, poetry, non-fiction books, and anything else I could get my hands on.

“Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the most. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window.” — William Faulkner

As I read, I looked at the words and descriptions the authors used to bring the story to life in my mind. I could feel my pulse beat faster with excitement, or my shoulders tighten with tension. I became inquisitive, stopped, and examined the writing at that point and tried to figure out what the author did to make me feel that way. I paid attention to the word choice, how the characters and setting are described, how the characters acted, and what they said. I read details about the narrative, scenes, and dialogue, and tried to figure out what I liked or didn’t like about the story. I was learning from other authors. I used this experience to formulate critical lessons that would help me write a good novel. Reading is an essential component of writing.

“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” ― Lisa See

I started writing Traitors From Inside Out in 2014, slowly applying what I had learned from other authors, but it took courage and a dose of discipline to gain confidence in myself.

“To ‘deal your destiny,’ you must believe in yourself on a grand scale, but you also need to have the discipline to learn, to do, and to strive,” Kate Delaney.

I struggled to learn writing skills and techniques and strived to find my writing voice and style. I made many painful mistakes. It’s wasn’t an easy journey, but along the way, I found several basic principles that assisted me in my quest, and it’s these insights that I would like to share with you in this article. I took me five years to write the Traitors Trilogy novels.

I will reveal some proven writing tips I used so, you can avoid the mistakes I made and improve on your writing skills.

You may be a beginning writer or considering writing a book or a writer who is struggling to improve your writing skills like I did. This article will give a short-cut that will help you start writing right away.

Our most celebrated authors have proved that excellence cannot happen overnight. It takes passion, inspiration, hard work, dedication, time, and perseverance to be a successful writer. If you are aspiring to be an outstanding author, the following seven fundamental steps will help you write a novel that resonates with your readers, and eventually, your editor, agent, and publisher.

The plot is vital, writing is crucial, but you need to have these seven significant elements in the back of your mind before you start writing. These components will keep you focused and guide you in crafting a powerful grabber.

7 Fundamental Steps That Make A book A Success

1. Choose Your Purpose
Before you start writing, first choose your audience. Ask yourself why you are writing, and who are your target audience. Most authors write to educate or entertain so, define that in your mind. Establish the purpose of your writing.

2. Set Your Goal
Once you establish your purpose and audience, reflect on what you want your readers to learn from your writing. What is the big message of your book, and how would you like readers to act on what they learned from your story.

3. Choose A Topic Of Your Interest
It can be something you are knowledgable about or a subject you burn for but lack the right information. Whichever you choose, make sure you do your research, deepen your knowledge, and make your writing experience a pleasant one. There is nothing as painful as writing about a topic you don’t know. The most important thing is that you are passionate about the subject you are writing.

4. Use Concise Language
Avoid long-winded sentences. Shorten and simplify your words, especially when you are revising and editing. You need to re-phrase sentences and eliminate excessive wordiness. One way to reduce verbosity is to eliminate redundant words or phrases. Consider the phrase “…should be sure to think about, contemplate, meditate and reflect on…” contains four ways of saying the same thing. Improved on this sentence by using only one of the key phrases: “…to think about …” Express your message in as few words as possible, use language which is simple and to-the-point. Avoid jargons and swearing words, if you intend to reach a wider audience.

5. Sustain Reader Interest
To have a substantial impact on your audience, you must be able to sustain reader interest and excitement throughout the story, and more towards the end of each chapter. Make sure most of your scenes end on a question or a cliffhanger. Pull in the reader to continue reading.

6. Make Writing A Priority
Whether you hold a full-time job or work from home, set time apart for your writing. Procrastinating is a big problem, and it makes your mind wander. You lose focus, and with that, you lose the best ideas. Write every day and set a goal when you plan to finish your first draft. Usually, a dedicated writer will complete the first draft of a novella in 30 days or less, and a full novel of about 100K words may take 90 days or less.

7. Create Quality
Write a good book, a compelling story because the competition is fierce. There are over 50 million books available on Amazon. Write a book that stands out. A well-written novel, an edited book, and an exciting story will attract readers like a magnet. It will land you a traditional contract if that is what you want. Today many authors are going the self-publishing route, but whichever way you choose, make sure you have a quality product.

When you have figured out steps #1 to #7, take time, and perfect your planning before you start writing. Having a defined goal in your mind will make your writing easier and refine your finished product.

While you plan, I would like you to think about three things that make you happy.

In Love and Light,

PS: If you are interested in knowing more about our courses on Writing Good Fiction join my mailing list.