Wednesday, February 11, 2009

How to Finish a Book

Advice I just gave a teen who posted on my MySpace page:

HOW TO FINISH A BOOK:

* Write a page or two every day.
* After a month, you have a chapter or more.
* By a year there's a book taking shape, if not finished.
* Then you go back and rewrite so it sparkles and shines.
* Rewrite some more.
* Repeat.


It's work. Hard work -- but so enjoyable it feels like play

2 comments:

Mary Cunningham said...

Write, edit, repeat
Write, edit, repeat...

I like that! Just made several elementary school writing teachers happy when I emphasized the process on a school visit.

Great advice, Linda Joy!

Linda Joy Singleton said...

Thanks for your comment, Mary!

When I go to elementary schools I often bring a short story I wrote when I was 8, which I folded into a little book and added "art." About a year later, with no one advising me, I made it better by rewriting, adding a table of contents, better art and neater writing. I show these two versions so explain how rewriting improves a book.