by Bruno Somerset

Created on: December 09, 2008   Last Updated: May 03, 2009

The first rule of writing has become somewhat cliche, but authors ignore it at their own peril: write what you read. This has also been described as writing what you love, but since most people don't read books they don't like, the two basically go hand in hand. For example, if you read nothing but mysteries, it is unlikely that you would be inclined to write a romance or a western, and less likely that you would ever finish it. The genre you choose must interest you, because you will spend a great deal of time writing it. What you most like to read is a good indication of what you would most want to write, and what you would be best at, since you are familiar with the form and style of that particular genre.

Because writing is a craft, you should start with some good reference materials. Besides a dictionary and a thesaurus, the most important book you can own to guide you through the many rules of grammar and writing is "Elements of Style" by William Strunk and E.B. White. This book is so much a part of the culture of writing that most of the time it is simply referred to as "Strunk and White." It's the one most people never opened in college, but for the serious writer, no single book will be more helpful, especially when you begin the editing process.

Two additional books that are very helpful are "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King and "Writing Fiction" by the Gotham Writer's Workshop. "Self Editing for Fiction Writers" is by far the best book on the least-favorite part of the writing process. Editing your own work is extremely difficult, but the advice these two professional editors give will make your editing more effective, if not more fun. "Writing Fiction" packs a lot of great information into its 300 pages. Each chapter tackles a specific aspect of fiction writing (plot, character, etc), and each is written by published authors who are members of the Gotham Writer's Workshop, New York's acclaimed creative writing school. There are points within each chapter at which you are given exercises that allow you immediately put what you've just learned into practice.

You should start with an outline, a timeline, and character sketches. An outline is simply a tool to help you keep your story on track, and having a timeline before you start will save hours of correcting inconsistencies during the revision process. Write a character sketch with a full biography for every major character and for as many minor ones as possible. You need

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