Embark on Your Journey: How to Write Your First Novel

This is part of an irregular series of blogposts on how to be that writer you always wanted to be.

Writing a novel is a dream shared by countless aspiring authors. It's a creative endeavour that allows you to immerse yourself in a world of your own making, crafting characters, settings, and stories that captivate readers. However, the journey from the initial spark of an idea to a finished novel can be daunting. If you're eager to write your first novel but don't know where to begin, fear not – this blog post will guide you through the process, from the inception of your idea to typing "The End."

Find Your Inspiration

The first step in writing your first novel is to find inspiration. It might come from a personal experience, a dream, a historical event, or just a random idea that pops into your head. Keep a notebook or digital document to jot down these inspirations, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Inspiration often strikes at the most unexpected moments, and having a dedicated place to store these ideas can prove invaluable.

Develop Your Idea

Once you have your inspiration, you need to develop it into a concept for your novel. Who are your characters? What's the setting? What's the central conflict? What message or theme do you want to convey? Create a basic outline or mind map to organize your thoughts. This will serve as your roadmap throughout the writing process.

Set Realistic Goals

Writing a novel is a long-term commitment. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, set realistic goals. Determine how many words you aim to write per day or week. Many authors find success in setting a daily word count goal, whether it's 500 words, 1,000 words, or more. Consistency is key; even if you're only writing a few hundred words a day, you're making progress.

Create a Writing Space

Having a dedicated writing space can boost your productivity. It doesn't need to be a lavish home office; a quiet corner of a room or a local café can suffice. Make sure your writing space is comfortable, organized, and free from distractions. Establish a routine so your mind associates this space with writing.

Read and Research

To be a good writer, you must also be a good reader. Read widely in the genre you're writing, but don't limit yourself to it. Explore various genres and styles to expand your knowledge and inspiration. Additionally, conduct research as needed for your novel, ensuring that your story feels authentic and well-informed.

Begin Writing

With your inspiration, goals, and research in place, it's time to start writing. Don't worry too much about perfection in your first draft; it's normal for it to be messy and full of imperfections. The key is to get your ideas on paper. Embrace the process and enjoy the journey.

Revise and Edit

Once you've completed your first draft, take a step back. Give your work some time to breathe before you start revising and editing. This is when you'll improve the structure, pacing, and character development. Seek feedback from beta readers or writing groups to gain fresh perspectives.

Polish Your Manuscript

After several rounds of revision, it's time to polish your manuscript. Focus on grammar, punctuation, and clarity. Consider hiring a professional editor if possible, as they can provide valuable insight and help you create a more polished final product.

Seek Publishing Options

With your manuscript polished and ready, you can explore different publishing options. Traditional publishing involves finding a literary agent and submitting your work to publishers, while self-publishing gives you more control but requires self-promotion. Research both paths and decide which one aligns best with your goals.

Never Stop Learning

Even after you've written your first novel, your journey as a writer is far from over. Keep reading, learning, and honing your craft. Every new project you undertake will bring you closer to becoming the writer you aspire to be.

Writing your first novel is a rewarding and transformative journey. While it may seem daunting at the outset, with determination, patience, and consistent effort, you can bring your ideas to life and share them with the world. Remember, every author starts somewhere, and your first novel is a significant step in your writing career. So, take a deep breath, put pen to paper, and embark on your literary adventure. Happy writing!

Findmypast.co.uk reveals unusual discoveries from Cheshire's local records

Findmypast.co.uk has announced several unique discoveries found in the newly available local records from Cheshire. Workhouse records, parish registers, bishop's transcripts and electoral registers from Cheshire went online for the first time ever recently in what findmypast.co.uk has titled 'The Cheshire Collection.' The collection is a series of over 10 million historic records provided by Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, covering over 350 years of history.

Some of the most interesting findings contained within The Cheshire Collection include:

- Lewis Carroll's baptism was in Daresbury on11 July 1832
- An earthquake hit Cheshire on 18 March 1612
- Ancestors of James Bond actor Daniel Craig sold coal and were iron moulders

An unusual occurrence revealed in the records was the 'peculiar marriage' between Daniel Broadbent and Martha Cheetham in Mottram-in-Longdendale on 9 March 1780. Daniel was 23 and Martha was 83 years old. However, fate soon intervened to part this unlikely couple with the Mottram registers for the following year showing that Daniel Broadbent of Hattersley was buried on 30 May 1781. Furthermore, on 6 May 1776, 105 year-old George Harding married Jane Darlington, 75, at St Oswald, Chester.

These unusual marriage records show that, in the 18th century, one could find love at any age. However, the records also reveal a darker side of Cheshire's past, telling several tales of death from the plague.

In 1625 the UK was hit by an outbreak of the plague which killed 35,000 people. Malpas in Cheshire was badly affected and the online records reveal harrowing accounts of those who were killed by the disease. One such example is that of Richard Dawson of Bradley, whose story, found among The Cheshire Collection, goes as follows:

"…being sick of the plague and perceiving that he must die at that time arose out of his bed and made his grave and caused his nephew to cast straw into the grave… and went and lay him down in the said grave, and caused clothes to be laid upon and so departed out of this world… he died about 28th august, this much I was credibly told."

Family history records from the ancestors of Daniel Craig and the discovery of the Cheshire earthquake surprised Debra Chatfield, marketing manager at findmypast.co.uk. She commented: "These records make it possible for family historians and local history researchers to delve as far back as 1538, unearthing all sorts of unusual finds quickly and easily at their fingertips. Who would have known that Cheshire was hit by an earthquake in 1612 or that James Bond's ancestors sold lumps of coal?"

Jonathan Pepler, County Archivist for Cheshire Archives and Local Studies, said: "This is a very exciting development for everyone interested in Cheshire and its rich history."



(EDITOR: Unusual marriages, brave deaths, unusual jobs, all good ideas for articles for readers of Be That Writer!)

Be That Writer update

This is a special update from Be That Writer. Be That Writer would like to offer you a friendly, inspirational challenge.

Be That Writer would like you to take part in the following exercise. Look around you and see what you can see. Pick up on one item and write between 50 and 150 words on that item.

If you wish, you can send the finished written article to Be That Writer in the form of a comment to this article. Or you can keep it and see if you can use it as the basis for a saleable article. And before you dismiss this idea, consider this: G.K. Chesterton once wrote an article for a newspaper entitled: "What I found in my pocket."

There's no time limit to this exercise and no prizes. Please have fun with this.

New facility for readers of Be That Writer

There are many books available for the aspiring and the more experienced writer. But if we are not careful we can spend far too much of the income we generate from writing on buying such books.

We can guard against this unfortunate event by buying our books wisely. Such as buying from Amazon who do stock a wide range of books of great interest and worth to us writers.

Be That Writer has introduced an Amazon search box/sales facility which you will find on the right hand side of Be That Writer.

Be That Writer hopes you will enjoy using this facility. Will Be That Writer earn any income from such sales? Be That Writer certainly hopes so, as this will help defray the costs of running the site!

Kindle reader and Kindle books for free, thanks to Amazon!

Those kind, wonderful people at Amazon allow you to download a free Kindle reader from their website.

But not only that, they also have a vast library of free to download Kindle books available on Amazon, too!

Besides which, there are many, many really interesting books (fiction and non-fiction) that are available in the Kindle format that are available at very modest and heavily discounted prices.

Just visit www.Amazon.com or www.amazon.co.uk (or the Amazon site appropriate for where you live) to find out more.

Or you could check the Amazon search box on Be That Writer.

These free Kindle books are, of course, suitable for a stand-alone Kindle reader, too.

Writing. Is it what we do, or what we are?

I would have to argue that writing is what we are, more than what we do. Fish swim. Writers write, perhaps?

As One of the best Irish writers of the last century, George Bernard Shaw, said on writing: "Writing was as natural to me as the taste of water in my mouth."

A question that I have been asked several times is: "How do you find so many things to write about?"

There are many ways to find ideas for articles. In my articles that I will publish here over the next weeks, months and years, it will be my aim to share some of these ideas with you. Please refer back to the article on Be That Writer listing a variety of ideas for article. I do not intend for you to slavishly copy these. I hope they will act as a catalyst for dozens of different ideas of your own.

I will also share new developments with you and websites that I feel will be of interest and of use to you in your future writing.

Incidentally, should we write about things we care about? Of course! Else why would we want to write?

But how should we write about things we care about deeply, are very passionate about? As dispassionately as possible.

Why? Because of we care so very passionately about something, we must not risk wrecking our chance to communicate what we care deeply about.

Some years ago, there was a film maker / director. A writer in a film magazine praised the director because he was so committed and involved in the subjects that he was filming.

How could this author tell? Because he used a small, hand-held camera and, when he was filming something that especially  upset him, the audience could tell. How so? Because his hands shook so much that sometimes it was not really possible to see what he was filming, properly.

Let's pause at that point and analyse what was written.

The author of the article thought that the shaking camera showed how committed the film maker had been to his subjects.

My view of this is radically different. It is my belief  the film maker actually showed scant regard for the subjects and the people he was filming.

If he was shaking so much that he could not control the camera, how was that showing regard for the subject matter?

His shaking detracted from the subject, although it did make some people hold him in higher regard. "Look at me! Look at how passionate I am. Am I not wonderful?"

In a word, No. He was not.

Why am I mentioning this? Because it is easy to fall into the writers version of this trap. Tendency to overwrite, to try to build something up that does not need building up, to exploit the story of someone for the greater good, whatever that might be!

We need to be dispassionate in our final copy. Why? Because if we are not, we risk allowing our passion for the subject to destroy it.

And if we do not make our writing readable, we run the very real risk of being self-serving, writing for our own selves. This might make us feel better but does little or nothing to help anyone else.

How to Be a Writer

Stewart Ferris' book, How to be a writer is both small and very short. It is also, however, one of the most useful books on writing that I have ever bought.

Ferris is quite clearly a professional writer. He writes no more than is required to put over his point. It is broken down into three sections covering preparation for writing, practicalities of writing and technicalities of writing.

It covers every possible aspect of how to start writing, for the very beginner, to the more advanced writer.

Ferris covers the need for a place to write in, the tools of the trade, (pen, paper, word processor, Ferris really does get right down to the very basics of the craft of writing) how to edit your various drafts, how and when to seek an agent.

He also touches on how to approach different types of writing, comedy writing, fictional writing, writing for the stage, for radio. For the screen (large and small) how to write factual articles, writing songs, whether or not to bother with writing classes or courses, tips and techniques for dealing with writer's block, and so forth.

He also deals with self-publishing, how to enter writing competitions, how to… well, how to be a writer.

I have been a professional writer for 25+ years. Have I learned anything from this book? Oh, definitely. And at £4.99 Be That Writer can heartily recommend it to any writer, at no matter what stage they are in their development as a writer. It is published by Summersdale www.summersdale.com.

Words, Words, Words

David Crystal, the author of Words, Words, Words, is an academic. But he is much, much more than being "just" an academic. David Crystal loves language and words. And this approach shines through this book.

In Words, Words, Words, David Crystal makes it crystal clear (no pun intended) why he believes that words matter to each and every one of us very much indeed. And the book is very easy to read, to understand and to use.

He looks at all types of words. The familiar words that we all know. Less familiar words that perhaps we should know, older words, newer words.

He points out that some people who put themselves forward as protectors of the English language are often no more than pedants. Or even worse! He even shows that some of them are just plain wrong.

He quotes an example of a friend who thought that the increasing use of the word "gotten" (as in "my dog had gotten out of the garden" was "the beginning of the end" for the English language.

Far from it, points out David Crystal. For the word gotten was employed by none other than Chaucer in the Canterbury Tales! David Crystal makes the point that "rather than approaching an end, we seem to be going back to the beginning." His friend also seems unaware of the old phrase "ill-gotten gains".

The book is an eclectic one and, as I said, his love of the English language shines through it, on every page. It covers loan words, the lore of words, wordgames, wordplay, how one might discover the history of a word, how words are built, how to estimate the size of your vocabulary, dialects (and how to get involved with them) etc., etc., etc.

If you have even a passing interest in words and the English language, then this book is for you. It is published by Oxford University Press and is available in hardback at £12.99.

(EDITOR Every writer needs this book on their bookshelf. Be That Writer can thoroughly recommend it.)

The Benefits of Digital Publishing – whitepaper published

The Digital Publisher, a division of HJ Marketing Ltd, has published a new whitepaper on ‘the benefits of digital publishing’ for magazine publishers.

Totalling a concise 15 pages, the digital publishing whitepaper has been written to avoid the tech-speak and terminology which often clouds the benefits that digital publishing delivers.

The whitepaper focuses on 7 key benefits of digital publishing:

• Ability to instantly reach a global audience
• Interactivity of digital magazines
• Cost-savings
• Environmental benefits
• Ease of navigation and search
• Flexibility & instant editing
• Full stats package identifying most popular content

By focusing on the key benefits, rather than simply the technical features, the whitepaper aims to highlight the significant advantages of digital publishing as a complementary channel for magazine publishers. The whitepaper also shows live examples of the technology in action for a number of pioneering publishers.

Ian Jackson, head of digital at The Digital Publisher, points out: “Not only do digital magazines offer tremendous cost savings and an exponential increase in a publisher’s reach, they also provide dynamic reader interaction and ease of use.” Jackson adds, “the statistical package additionally allows publishers to identify their most popular content which provides editors with invaluable insights as to what works and doesn’t work within their publication.”

Website: www.thedigitalpublisher.co.uk

(EDITOR: The publishers of Be That Writer and other online publications such as That's Books and That's Food and Drinks recognised the benefits of digital publishing several years ago.)

Ten Ways to identify Idiots! Or How DO writers deal with idiots?

Here is the Be That Writer guide to dealing with idiots:

As a writer, you will find that you have to deal with a lot of idiots. However, it would be wrong to TELL them that they are idiots. Especially if they happen to be standing between you and an income as a published author or writer!

These are some pointers to a happier life! This is slightly tongue-in-cheek. But only slightly!

1) Never use a 100 word explanation to an idiot, when a two word answer will suffice. Remember. Your time is your money.

2) Never give free house room in your mind to idiots. They will not be thinking of you, so return the compliment!

3) Use the idiots you meet to your advantage. Various idiots have featured in articles that I have written. Here are some examples. A newspaper (published by a very large company) kept failing to pay me on time. It got to the point where I was SURE that they owed me a great deal of money, but could not prove it. I wrote a letter to the editor's personal secretary asking when I could expect to be paid. I cherished her reply. I want to share one part of it with you. Please savour, with me, the rich strangeness of the following bizarre sentence: "As to the non-payment of monies, this has been ongoing, whereby we have tried all ways." (Yes, I guess that her unique way of using the English language must be why she is the personal secretary to the editor. Or was it her long legs and ultra short miniskirts? We will never know for sure, but I have my suspicions!) I used this is an article on life as a freelance journalist.

4) Never, ever enter into a debate with an idiot. Believe me, life is not long enough. And as I have said, your time is your money.

5) You can't always recognise an idiot at a distance. Some of the worst idiots are people who look "normal."
6) Some idiots have difficulty in identifying cause and effect.

7) Idiots are often in positions of authority.

8) Idiots tend to judge other people by their own low standards.

9) Idiots cannot recognise that sometimes bad things just happen. They must always have someone to blame. But never themselves!

10) Idiots are usually unable to recognise that other people ARE people, and not merely randomly placed items of furniture in their personal universe and for their personal use.

I'll finish now with a quote from Scott Adams' The Joy of Work. Scott Adams' management books are a must! "Trying to win an argument with an irrational person is like trying to teach a cat to snorkel by providing written instructions. No matter how clear your instructions. It won't work."

Where to sell your writing

The best writer in the world, if he or she has not established a suitable and lucrative market for their work, still will not become published.

One of the greatest freelance writers in the English speaking world, Dr. Samuel Johnson wrote: “Anyone who writes for anything but money is a blockhead.” Harsh? Perhaps. But remember that Johnson was only able to pay for his mother’s funeral by reportedly writing the novel Rasselas in a period of seven days.

By the way, sending in articles on spec is not necessarily a good idea. By all means think about sending something as a sample of the quality of work you can provide, but most publications would want you to write to them with the proposal for an article, rather than a completed article.

Yes indeed, you CAN make money by writing for the specialist trade press.

What is the specialist trade press? It is an exceptionally large and nebulous mass. It consists of hundreds of thousands of titles, some small, some large, published all over the world and covering thousands and thousands of fields of specialist knowledge.
What subjects are covered? Take the following examples:-
The garage industry, roadside recovery industry, coach tours and coach holidays industry, the bus and coach manufacturing industry, the vehicle salvage industry. And those just happen to be five magazines published by the company I write for!

Much of the work done on specialist magazines is done by freelance writers who have specialised knowledge on a particular subject. My employer uses freelance writers who have shown that they have these special attributes:-

1. They understand the brief they are set.
   2) They can write well and write at speed when necessary. It’s no good “choking” and getting all precious about refusing to work at speed. An article that is perfect in every way yet arrives one hour after the magazine has gone to press is useless. However, an article that is reasonably good and arrives one hour before the deadline is perfect. Why? Because it is there!
   3) Have good contacts in their industry
   4) Understand deadlines and stick with them.
   5) They never question a brief by saying: “Oh, but I wrote an article about this very subject one year ago!” Good. Now's your opportunity to write another article on the same subject! Was the reply I gave to someone who raised this point.
   

In order to be able to write for the specialist press, you have to understand the field that you will be writing about. There are general writers who can turn their hand to writing about almost any subject under the sun. There’s nothing wrong with that. Writers who can turn their hand to researching topics that they might not have heard of before and turning in readable, accurate copy are worth their weight in gold. But there are instances where this type of writer will not be able to get a commission, being overlooked in favour of the writer who has a specialism and a good knowledge of a particular industry or a particular field of endeavour.

For example, let’s suppose that a company that makes a particular type of equipment for the MOT industry has introduced a new type of engine analyser which can do the job in half the time. In order to write a proper article about this new piece of kit, a writer would have to understand a great deal about the garage and MOT industry. He or she might even have worked as a skilled MOT tester themselves before deciding to take up a career as a writer. And there are such writers out there with the specialised knowledge and the ability to write clear, concise copy every time it is required.

What specialist knowledge could you call upon to draw upon to write for the specialist trade press? Gardening? Architecture? Stamp collecting? A particular sport? Coin collecting? Knitting? Fashion? Amateur or professional photography? Sky Diving? Chicken breeding? Horse care? Motoring? Fish keeping? Dog breeding? Industrial metallurgy? Building? Counselling? The employment industry? Taxation?

These are, of course, only a tiny portion of the many types of specialism that us ordinary folk might have.
What could you earn? This depends. Some fields of expertise are so rarefied and esoteric that the magazines that cater for them are read by so few people that the magazines can really only afford to offer modest payments, including or only a complimentary copy of the magazine. Often these magazines, although very well produced to fairly high professional standards, are almost labours of love, with the editorial staff receiving little or no remuneration.

However, some magazines are mass market publications and can afford to pay vastly more to freelance specialist writers than can their poorer cousins.

How much? How long is a piece of string? £100 for 1000 words is a good basis on which to start. However, the fee that you can command will depend upon your abilities to work within the four guidelines I have outlined within this article. And something else.

Let’s suppose that a leading figure in the industry you are writing on is an elusive person who rarely gives interviews and is known for being notoriously difficult to interview. Let’s suppose that you have known him for years and that you both get on very well. If you can approach an editor and say: “I can gain you an exclusive interview with X,” don’t you think that you would be paid substantially more than £100 for 1,000 words? Or that after the successful publication of the article, that the grateful editor would funnel more equally lucrative work your way?

Recently, a new magazine was launched. After the first issue a writer with good specialised knowledge of the field called the managing editor and said: “I want to write for your magazine.” He sent in his CV, was commissioned to write one article as a test piece and his articles are regular and very popular features in the magazine.

Writing. How to find your market

OK, you know might know what you want to write about (I have already touched on using your own specialism to write articles about). But where might you aim your articles?

Firstly, go and take a look at the magazine selection in your nearest large newsagents such as W. H. Smiths.

Have a look at the magazines that re on sale. Computing, sailing, transport industry, cars, buses, writing, puzzles, communications, management, knitting, crafts, etc., etc. This will give you a good broad knowledge of what types of magazines are available for you to explore for potential targets for your articles.

Also, check your nearest main or reference library. It should have (budgetary restraints willing, of course!) a large collection of various magazines over a wide range of subject matter that it subscribes to. And don't forget to look on line, too. This research will serve a variety of functions. It will provide contact details and will also show you the kind of work that the magazine is currently publishing. You will be able to pick up valuable hints on house style, currently editorial requirements, etc.

Some magazines in the United Kingdom are now following the American trend and publish guidelines (send an SAE) which will let you know exactly the kind of articles they are interested in.

However, to properly establish the widest possible range of potential targets for your writing endeavours, you really do need the Writers’ Handbook, published by Macmillan. This book is a “must have” for the serious writer. It offers articles which offer guidance and hints on writing craft, how to work out what you can claim back against income tax (you’ll be surprised. I know I was!) and so forth.

It also contains a list of newspapers and magazines that are published within the United Kingdom. This is useful as the list not only gives full contact details for the magazine, including editorial contacts, but in some instances it also indicates what likely fees could be payable to the freelance writer or journalist.

There is also another similar publication called The Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook. Although the older of the two publications, I fear that, although still useful, the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is perhaps now not the better of the two.

The price for the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook is approximately £10.00 and the price fro the Writer’s Handbook (edited by Barry Turner) is also about £10.00. Both books are available from Amazon UK.
You might not want to write for a magazine. Perhaps you have ambitions that are aimed at the regional press? In that case, it would be worthwhile looking at the website www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk This website contains listings of all the regional daily and weekly newspapers within the entire United Kingdom.

And do not forget www.google.com the resource of resources!

It also contains many useful sections including a database of useful contacts, lists of websites of potential use to journalists and writers for the regional press and many, many other extremely useful features. Including a section that offers the stuck staff reporter a whole host of new ideas for stories to present to the editor as your own! Yeah. Maybe it is cheating. And it certainly does help during a Monday morning editorial conference! It can also kick off some useful ideas for the freelance writer too, so do not be tempted to overlook this.

The website also contains lists of job opportunities throughout the regional press from court reporters to science correspondents and from junior reporters to editors.

There is also another website www.thepaperboy.com which lists newspapers all over the world, including in the UIK. This is useful if you are trying to establish which paper covers which town (for example you might have found out about a story that has happened in your town which involves someone from –say- Birmingham. It is useful to be able to know which papers cover Birmingham (Birmingham Post, a quality daily and the Birmingham Evening Mail) who might, conceivably, want to buy the story from you.

There are other ways of finding out about magazines that might be suitable targets for your writing. The Periodical Publishers Association has many magazines and magazine publishers as members. Visit the website at www.ppa.co.uk It contains a great deal of useful information, hints and tips and a host of useful links to other websites.

Also, go to www.yell.com and search on magazines, publishers, newspapers, etc. Do not use a location, allow it to default to a United Kingdom search, and see the variety of potential clients that come up. Some of then have websites listed. Visit them, see if they might require freelance writers. Or staff writers, as I have to admit that after several years of trying to sort out taxation for myself, that I decided to go to the dark side of the writing force and become a paid staffer. Much easier. I can still pretty much do my own thing, but get someone else to worry about PAYE and the like. There’s even a stationary cupboard from which I can obtain pens and reporters notebooks for work related activities!

There are also magazines for writers. The two best known examples are Writer’s Forum and Writer’s News, both available by subscription or over the counter at W. H. Smiths and a host of other leading newsagents.

There are some other things that you will need. The three Ps will help, tremendously. Persistence. Patience. Perception. Oh. And research. The same skills that help you research the subjects that you want to write about will also help you to find potential markets for your work.

There will be more from Be That Writer, soon.

How to start writing and how to get it published

In this article I will tell you how to start in your life as a writer.

First take a piece of paper lined or blank, it doesn't matter which, a pen or a pencil and write 50 words. You could write 50 words on why you want to be a writer. But that's entirely up to you. You can write about anything. I'll wait here until you are done with that assignment.

OK, so with your 50 words done, type them into the word processor package of your choice and then save the document as a text file.

Now go to www.blogger.com and sign up for a blogging account, unless you already have one, then all you need do is start up a new blog with your existing account. Do you have to use Blogger.com? No, but it's what I use and it is what I am familiar with and comfortable with. I have tried several other blogging platforms but did not get on with them in quite the same way as I do with blogger.com.

Copy and paste your text file into your blog and there you have it! Not only have you written your first article, you have also published it, too! Cool!

And just because you self-published it does not mean that it is any the less of an article for that. Charles Dickens self-published, as have many literary greats. So you are in good company.

Now you have started, how do you continue? Write. Write about anything and everything you feel you want to write about. Tighten up your grammar, work on your spelling (if you need to) and practice. Because with writing, practice is everything!

Welcome to Be That Writer

Welcome to Be That Writer.

Be That Writer is a free online course for people who want to be writers.

You could well have read books on writing, visited other online resources on how to be a writer, you may even have paid for courses on how to be a writer.

Be That Writer is different. Be That Writer will help you to become that writer who you have always wanted to be.

Be That Writer will tell you something that most other writing resources will probably not have told you. Much of what you will have read on becoming a writer is nonsense! Oh, yes, it will have been well-meaning, but nonsense all the same!

You will have been told: "Write about what you know." Really? Did you know that one of the most prolific and widely read writers of "Western fiction" (otherwise known as cowboy fiction) writes all his books from his home in Newcastle, England?

And if we should only write about what we know, how would  Lindsey Davis be able to write about her hero the Roman private enquiry agent Marcus Didius Falco? After all, if we are only to write about what we should know, how could any historically set novel or non-fiction article ever be written?

So rather than saying only write about what you know the BTW (Be That Writer) maxim would be extended out to say: "Write about what you know about... or what you can research."

Over time, Be That Writer will show you what you can write about, how to research it, who to write for, how to write and how NOT to write. The author behind Be That Writer is not only a published author and writer he works as a commissioning editor and will offer you valuable tips on what NOT to do when writing articles for publication in magazines and newspapers.