By Denise Turney – African American Fiction Author of Love Pour Over Me

Pic by Daniel Schwen – Wikimedia Common

Stephen King offered excellent advice when he encouraged writers to create stories for themselves first. Put aside concerns that you have to develop certain plots, character deficiencies or shocking dialogue to attract readers. Unleash your subconscious mind and write your best book.

Start with a technique that works for you. This is key. What works for another writer may not work for you. An author who I interviewed on Off The Shelf Book Talk Radio kept saying that she was struggling with finishing her latest novel.

She’d  decided to follow someone’s advice, let go of her usual novel writing technique and write as she said “by the seat of the pants”. This was an author who easily knocked out novellas within two weeks. She abandoned her normal writing technique and was struggling.

Techniques that you could write a great novel with include outline, character sketches, write a paragraph that reveals the moral of the story or identify the book’s plot. After you identify the book’s plot, write down scenes that you will use to climax up to the plot as well as scenes that will make the plot believable, even if you are writing science fiction.

Write regularly. I will never forget New York Times bestselling author, Walter Mosley, sharing that writing is mainly subconscious. Writing regularly can make it easier for you to access your subconscious when you sit down to create your best book.

You don’t have to write on a novel every day. You can respond to writing prompts. Other ways to write every day include journaling, writing poetry, working on short stories or writing articles and blog posts.

Read great books. But, don’t read to copy another author’s style. It is your personal style that readers want to enjoy. Every great book is not a bestseller. There are great books that don’t garner 1,000 sales, which goes back to author Stephen King’s advice.

Let yourself get into the story, really into the heart of the story. As you write the first draft, let your imagination flow. Wait until you have written the first draft before you start editing your novel. Don’t be surprised if your subconscious mind gives you surprising clues or scenes to write.

Some writers receive dreams about characters who they are writing about. Other writers may dream about a twist to take with a plot. This may not happen unless you let yourself get into the story. Exercising your passion for writing may well be the number one way to write your best book. You can focus on marketing and promoting your book after the first draft is written.

**Thank you for hanging out with me. Keep up with writing and the wonderful world of books by visiting my blog often. Grab your copy of Love Pour Over Me at https://www.ebookit.com/books/0000001582/Love-Pour-Over-Me.html or http://www.amazon.com/Love-Pour-Over-Me-ebook/dp/B007MC0Z2C or http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/love-pour-over-me-denise-turney/1109600654