Published and Printed: my book is real and my stories are in a newspaper! by Annmarie Miles
Annmarie Miles joins us again for another month with the Writer’s Fun Zone. In today’s article she gives us some tips on how to just write! Enjoy!
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I’m really enjoying contributing to Writer’s Fun Zone. This year has been very exciting as I have had lots of opportunity to develop as a writer – WFZ is a part of that development.
I decided at the beginning of 2013 that I would work hard on my writing, take it seriously and take every opportunity I could get. I also said that I would share what I’d learned as I found that other writers I interact with on social media and face to face were very generous with their time and talents – so I wanted to do the same.
Something happened while I wasn’t looking… I wrote a book.
Once I gave myself permission to be a writer I got to work. I started to write consistently and it was like a valve opened up. I started writing stories they and just kept flowing. I didn’t have publication in mind; I didn’t even have a book in mind. But the more I wrote, the more I loved it and so the more I wrote. When I stopped to look, I had all these stories. They were on my fiction blog but some friends who know what they’re talking about had a look at them and encouraged me to put them together in a collection. And so… by the time you read this I’ll be preparing to launch my first collection of self-published short stories. I can’t quite believe it myself. I’ve just chosen the cover design, but I think that until I’m holding it in my hand I won’t believe it is real.
And as if that wasn’t enough excitement, my Lizzy stories from the AtoZ Challenge http://www.writersfunzone.com/
Next month I’m going to share with you some of the things I’ve learned about the self-publishing process and there’ll also be a little competition too as we head towards the holiday season.
As far as my tips for this month go, let me leave you with this….
Just Write!
Write every day.
Write when you feel like it.
Write when you don’t.
Write if you have something to say.
Write if you have nothing to say.
Write; and keep writing.
If you’re not sure what to write, free-write
Free-writing get the words out of your head and on to the page. You can edit, proofread, correct, craft, fix & improve later. Here’s a good way to remember how to free-write.
F is for Fast – Write or type non-stop as fast as you can, for a certain amount of time. 10 minutes will do
R is for Raw – Turn off the internal editor and just get the words down. You can edit, proofread, correct, craft, fix & improve later. For now just write.
E is for Exact – choose precise descriptions. Instead of the fruit, write about the green car. Instead of the furniture, write about the oak table
E is Easy – let the words rise in you and flow out of you
If you’re interested in finding out more about my collection of short stories, keep an eye on my blogs and Twitter/FB etc. The links to connect are below. I hope you get a chance to read the stories and I hope you love them J.
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Annmarie Miles is 40-something, Irish, Christian, married, and proud to be all of those things. She loves words, music & chocolate. She mostly writes about the things that life has thrown at her and how she has tried to learn, love and laugh at it all along the way!
Where to find Annmarie:
Email: amowriting@gmail.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/amowriting Google+ auntyamo
Twitter: @amowriting
Personal Blog: www.auntyamo.com
Fiction Blog: www.ficticiousamo.wordpress.com
