#001 - Being a writer ... the starting blocks.

You've told yourself you want to be a writer and by now you will have read reams and reams about 'The Art of Writing' and maybe even the 'Manual of Creative Writing' in one shape, form or another. It's no big secret. All you need is a method of putting words together in some sort of coherent order and a means to finally produce them in hard copy format. To the average guy this simply means access to a PC and Printer. To the sensible guy, this also means the addition of a good dictionary and a thesaurus. So, there you go ... you are now fully equipped to become an Author, but don't get the new visiting cards printed just yet! You will need another one or two other items in your armory before battle commences.

The Start - You now have a PC and find yourself eager to get down to it. Ideas are spilling out of your head like snowflakes in a blizzard and you simply want to get them down on paper. But hang on a minute; writing, especially writing fiction, is a very orderly process, so you need to start in an orderly fashion.

Firstly, you will need to create a new folder on your PC specifically for your book. Give it a title, maybe the working title of the book itself or simply 'My Book'. This first stage of getting organized to write your book is very important, because whatever you are planning to write, you will need to 'plan' the writing of it. This folder will contain other folders as your needs reveal themselves such as 'Research', 'Images', 'Maps', 'Sketch' and 'Rewrites' for example.

It is important to get organized before you begin your marathon and not attempt to pick up the pieces after several months of hard slog and the appearance of getting nowhere. For the 'non-PC' writer or typewriter specialist, you will need to create real, hold-them-in-your-hand files, and ones that will become progressively thicker as your project evolves. You will write well, only when you are happy ... and organized!