A writer is all about style. And not just style in the sense of punctuation and how the prose looks on the page (though that can play a role), but style in the sense of a flow, a rhythm, a cadence to the writing, a vocabulary, and slang the author is drawing upon. A writer can be wordy or spare. A writer can be stylish and magical or can be wry and gritty. A writer can write and be tied to unique locations or can she/he can write a story that can be almost wholly invented . But whatever the flavor of the writing, a good writer has a recognizable style.
A good writer has a personality of their own, even when the novel is written in third person. There's an outlook that is expressed in a writer. It's a unique way of seeing the world and choosing which details to focus on and highlight and a first draft of how the reader will process the reality of the book. Think of how CATCH-22 captured the absurdity of WW-II by boiling down irrational rules and presenting them at face value, or, always seeing things and arguing from an invented perspective. There's a tone to a good writer, whether it's magical or slightly sinister or hyper-aware.Talk to yourself and act out your character/s as if they are right in front of you and having a conversation that only you can hear, so that when you put the words in print form your readers they can also "hear" what your characters are saying. You are putting a voice almost in their heads.
A good writer is consistent throughout a novel. It may get darker or lighter or funnier or sadder, but it doesn't suddenly shift wildly from strange to murder. A good writer is never lost when the plot shifts.The best idea there is to have a small padd next to you and you jot down your plot and how you see it play out as your write so that you can always go back to it just in case you lose focus or you have been interrupted by someone or something.
Even the strongest writers don't over-do it. writers are not made up of repeated verbal ("You know," "like," "so I mean," "All I was doin," ) but are much more nuanced than that. They are not transcribing real-life dialogue then, they need to give the impression of a real-life writer while remaining a unique construct. If you are writing a Cockney "voice' and your audience are English readers, then by all means drop the 'h'or the 'w'when you are "recording" a characters conversation. ( 'oo do yer tink yer are, yer ruddy great lump.) The English are renowned for dropping words and adding adjectives to their conversations and if your character is a cockney, then that is exactly how they would say their words. Be the character when you write so that your readers feel they are a part of the story.
A good writer envelops the reader within the world of a book. It puts the reader in a certain frame of mind and lets them see the world through someone else's perspective, and provides not just the details of that world but also gives a sense of the character of the world. Even if it is mystical. Give detail of what you want them to 'see' or 'feel' as they begin their journey. Make sure you are describing the world your character is in. Down to the tiniest detail. (Lying on his back he could see the ceiling pockmarked with tiny holes as if it needed to breathe, the room was stark white and the smell around him almost gagging in its sweetness) You have a sense of a hospital room. You are letting your readers form that opinion even if its not what it seems.
Above all, a good writer becomes a best seller. Believe me a good writer is also extremely contagious. The good writers have fans and one of the best ways to do that is to just write, even if what you're starting with is derivative. You may need to keep writing until you find the writer in you. Just remember to revise once you have it.Look for a friend who can critique what you write and get his/or her imput on what they think. No critism is bad. Unless you are really a terrible writer. Better yet find a few friends who will read what you write and get individual imput. If you have to just keep correcting your story, then do so. The results could surprise you.
Authenticity is the key to finding the good writer- you are in a sense writing for you. It's not you per se, but what you are expressing. It may be the expression of your sense of humor or your whimsy or your cynicism or frustration or hopes or honesty, distilled down or dialed up into a writer. We should never make the mistake as readers of equating an author with their writer, but they're wrapped up together in a complicated and real way. We leave fingerprints all over our work. That part of you in your work is what makes it something that no one else can duplicate.
You need to convince yourself that the story is specifically written for you. You don't want to read a book where the words are misspelled, because then your enjoyment of the book is spoiled. Believe me there are a lot of well known authors from Mills & Boon who have lost me as a reader because they don't check their spelling. Namely smelt is the biggie for me. It should read "smelled" (it smelled beautiful). The word "smelt" makes me think of miners - they smelt ores.
Editing is vitally important if you want your story to gain popularity. Understanding the English language and its various nuances is equally as important unless you are writing in another language. Then learn that language well. There is nothing worse then picking up a book with an interesting blurb on its contents and buying it, taking it home and discovering that the writer "forgot" or misspelled a word that has TWO meanings, and you can't understand where the story is going.
Most writers use a word padd or a computer to write their books on. Very few people/authors write anything down anymore. Mostly its a safety protocol. Plagerism can be costly to a writer if their written word is stolen. So keep a password handy per book so that you can lock out everyone who does not have access to your work. If you need to jot down your characters use microsoft Excel or create a graph on your computer and "design" your characters first, and above all BACKUP everything you do onto a CD just in case your computer dies unexpectedly. Personally I have a writers yahoo page. Its free and you can put your stories up and edit them when you need to and it keeps them safe for that unexpected mishap. You can then borrow a computer and retrieve your work in safety. And you also have the comfort of knowing that if you do make a mistake, you can go back to the original copy on your yahoo page and do it again. The blessing of having your Yahoo page is that you can block it from outsiders so that only you have access.
Remember its your journey into the writers world you are sharing with others.
Above all never give - never surrender.
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