Tracie Borum was our speaker at our General Meeting and dazzled us with an array of advice on how to be a successful author and writer. She is a full-time professor and has published seven novels; an eighth one is coming out soon.
General Advice:
- Write selfishly and for yourself first. Stay true to yourself and listen to your gut. If a scene isn’t working, rewrite or dump it. If your work moves you, you are doing something right.
- Observe and watch the world to get story ideas, which is as important as writing.
- Try to get unstuck.
- Keep your document always available and open.
- Never finish without going to another chapter.
- Write during your prime time and music helps.
For Editing:
- Set it aside for a while and then go back to it.
- Wear your editing hat; tweak and define.
- Trim a lot and change words that don’t fit.
- Sometimes, you can edit as you write also.
- Make a scene in your head before placing it on the page.
- Take everything out that’s not part of the story.
- Be brutally honest.
- Put yourself in your reader’s shoes.
- Critique groups and beta readers help also. Listen and don’t be defensive.
For Publishing: Tenacity is the key ; “A professional writer is an amateur that never quit.” 
