- You still need to put frequent effort into what you're writing. Either you'll eventually lose interest with what you've written, or your last read-through and edit of it was completely worthless. Because honestly, how much do you remember?
- Research is MANDATORY. Even if your book is fiction - like mine - you still need to do research (even if not in the traditional sense). There are so many layers to life; one event can completely yet indirectly affect the outcome of another event years later. How would your story be relatable if it doesn't seem anything like real life? (Here's a great article about how to add meaningful layers to the background of your story). Also, just because your story is fiction (if it is) doesn't necessarily mean you can say something that doesn't make sense (i.e., using a bug blood as paste?, etc). If you're looking for natural "remedies" or other things like this, it is often smart to look up what has been used in the past (such as what Native or indigenous peoples used). For instance, I've done a lot of research on archetypes and what colors and symbols meant to Natives for using war paint, also what they made the war paint out of. I, at least, am one who believes it is best (and most interesting) to use as factual information in a story so that it becomes that much more real for the reader.
- You're going to be doing something important for your main job, and randomly feel like all you want to do instead is write and work on your story. I'm reading a book for a college class right now and instead of reading for content for the course, I'm more reading it for the research of my story.
- What important details you give to one main character must be equally distributed amongst all main/secondary characters. If you give your primary main character(s) an elaborate background, you must do the same for all important characters. It may take a long time to complete, but the more you know about the important characters of your own novel, the more you know why they do something and their motivations for everything. Suddenly, there are little surprises anymore as to why your character acted a certain way (yes, this is referring back to the article I linked above -- really, if you're serious about writing, go read that article!).
- You can write a fantastic story, but you're always going to feel like it needs more. Always.
- Your every-day job isn't going to be as fun as working on your story. But you have to stay with your every-day job until you can 100% make it as a freelance author (meaning don't quit your day-job until you have been signed with an agent, have edited, and published your book. There's no point in leaving the benefits of your current job [not to mention the steady income] until your books start bringing in a steady flow. If that's not there yet, do yourself a favor and stick with whatever job you currently have).
