By Sandy Carlson

The rules of writing are simple:

1)      Get ‘er down in writing.

2)      Look ‘er over and fix the mistakes.

3)      Let someone else read ‘er.

4)      Fix ‘er up again.

5)      Repeat 3 and 4 as often as necessary until you can’t change anything else.

 The first rule is to “Get ‘er down in writing.” That means that you write a story from the exciting beginning to concluding, makes-sense ending. Some people like to use an outline before they start; others just pant out their story word after word. (Guess what they are called? Pantsters!)

Whether you are an outliner and know how the story begins and ends, or if you are a panster who just writes and writes as your characters “tell” you what will happen next, that first simple rule of writing still applies: Get ‘er down in writing.

 It doesn’t matter if you write it in a notebook with a pencil or if you type it out and save it on a jump drive. The very most important thing is that you can do as a budding writer is to… say it with me… Get ‘er down in writing.

 So why are you still reading this? Go write your story!

 (P.S. Rules 2 – 4 have to do with what is called Revision. That’s writer talk for getting your story to look and sound good. But those rules are for another day. For now, just make sure you do writing rule number one: GET ‘ER DOWN IN WRITING!)

Sandy Carlson was born in Michigan, lived in six other states, and is now back in Michigan. She is a former elementary teacher, a member of SCBWI, and a blogger. She’s published in magazines, ezines, newspapers, and anthologies. Her books include The Town That Disappeared, Logging Winter, Tales of the Lost Schooner, Stacks of Flapjacks, Wildfire, and Star Opening. Sandy now writes full time and speaks at schools, libraries, and bookstores. You can find her online at sandycarlson.com.