To round out the Guest Blogger Week's Best Writing Advice, I'm overjoyed to introduce Brenda Windberg to the Muses. She's another one of the FREE EXPRESSIONS editorial / literary geniuses and I can't wait to share this little nugget of wisdom with you. So without further delay...on to Brenda!

When I think back on the best writing advice I ever received, I have to blush and admit that particular bit of wisdom must be filed into a subcategory as well, something I like to call ‘smart things I should have listened to but didn’t.’

Before I trot out my shoulds, let’s talk about the advice itself, which was brilliant from the very first moment it hit my ear, even if I wasn’t experienced enough to know it yet. It came to me via my agent, or the man who would ultimately be my agent, shortly after I met him at a writing workshop, and immediately after he made my head explode by asking me to send him my novel when I finished it.

To set the stage, at that point in my career, I was about as new as a newbie can get, fresh out of suburban Wisconsin and determined to make the most of every single minute in the ‘literary big city.’ So, when the agent’s next words were, “Don’t rush. I’ll wait for your best work,” I can’t actually promise I heard him. I mean, I HEARD him speak, and I fully understood what the words meant, but the waves of adrenaline filling my veins with celebratory bubbles might have been a wee bit distracting when it came to the actual storage and application of said wisdom.

So, long story short, I TOTALLY and COMPLETELY rushed. I made the classic clichéd mistake, speeding through the writing process so the agent wouldn’t ‘forget about me’ and finishing a draft in just under three months. Of course, the end result was amateurish and awful—a novice in a hurry…oy. Just oy.

Fortunately, however, this agent also had patience and a very good heart. Along with his kind rejection, he generously and sensitively offered feedback on my little monster, feedback I diligently applied to the rewrite—which I finished about nine months later. Though still not the best version of my story, this draft showed him I could slow down and thoughtfully apply myself, abilities I should have displayed the first time around. And, finally, the next draft convinced him I was client material. Again, thank goodness for the man’s patience.

Now I know my story ends with a happy ending, but I cannot stress enough how ridiculously lucky I was—like, seriously, Powerball lucky. Honestly, I’ve been an independent editor for more than a decade now, and the experience I’ve just shared is simply not the norm. With frustrating regularity, clients find themselves on the wrong side of opportunity because they rush, because they give in to the panic, to the frantic voice screaming that some other author will rush in and steal their moment, their idea, their place in literary history. And as a result, they make the process longer and more stressful. Instead of climbing steadily toward success, they careen through peaks and valleys, sentenced to travel the back roads instead of the highway, at least until they relax a bit.

In my case, now on the far side of two additional novels, I’ve discovered even more applications for this amazing piece of advice. By far, the best of those was learning that, when I slow down and immerse myself in the world of my own story, in addition to writing smarter and stronger, I also open up to the story possibilities, to all the things that make my work singular and spellbinding and potentially spectacular. Truly, there is no better gift.

So…take a deep breath, and then another. Listen as I pass along this crucial piece of advice: Don’t rush. Do your best. Your story waits for you and you alone.

***

BRENDA WINDBERG has been on the staff of Free Expressions since 2002. In addition to her work as staff editor and speaker at the Breakout Novel Intensive Workshops and at the Writers Retreat Workshops, Brenda has worked in publishing for more than a dozen years—both as editor and as an accomplished freelance writer, whose articles have won numerous awards. Her work has been featured in such publications as PARENT GUIDE, HARTFORD TIMES PRESS, FLORIDA HEALTHCARE NEWS and many others. Her fiction is represented by Matt Bialer of The Sanford Greenburger Agency. Brenda can be contacted at brenda@free-expressions.com.

I'm thrilled to introduce you to my new agency sister, Sara Larson. 

A few weeks ago I was with our agent Josh Adams, who was raving about a new client. I learned that it was Sara and heard a little bit about her manuscript, and made a mental note to reach out and say hello. Only a day later, I saw a message pop up from Sara, introducing herself, and I thought: Okay, Fate. I hear you loud and clear. Sara and I are going to be friends.

I hope you'll all make her feel welcome!

Here is Sara's Most Important Writing Advice. I love this post because it comes at a perfect time for me. I'm finishing up the UNDER THE NEVER SKY trilogy and wondering... where do I go from here? Here's what Sara has to say about the importance of what's next.

I was so excited when Veronica asked me to be a guest blogger this week on YA Muses. She asked me to share the most important piece of writing advice I’ve ever received.

I’ve heard and been told some really, really great words of wisdom over the years in regards to writing. But I kept coming back to the same piece of advice—because it’s the advice that made everything possible that’s happening for me right now. Without this piece of advice, who knows where I’d be… But I definitely wouldn’t be have just accepted an offer of representation by the amazing Josh Adams for a new book that I’m so very excited to (hopefully) share with the world sooner than later.

That advice? Write another book. Not a sequel, not a revision. As soon as you’re done with your current WIP, have it polished, and are out querying (or on sub, or whatever the case may be): WRITE ANOTHER BOOK. Because you just never know what’s going to happen.

I made the mistake of NOT following this advice for the first two years I was querying. I had written a book (it was totally going to be the next Harry Potter/Twilight, because it had magic and a hot boy who wasn’t a vampire but was still all mysterious and stuff), and since I was so sure it was only a matter of time before that book got discovered and became a best-seller, I worked on the sequel while I waited. And then I started writing the third book. Oh, how naïve I was. I finally realized about a hundred pages in to that third book, that although I loved this series intensely, and I was getting lots of interest, ultimately, it wasn’t getting me an agent. I wanted an agent. So I needed to write another book. A new book.

That next book is what landed me my first agent. But she didn’t request it until four months after I quit querying it and had moved on to the next book. (Funny how things work out sometimes.)

Ever since then, I’ve always followed this advice. I always start on the next book. When I left my first agent last spring, I was sure the book I began querying would get me an agent. But I still followed that advice: I wrote another book. Actually, I wrote two other books. And it was that second book that actually did land me my new, amazing agent just last month. If I hadn’t followed that advice, and worked on something new, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

One agent almost offered on the book I queried in late spring/summer, but eventually decided to pass. When I queried her with the new book last month, she immediately requested it, read it, and loved it. It was interesting because she told me how happily surprised she was to hear from me again, she said, “I’m always telling authors to write another book, to not just wait and see what happens, but I never expect them to actually do it.”

So my best advice to you? WRITE ANOTHER BOOK. And then another. And then another, if you have to. Once you get an agent and a book deal—then you can work on that sequel. And the best part is that you’ll get lots of practice on how to make each book better than the last in the meantime, right? Right.

Happy writing!

You read that right- this guest post features 31 debut authors sharing the best writing advice they've received on their writing journey.  There are some wonderful words of wisdom here from some fabulous writers.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!


"As someone who goes through a lot of revisions to get where I need to go, I think of Nora Robert's 'You can fix anything but a blank page' every single day."- Huntley Fitzpatrick, author of MY LIFE NEXT DOOR



"Think LEAN. Trim and trim and trim again until you have removed all unnecessary or repetitive words and phrases that can slow your readers down, or worse yet, make them yawn. Pay special attention to adverbs and adjectives -- they aren't all bad, but overuse can mark you as a beginner... or a hack! LEAN can refer to word choice as well. Overuse of flowery or obscure vocabulary can distract the reader from your story."-  Catherine Masciola, author of FISHTALE



"The best advice I received was from Octavia E. Butler at the Clarion West Writers Workshop: Be persistent. That really does cover you through every phase of your writing career, including drafting and revising, querying agents, submitting your stories and novels, collecting rejections, and so on. Many authors have succeeded because they put in the hours necessary to write their best work, and they didn't give up."  - E.C. Myers, author of FAIR COIN and QUANTUM COIN





"Someone said to me once, 'That book isn't going to write itself, you know.' I'd been moping around talking about writing and thinking about writing but not actually DOING the writing."- Zoraida Cordova, author of THE VICIOUS DEEP






"The best writing advice I ever got was not to judge your first chapter until you've finished the first draft. It will look much different to you once you've gotten to the end."- Lissa Price, author of STARTERS and ENDERS (2013)






"Don't start with action. Start with a change."  -Jodi Meadows, author of INCARNATE and ASUNDER (2013)



" Everyone talks about what you "see" in a scene, but employ all the senses. What does the scene smell like? What taste settles on the tongue?"- Anne Greenwood Brown, author of LIES BENEATH and DEEP BETRAYAL (2013)



 



"K.L. Going talking to me at a critique session: 'The rest sounds fabulous, but no one can read your book if it's only in your head.' I sat down and finished and it was the best thing I ever did. Love her!"- Kim Sabatini, author of TOUCHING THE SURFACE




"Your first ideas are always the most obvious. Dig deeper and push further to take your draft from good to great."- Shannon Messenger, author of  KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES and LET THE SKY FALL








"If I had to go for "best" it would be the tried and true 'You can't revise a blank page.'" -  E.M. Kokie, author of PERSONAL EFFECTS



"If you can do anything else - anything else in this whole freaking world and be HAPPY - do it.  Because this business is rough."- Gretchen McNeil, author of POSSESS and TEN









"Don't be easy on your characters. If there's no conflict, there's no action, and without action, your characters go nowhere." - Laura Ellen, author of BLIND SPOT



"The best writing advice I ever got was to find a good critique group. My group has been invaluable over the past eight years. Their critiques have helped me become a much stronger writer, and they've been a great source of support along the way, but just like agents, you have to find the right one with the right "rules" to create a group that will benefit everyone."- L.B. Schulman, author of LEAGUE OF STRAYS  






"Write...even when you don't feel like it."- Victoria Scott, author of THE COLLECTOR






"Don't develop any habits about where you write or what you need to write. Learn to write anywhere, any time, under any conditions."- Lauren Morrill, author of MEANT TO BE




 

"Read, read, READ. Oh yeah, and then read some more." - Claire Legrand, author of THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS




"Don't clean your house. The book is more important." - my mom - Nikki Loftin, author of THE SINISTER SWEETNESS OF SPLENDID ACADEMY (I love your mom- Talia)






"At some point, you're going to realize revision is your best friend. Most of us accept this around the same time we accept the fact that our WIP is a POS." - C.J. Redwine, author of DEFIANCE







"There are no "rules" -- figure out what works for YOU. (Also, expect what "works" to keep changing & evolving as you do.)"- Tiffany Schmidt, author of SEND ME A SIGN








"Write something else.  Don't get fixated on one manuscript. Keep writing. Try something new.  Write the thing that scares you."- Lana Krumwiede, author of FREAKLING





"Make your main character do something right away, in the very beginning of your story, that makes him or her likable. Readers root for people they like."- Tamara Ireland Stone, author of TIME BETWEEN US








"As a writing instructor who focuses heavily on craft/theory at times, I would advise people not to overdo it with the study of writing. While it is obviously very useful to study craft/theory, too much "reading about writing" can turn into a diversion that doesn't actually feel like a diversion. One feels very "writerly" when reading about writing. Plus, too much craft input will make your head explode and you'll have nothing but blank pages to show for it."- Colleen Clayton, author of WHAT HAPPENS NEXT




 

"Take what is useful, discard what is not. Make what remains your own." --Bruce Lee - Jenn Reese, author of ABOVE WORLD





 


"Always have a pen(cil) and paper with you, because as hard as you try to remember that brilliant idea that strikes at the most inconvenient time, you won't unless you write it down."- Gina Rosati, author of AURACLE



 


"Forget the rules. Forget the trends. The best book you can write is the one you WANT to write!"- Erin Jade, author of BUTTER





 
 
"It's okay that it's taking you so long to write your book. Books take time." -Mike Jung, author of GEEKS, GIRLS and SECRET IDENTITIES




 

 
"Endings should be inevitable yet unpredictable." - Sarvenaz Tash, author of THE MAPMAKER AND THE GHOST





 

"For any other plotters like me: 'It's not what HAPPENS next, it's what would the characters DO  next.'" - W.H. Beck, author of MALCOLM AT MIDNIGHT






"What is the worst thing possible that could happen to your character?  Make it happen." - Robin Bridges, author of THE GATHERING STORM and THE UNFAILING LIGHT


 


"Do the work in front of you."- Catherine Knutsson, author of SHADOWS CAST BY STARS








"The sign we kept on the wall in college (very good for first drafts): COMPLETION, NOT QUALITY"- Anne Nesbet, author of THE CABINET OF EARTHS

A.C. Gaughen is the author of SCARLET, a surprising retelling of the Robin Hood legend, published by Bloomsbury Walker this year.  She is also a Class of 2k12 sibling, an incisive blogger, an advocate for girls everywhere and a good friend.

So maybe I should set the scene.  This was in November of 2009—November 18th, actually, though to be honest I just looked that up—and I was halfway in the middle of this weird novel with this really bizarre voice that I was just writing because it was fun, and I liked it, and I didn’t have it in me to be so lofty or literary or something.  I just wanted to write something fun.

This novel was the next next next thing—the fourth novel I was working on after writing, polishing, editing and submitting three others, including my novel that resulted from my master’s thesis.

I had just turned 25 days before.  This was after coming home from Scotland, where I’d moved on little more than a whim, a savings account and a determination to make it work.  I had two years of visa work clearance I wanted to put it to good use.  But the economy was awful and I was living in a small town; no job, no money, no way to stay.  I moved home after less than a year.

I was working in a retail store where my 19 year old manager had recently had a fit because apparently I wasn’t spacing hangars correctly (I tried to tell her there have been two significant gaps in my education: American History after WWII and the politics of clothes-hanging).  I was barely above minimum wage and covering the rest with freelance writing, which was awful and actually very hard and draining.

I was still writing.  That’s important.  Even after all the awful rejections (one agent who had sent my full manuscript to an agency-wide meeting called me on Christmas Eve to reject me—that sucked) I was still writing.  I still believed.  Honestly, it was probably because if I didn’t believe, I’d have to accept the reality that I was wildly overeducated and underemployed and eons away from the life path.

And then I got an email from my library.  They were hosting an event at the local middle school, in my tiny town south of Boston, near no major public transportation or attractions.  And here, at this tiny little place, was Anthony Horowitz.

Anthony Horowitz!  Alex Rider Anthony Horowitz!  I was obsessed with his books while I lived in Britain; I devoured every one obsessively.  I watched something on him once about how he has a hidden passage in his house that leads to his office.  Where he writes.  In the secret passage.  Why was he here, in my little town, so far away from England?  What were the odds?

Obviously I went.  The event was clearly geared toward students so I tried to awkwardly sit near one and look like a parent.  He spoke, and was awesome.  I took notes, that I have somewhere still.  I bought two books, one for my friend from my masters program who obsessed over Alex Rider with me, and waited for all the kids with totally legit reasons to be there to clear out.  I hopped on the last spot in line and strode forward.

I gushed a little.  I told him how much I loved his books, and he asked if I wanted to be a writer.  I said yes, and we chatted a little bit about it, and I expressed that I wasn’t feeling like I had very much luck with it.  I don’t think I had to say how often I wondered how long I could keep doing this, keep working, keep getting rejected.

He looked at me and said, “It’ll happen.  It’ll happen because it has to happen.  Because you’re not just going to stop, are you?” and I dutifully shook my head no.  He nodded and handed me my book and said, “Alright then.”

That was November 18th, 2009.  By Christmas, I had finished SCARLET.  By January, I had signed with an agent.  By July, I had an offer.

So if you want this, if this is your dream, if everything is terrible right now and everything seems so incredibly stacked against you, if you’ve received rejection after rejection after rejection, keep going.

It’ll happen.  Because it has to happen.  Because you’re not going to stop, are you?

The people of Nottinghamshire know Will Scarlet as Robin Hood’s shadow, a slip of a boy who throws daggers with deadly accuracy and an accomplished thief with an unerring eye for treasure. A select few know that Will is actually Scarlet, a young woman “recruited” by Robin two years earlier as he wandered the alleys of London. But no one knows who the real Scarlet is, what she was doing in London, and how she got that scar on her cheek. That is, no one but Gisbourne, the ruthless thief-taker just hired by the sheriff to capture Robin and his band.










You can find A.C. Gaughen on the web and on Twitter, and you can find Scarlet here.

This week we are pleased to feature several guests to the blog.  First up, television producer and future YA author, Jennifer Pun.  Welcome, Jenn!

Very excited to be guest blogging for the YA Muses whom I had the pleasure of meeting at last month's YOUR BEST BOOK workshop in Charlotte.  I've been asked to write about the best piece of writing advice I ever received.  Safe to say I have a lot to choose from!  But as I'm in the process of writing a YA sci-fi thriller, I think the best piece of advice I've received to date is to remember to go deep....into POV.

 

Why this piece of advice (and what the heck does it mean)?  Well, since I'm writing a story that requires a lot of plot twists, turns and revelations, I outline first and then write to "connect the dots of each plot point" so to speak. 

So step one...Sally heads out the door, step two...Sally meets ninja (p.s. sadly my manuscript does not have ninjas), step three...Sally fights ninja. 

I have to constantly remind myself that a good manuscript is not just about interesting plot, it's about connecting with the characters and as Lorin Oberweger says, it's like "being a parasite" say, on your protagonist's shoulder - you're just that close. 

So in the example above, the writer needs to convey how the situation is impacting Sally: what's making her step out that door? How does she feel when she meets the ninja? Does she want to fight the ninja?  How does Sally's view of the ninjas differ from someone else in that same situation?  Do the actions Sally take ring true to her character or does it sound like the writer (in my case a cool, hip, thirty-something lady (okay, maybe not "hip")?

I've learned that if you want your reader to care about your characters, to feel immersed and invested in the story, then you need to understand your characters and allow yourself to go deep...real deep, try it, you'll be surprised at what you find.

A little about me:  I'm Canadian (don't judge), television producer (for tweens) and currently working on my first YA sci-fi thriller.  I'm also a regular contributor to YA blog www.thinkingtoinking.blogspot.com.