I found some old notes I took while attending a writer’s seminar several years ago at the Spanish Fork Memorial building. These are notes of counsel from Rachel Muses about writing:

A: Get rid of weak verbs “be, was, came, went” chose flew, Use a theasurus to flavor your story but don’t overuse a word. Use new verbs and new action. A strong word will make your story interesting.
B: Start the story with a good hook. The first paragraph and first few pages can get a reader interested in the book.
C: Have a strong plot. Your character may not know everything. Hutt feels bad for not turning his Jim, black friend, in. The “Huckerbury Finn” character feels bad for not doing it yet the reader is proud of him.
D: Don’t create an incident to make a character get out of a problem. Maybe incident can be the cause of the problem.
E. Omniscient voice may not make a story as enjoyable because everyone knows everything. First voice makes a piece personable.

Q: how does she plan a novel? She thinks of the first 2000 pages the night before and then continues on
Q: How do you find a writing group? Found hers through Utah Writer’s League.
Q: How do you develop your characters? She creates a character sketch. One girl is very impulsive. Then as your write your character the person will change and you need to also document the new attitudes gained by experience.
Q: How much published before your first novel? She sold 4 short stories.
Q: How to you handle simultaneous submissions? Look to see who will consider simultaneous submission. If they say no, then don’t.
Always tell an editor that the story is a simultaneous submission is it is. LDS market they usually respond quickly. Some publishers will want only books where LDS are featured. When you watch people different things can inspire your book.

Please feel free to give additional suggestions on this topic. Share your comments on the comment section of the blog/site. Thanks