This document provides tips for writing manuscripts in 3 or fewer sentences: It discusses how to generate ideas by leveraging your expertise in a field, conquering writer's fear through small steps, and getting started by journaling or rewriting existing works. The document also covers organizing a manuscript with topics and subtopics, keeping track of characters in fiction, and editing for grammar, flow, and common errors.

1. Manuscripts Made Easy
Debbie Elicksen
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2. Taking ideas
from other writers
Plagiarism
Permissions
Credits
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3. Write a paragraph
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Write a paragraph

4. 4
The blank page

5. Have something to say
What do you know that others do not?
What is your expertise?
What is the trend in your industry?
What are you most known for?
What do you do that is different from
everyone else?
What isn’t being said about your
industry?
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6. Conquer Your Fear
• Break down into sub-categories
• Find a reason
• Face the challenge and do it anyway
• Take small steps to build stamina
• Mix it up
• Look at other formats: audio, visual…
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7. Where to Start
• Get used to writing
• Journal
• Blog
• Just get words on “paper”
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8. Getting Kick-started
• Watch people, commercials, TV,
YouTube, birds, pictures…shop
• Blend: poetry and songs; pick a song
you like and Google the lyrics, write
your own words
• Re-write something
• Find a novel and copy part of a
chapter and write what you think will
happen next
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9. Your book’s resume
Title
Description – general overview
What’s on the market
Target audience
Author’s qualifications
Preliminary table of contents
Marketing plan
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10. A manuscript is
like a sculpture
It starts as a
slab of stone
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11. • Be meticulous in your proofing. Don’t
let anything leave your possession
until you know it’s your best work.
• The good writer seems to
communicate without exertion.
• Grow a thick skin.
• Really mean every word you write.
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12. Tools
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13. Research’s best friend
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14. Break it down into topics
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15. Main topics and sub topics
Topic
Sub
Sub
Topic
Sub
Sub
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16. Fiction: keep track of
characters
Terry Clark
• Career minor leaguer
• First shot at pros for 6 games – 6 wins
Jamie McLennan
• Career back-up goalie
• Goaltending coach
Theoren Fleury
• Nearly didn’t get drafted
• Suspended and reinstated at age 41
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17. Tools for writers’ block
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18. Writing
• Practice writing
• The first draft will have errors and
flaws
• Your work is more than likely great, it
just needs polishing
• There is no right or wrong way—it’s
about developing the story the best
way you can
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19. Stories do not have to be in
written format
• Audio
• Video
• Words
• Photography
• Painting
• Comic
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20. Writing
• Show, don’t tell
• Use all five senses
• Give your eyes a break after a long
stretch of writing
• You don’t have to write in sequence
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21. Editing
Grammar and punctuation
Spelling
Poor construction
Flow
Redundancy
Writing is 99 percent sweat equity
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22. Common Errors
• .” not “. -- quotation AFTER period,
comma
• Mom, my mom
• Language
• Tense
• Spacing after period
• Spelling consistency
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23. Editing tips
Simplify your language. Don’t use five words when
one word will do.
Never assume everyone knows your industry
jargon or is impressed with fancy foreign phrases
and scientific words.
Be consistent.
Commas, dashes, quotations, possessives, and
titles – when in doubt, look it up.
All right is two words not one. Don’t take words
and names for granted.
Practice your editing on emails & social media.
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24. Go and find your voice
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25. My Books
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