Do you think you have what it takes to write the Great American novel?  You're not alone.  Especially in today's climate of celebrity, where reality TV show starlets have book deals, it seems easy to write.  You don't even need to laboriously scrawl out your masterpiece with a quill and an ink bottle, or even bang it out on a keyboard:  Computers have made it easier than ever to type out a manuscript.  But even in our computer age, book stores are rife to overflowing with books.  Can you add a book to the library shelf?

First, if you haven't already, take a course.  It doesn't have to be a university writing program. It could be an evening class at a junior college, or a workshop at a community center.  If you are thinking about a novel, which is pretty ambitious, you should start off with stories, poems or essays.  But a writer should also gauge a prospective audience, and show people their work.  Write out a draft, polish it until you require feedback and show it to a friend, or start sending your work out to a literary magazine.  There are many fabulous quarterly publications, put out by leading universities and small presses, as well as highly influential magazines like All Story and the New Yorker.

A writer also reads. Read a lot: the classics, popular fiction, book club selections.  Don't be a snob.  Different genres can provide valuable lessons on plotting and structure.  Also read books about writing.  Do practice writing exercises to keep the juices flowing.

You need to find your own voice and style that you can sustain over an entire manuscript.  The final draft doesn't have to be perfect, there are many editors that work on books, including line editors, copy editors and substantive editors.  But to even get an editor to look at a draft, it has to be good, especially if you are unknown.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. To bang out a manuscript, you not only have to write it, you have to rewrite it until it’s perfect in your eyes. You won't want anything but exactly what you have to say to be in print forever, right?

One thing to keep in mind before you tackle your project is to write what you know.  In other words don't set your novel in Hollywood, California if you have never been there.  A reader can sense if something is authentic.  Be real.  It doesn't mean you can't write science fiction, or something not of this world.  In those cases the intent and the emotion must be true and honest.  It is a lot easier to write about heart break if you have been broken-hearted.  If it is fake, no one will buy it because they can't relate to it.

Aside from writing what you know, another old chestnut of writing is show don't tell.  For example don't write:  Joe is mad.  Instead write:  Joe raked his hands through his hair with steely fingers.  He slammed the door with all his might and cursed under his sour breath.

You don't have to show everything however.  Writing needs exposition.  Expository sentences help tell the story. 

A short article can't tell you how to get an idea for a novel or how to market it, but hopefully now you are more orientated in the right direction.  Just because something looks easy, it doesn't mean it is.