My mother was considered a good cook when I was a kid.  She made such exotic things as Spanish rice and rice pilaf.  Today, thanks to juli Child, but in many ways more to Rachel Ray, my daughters cook using pancetta, sun dried tomatoes, green chiles and other ingredients never heard of by my mother.

The food network has made chefs out of many cooks and the beneficiaries are the grateful American diners.  So it is with books.  More writers are being encouraged because of the tools both to hone their writing skills and to market their product once the skills have created a publication.

What an exciting time for people who love the written word!

If you are an artist and intend to paint a large, complicated painting, professionals paint a “study” on a somewhat smaller canvas.  This allows questions of composition, pallette, light source and shadows to be determined before touching a brush to the actual canvas intended for the final artwork.

Use the same care in preparing your novel.  lay out your outline, main characters, point of view, basic scenes, and overall plot before you start to “ramble” into your written project.  having said that, all of this is a help along the way.  Start writing today.  Continue tomorrow and each tomorrow until your first draft is finished. Inspiration moments, writer’s blocks and all the other excuses are just that.  Write and prosper!