I wrote and finished editing 14 novels. But I’d consider the first five or so as practice. Every novel is about 100,000 words, which is the length that was selling at the time. I’ve sold 57 articles on a variety of subjects, but mostly for the Sunday newspaper supplements. While I feel like a better person for having writ, it made me no richer. Writing those novels, however, was the most fun I’ve had with my pants on.
The trick, is to sit down and write. Don’t stop to edit until you’re done. (Actually, because my novels have complex plots, I often edited the previous day’s work to refresh myself on where the plot was.)
Here’s when you know it’s good. When you’re writing and suddenly the characters start coming up with their own dialog because they have become so defined that you can’t force them to do or say something that isn’t in their “character.” Sometimes, the plot ends up in a different place, but it’s always a better and more logical place that’s consistent with who the characters are. I always wrote several pages for each character detailing how they grew up, what influenced their lives and why they turned out the way they did. Ninety percent of this never makes it into the story. But having that foundation makes the character what he and drives him to do what he does.
I had written a firefight scene that took place between the bad guys and a Florida trooper who just rolled up on the scene without any knowledge about what was going on. The scene was logical and foreshadowed. I had interviewed the commander for the Highway Patrol (I’m in Tallahassee.) for a newspaper article and I asked if he’d read it. He did and made some wonderful suggestions, including the proper language for the radio. After I gave him the finished copy, he told me the entire department had read it and his tactical training guy said he’d read it twenty times and sent out copies saying, “This is how it happens. This is what you have to be ready for.”
Good advice.