Something I get asked quite a few times is to give some tips to start your own novel. As such (and because I think it can be helpful) I decided to write this short auxiliary chapter. Bear in mind that everything I am saying came from my own experience while writing Broke, and what worked for me might not necessarily work for you. Still, a few tips never harmed anyone.

TIP 1: Write everything. I have literally dozens of half-a-page stories, about everything you can imagine. Most of them I won't ever touch again, but that's how I started Broke. Some of you probably know I wrote and dropped a few novels before finally finding my calling.

TIP 2: Try to have a consistent release schedule while at the same time maintaining the quality. That is a tad difficult, and I struggled a lot at the start. But readers won't stick either with a story poorly written and barely understandable, neither with one where they don't know if the next chapter will me tomorrow or next month. Nobody can tell you what your schedule has to be. It's pretty much trial and error, until you find one where the time you spend writing, revising, with your daily activities, work, study, and what else can be combined into some kind of routine. In my case, it's once very other day.

TIP 3: This one is more about grammar itself. I never had an editor or something of the kind, and I don't plan on having one. But you have to pay attention to grammar, especially if English is not your first language. This might be a bummer to some, but your first chapters will almost certainly have bad grammar. Only practice improves it. As you can see in my first chapters, my grammar is far from perfect, which is another reason why revising chapters is important. You have to check and revise a chapter before you release it, and stop worrying too much about it after. When you have time, later, you can go back to rewrite it.

TIP 4: Also grammar. Don't repeat the same word too many times in a row. Too make it easier to understand, take my novel as example. When I am referring to the clones, I also use the following words: troopers, soldiers, brothers. When I am talking about Ragout: Togruta, Jedi, padawan. Some kind of repetition is inevitable, but try not to overuse a word, since it make the novel feel stiff.

TIP 5: Accept criticism and suggestions. I don't mean you have to follow everything yours readers want, nor that you have to take an offense and be quiet about it. You saw by yourselves how I deleted racist, political, or just extremely rude comments. But constructive criticism, ideas and opinions HAVE to be always welcomed, even if you don't use them.

TIP 6: Interact with your readers. Answer their comments and doubts (as politely as you can, even if the comment isn't that flattering), upvote the ones you like, and so on.

TIP 7 (and last one): Have fun. I know this sounds like a pep talk, but it's important. Remember, above all else, that you are writing for fun, or for a hobby (if you start to make money out of it, which isn't my case, it's a whole new story). If writing starts to have a negative impact in your life, take a break. I myself spent days without writing if I am in a bad mood, because I know the chapters won't be good.

Well, I believe that's all I have to say. I've wanted to write something like that for quite some time now, because I went through a lot, and grew a lot, while writing Broke. I wanted to tell you all about my experiences, a little bit to brag, I admit, but mostly I genuinely think they can be helpful to new writers. And, if you do start writing, comment about it in this chapter (not on the normal ones, please). I will love to support you like you all support me.