1. One work in progress (WIP) at a time
2. No revision until the first draft is complete
3. Do not write a work that does not have a title
4. Write a minimum of 10,000 words on those weeks that are designated "writing weeks."
5. No more than two consecutive weeks may be designated as a non-writing week, barring extenuating circumstances (e.g. professional obligations, wife in the hospital, etc.)
6. Write chronologically
7. Do not create a project folder for the WIP until the first draft is complete (this is bad luck).
8. Copy the manuscript file to a flash drive and secondary storage device every two weeks (or more frequently) to prevent catastrophic data loss in the event of Eee PC theft or destruction
9. Do not show the manuscript to anyone else until it has been revised to second-draft status
10. Do not query agents until the manuscript is revised to third-draft status
- a. A work may be suspended to revise a draft of a previously completed manuscript or edit galleys of a manuscript being published
b. A work may be abandoned if it is not salvageable and a new WIP begun
- i. If an abandoned WIP is resumed, this original work must be stripped for usable content and the manuscript begun anew
2. No revision until the first draft is complete
- a. Revision is permitted to re-establish rhythm if a WIP was suspended to revise the draft of another manuscript
3. Do not write a work that does not have a title
- a. This title can be changed at any time but may not be eliminated outright
4. Write a minimum of 10,000 words on those weeks that are designated "writing weeks."
- a. A non-writing week is a "reading week" wherein a book/books will be read to recharge creative batteries.
5. No more than two consecutive weeks may be designated as a non-writing week, barring extenuating circumstances (e.g. professional obligations, wife in the hospital, etc.)
6. Write chronologically
- a. If inspired, write only until this inspiration is spent and place this at the bottom of the WIP until the story reaches the point at which this inspiration can be assimilated
- i. If inspiration for a non-WIP work occurs, write a blog post tagged "ideas" to satisfy such inspiration then return to the WIP
7. Do not create a project folder for the WIP until the first draft is complete (this is bad luck).
- a. A project folder can be created to store supplementary files (scraps, maps, etc) but the manuscript file must remain in the general "novels" folder of your computer.
8. Copy the manuscript file to a flash drive and secondary storage device every two weeks (or more frequently) to prevent catastrophic data loss in the event of Eee PC theft or destruction
9. Do not show the manuscript to anyone else until it has been revised to second-draft status
- a. A second draft constitutes a minimum of one (but may include more) pass that reviews and revises every chapter of the manuscript
10. Do not query agents until the manuscript is revised to third-draft status
- a. A third draft constitutes the dissemination to qualified third-party reviewers and the application of their feedback to every chapter of the manuscript