How to prepare a paper manuscript?

On 28 March we had a very engaging and helpful discussion on how to prepare a paper manuscript. Our speakers Michael Van Der Kooij, Steffen Storck and Isabelle Arnoux shared with us their expertise, gained during their PhDs and their Postdocs.
Where to start from? Your data, of course. So, take a notebook and a pen and draft the data you have and how the figures should be, envision your story. The missing pieces (and experiments) will come to your mind. From here, the results and their discussion are just behind the corner. Moreover, try to choose in advance where you want to publish because each journal has different guidelines for figures and manuscript.
Writing a paper is writing a story. Publishing a paper is selling it, and to do it you will first have to convince the editor of the journal: cover letters should be captivating and convince the editor that your paper is the right one for their journal.
And don’t forget one thing: better you like writing!