Ten Tips On How To Write A Book

If you’ve been thinking about writing a book, whether it’s a novel, a children’s book, a biography or a self-help book, but you have trouble getting started, consider the following.

Getting started

The first thing to do is not to think of your story as a book. It’s too overwhelming. You probably consider chapters and chapters with information and you might think … what am I going to talk about? You might have an attention-grabbing start of a story and thought of a brilliant ending, but what about everything in-between?

Write or type

Even though we live in an age of computers, plenty of writers prefer pen and paper versus a computer or laptop. Some writers sit in front of their computer, their fingers resting on the keyboard, their eyes staring at an empty screen. They can’t think of a single thing to say. Give those same writers a pen and the words flow effortlessly onto the paper. Some people just can’t think and type at the same time. Give it a try. James Patterson himself writes all his stories with a pencil.

Location, location, location

You may have carved out an office for yourself at home only to find that you have no inspiration whatsoever. If that is the case, try a different location. The couch in the living room, your bed or even the kitchen table. While some writers need peace and quiet to think, others need a buzz around them. As an experiment, try a coffee shop, a diner, or a park.

Write for one

When you sit down to write, don’t write for an audience, write for one specific person. This can be a family member, a friend, or even a colleague. Now tell that person a story. How would you start? Not that the start of a story is all that important, you can always change the opening line or even the opening chapter, later. The main thing is that you start with something.

Show don’t tell

You might have heard the phrase ‘Show don’t tell’ and be confused bout it. You’re telling a story, not showing a story, so where lies the difference?

Imagine that the person you’re telling your story too is blind. As such, when you describe a scene, whether it’s a house, a room, or a wedding reception, you’ll have to give details of the setting. To help you along, look for a picture of a house, a room or a gathering. What do you see? Describe the look of the house, the surrounding area, the furniture, the colors, the atmosphere.

Now imagine that the person you’re telling your story to is deaf. You’ll have to describe sounds. The honking of cars, the screeching of tires, the hum of a fan, the screams of terror, the laughter of children.

The characters

Every story has a main character and one or several side characters. Here too it helps when describing the characters in your story to have a picture handy. The picture can be one of a friend, a colleague, a model or a celebrity. Any picture will do as long as you can describe their facial features, hairstyle and body type.

Don’t forget to dress your characters. While it’s not necessary to describe every outfit they’re wearing, in some instances, it helps the reader visualize the character. What kind of outfit does your main character fancy? Elegant or jeans and a t-shirt? When describing a scene in the middle of winter, you might want to put your character in a sweater or even a parka.

Keep notes

Keeping notes is very important when writing a story. Even if you keep pictures handy of your main character and side characters, in the throes of writing you might make a mistake. For instance, in chapter one you might describe your main character with short blond hair and in chapter 53 state that your main character throws her hair over her shoulder. Don’t keep your notes on scraps of paper as these might get lost, take notes in a book or create a file on your computer.

Time management

There’s much debate about writing time. Some state that a writer should keep a schedule and write every day for a certain amount of time. While that is a good theory, the practice is rather different. You might sit down intending to write but lack inspiration. What’s the point of sitting there? You’ll only get frustrated. Write when you feel like it and if you can’t think of a single thing to say, do something else. Often when tending to the laundry or weeding the flower beds, an idea will suddenly come to you. In that case, abandon the towels, the bed sheets or the flowers and go write.

To outline or not to outline

There’s an equal debate about whether a writer should outline a story or not. Some writers say that they need an outline to know where the story is going, others prefer to fly by the seat of their pants. Working with an outline is kind of like taking a dog for a walk on a leash, while no outline is taking the dog out and setting him free, see where he will go.

Dealing with distractions

Every writer deals with distractions. House chores need tending to, the dog needs to be walked, the cats want to be petted, cups of coffee need to be made. Rather than resisting these distractions, give in. Make the beds and do the dishes, if Fido keeps looking at you with pleading eyes, take him for a walk, if Fluffy keeps headbutting you for some attention, give her a cuddle, and if you feel like a cup of coffee or tea, you make it. What’s the point of resisting? Do whatever needs to be done and afterward, you’ll be able to concentrate on your writing.

Be prepared to work, work, work. Writing a book is not like writing a blog. Your creativity will be tested to the limit. If you start to feel the pressure, or you start doubting yourself, have a trusted family member or friend read your work. You will either get feedback that what you have is good and you will be encouraged to carry on or you might receive some helpful insights.

Now then, whatever you do, if you want to write that story you have in mind, write it. You will either come to the conclusion that novel writing isn’t for you or a few months from now you will fist pump the air and say … I did it!