How to Write a Book
The Internet is filled with all kinds of writing advice, starting from books written by successful writers and ending in short, everyday Twitter tips. But reading about how to write a book doesn’t actually make you write it, so close every tab of writing advice you had opened before and read this guide and start creating a masterpiece.
Tips for Book Writing
Before you immerse yourself in the incredible world of creativeness, and things like where you are going to place your characters, consider these simple tips to help navigate through all of the events and feelings.
1) Write as a habit. Yes, we know this is boring advice, and you have heard it more than a dozen times already, but nothing works like this. You don’t need to write a chapter at once, because even a page or a paragraph would be enough—just make it habitual.
2) Write as it flows. If it’s your first book, the right words may not come at once when you need them. The technique of free writing can be useful here. You may read about it on the Internet, because there are plenty of guides and articles, both free and not. But to cut the long story short, just write everything that comes to your mind. “I don’t know what to write about. Here I am, sitting and waiting for ideas for my novel to come, but they won’t.” And eventually, you will start thinking about your characters, events and plot—just what you’ve wanted.
3) Forget perfection. What keeps many authors from finishing their book or even starting to write their first chapter is the idea that they should learn how to arrange words in a perfect manner, and how to create perfectly realistic characters and a perfectly engaging plot before they start writing. Whenever you catch yourself on thoughts like these, pinch yourself just as a reminder that these aren’t true and you need to simple write to become a writer.
4) Forget critics. First of all, choose several honest friends you trust. This means they won’t make painful and frustrating comments, but they also won’t lie. But even when you listen to someone else’s opinion about your creation, remember that you can write about whatever on Earth you want, and these comments are just observations, not necessairly recommendations to be followed.
Steps in Book Writing
Now that you are fully armed, it’s time to actually start writing a book. Follow this steps carefully to create your masterpiece.
1) How did this all start? This is an important question to ask at the beginning. Did you invent a great character and decided he or she should be the main figure of a fascinating plot? Or, maybe you invented the plot first? This short query will help to discover which parts you actually lack in your future book.
2) Now you know what part of your future book needs more elaborate thinking, whether it’s plot, main characters, secondary characters or setting. It’s easier said than done, but start pushing this element as hard as you an, and the result will come soon. Don’t forget that you may get help from your friends, writing clubs or even strangers online. And there’s nothing more effective than a fresh look on a problem that you have been trying to solve for months.
3) Start writing. There’s no better way to write a book than to actually sit down, shut off all the notifications, and write. Maybe at first you will hardly finish a page, but take it from us—the process will eventually become easier and more enjoyable.
4) Proofread. This part is boring when it comes to research papers or essays, but it’s incredibly fun in book writing. Here you don’t have to be strict and academic, you can play with words, substitute them and choose from the vast variety of whatever ones you would like to add flavor to your creation.
5) Publish. Even if you didn’t have the idea initially to make your brainchild public, you should. The thought of your work being seen by other people will help you to make it better, and it will also help you to end the, because you will have a deadline. Setting deadlines can be stressful, but it’s a helpful thing to do, especially if you are not the kind of person who keeps everything in order (and most writers are not).
Mistakes to Avoid While Book Writing
Whether this is your first book or the fifth one, you will see some mistakes right after it is published. Perfectionism often follows any kind of talent, and it’s important to remember that nothing is ideal. However, here is a list of actions to take so you can avoid the most popular mistakes that can be harmful for your story:
- don’t compare
In the age when people tend to publish literally everything that is going on in their lives, avoiding comparisons can be a really hard task to pursue, but your hard work will be rewarded by the priceless feeling of freedom. When you constantly compare (and there are many things you can compare in writing, such as style, richness of vocabulary, and word count written every day), you forget about your own peculiarities and ideas and try to resemble someone else’s. This is what ruins your book.
- don’t answer to any messages or notification while you are writing
You should know better than anyone else that immersing yourself in the process of writing takes time, but once you manage to do it, your characters literally start acting and talking on their own, and you just need to watch that movie inside of your head and note the events down. So do yourself a favor: disconnect from the Internet, and have a little bit of personal time with your future book.
- don’t discard things that inspire you
Find out where inspiration normally hits you. Maybe, the beautiful ideas will come to your mind during the way to work or, when you are cooking at home? There’s no such thing as standard inspiration. Someone likes to listen to music, while others get great ideas after watching a movie, but this doesn’t mean all these things will work the same for you. Find your own source of inspiration, even if it’s cleaning the house. Also, remember that making mistakes is just an alternative way of saying “learning.”
How to Choose Book Title
Okay, so let’s assume you have some great and realistic characters, but you have absolutely no idea where to put them. Or, perhaps, you are stuck at some point and don’t know how you want the action to evolve from this point on. We have some secrets to share with you.
- Write about something that has always bothered you. Whether this is fiction or non-fiction, if you stick to the topic that made you enthusiastic, you will be far more dedicated to writing it. Besides, if you have decided to write a book, this means that many important thoughts have already gathered in your head.
- Don’t pay too much attention to what’s popular now. This world is changing fast, and what is regarded as boring and not cool today may be at the top 10 trends tomorrow. The truth is, while trying to adapt your thoughts, talent and skills to what is going on around you, you may actually loose them.
- Observe the world around you. Our everyday life is full of drama, but it’s often perceived as ordinary and not worthy to be written about, such as break-ups with boyfriends, moving to another city and going to a job interview. Well, the secret is not what you are writing about, but how you are describing it.
- The second major problem modern aspiring authors face is that every plot in every configuration from every point of view has been already written about a dozen times. Ancient writers were so much luckier than modern ones: they had a tale about a princess kidnapped by a dragon, and a knight saving the princess. And this was dramatic, engaging and interesting enough for their audiences. By now we’ve already had a princess which runs away, or falls in love with a dragon, or a dragon actually saves her from the evil knight. But, once again, it’s not what you are writing about, it’s how you are writing.
- Forget that you need a topic, and just write. You know, all these discussions about what the author wanted to say are often invented by literary critics and people that read and comment on your book. You definitely need to have some basic message to be conveyed in your book, but don’t bother yourself too much with inventing elaborate symbols and subplots (if you are not normally into it, of course).
Share your thoughts and experiences on how do you write a book below. We are sure you have some interesting ideas in your creative writing minds.
