So you want to write a book? - Part 1

Getting started.

Over 80 percent of North Americans feel they have a book in them, a book they need to write.  Yet how many see the light of day?  Not many.

What holds people back from sending their words out into the world?   Much of it is tied into their lack of knowledge and confidence that they can do it.  They question their ability to write, never mind write well and time becomes a real challenging factor.  

How can they fit it into an already jam-packed schedule?  Take all this and it is easy to see how overwhelming this can all be and so they don’t even start.

This is an instance when you just have to start, taking it one step at a time. Maybe it requires you to step away from your usual routine and spend some quiet time thinking about your book.  What will it be about?  Who will want to read it? What are your key messages?  Why do you want to write it?

When you have come up with your answers to these questions, you have a foundation upon which to build and start your book.  One of your first steps needs to be to start writing. Regularly.  You need to strengthen your writing muscle and so writing every day helps hone your writing skills.

It doesn’t have to be lengthy epistles but if you can move towards 500 words a day, you will be surprised at how much easier it becomes to put words on paper.  Think about when you are most creative – are you a morning person or a night owl?  Is there a spot in your home or office that stirs up your creative juices. 

For example I am an early bird and I enjoy the quiet of my home office at the farm.  But for others, the hustle and bustle of a Starbucks is just what they need to get writing.

Wherever you chose, schedule your time to write on a daily basis. Writing a book is all about discipline, you need to block off your time to write. Now a word about those words.  Don’t edit as you go along, that comes later. What you want to do is to just go with the flow and get writing. 

And reading.  It helps to read work done by other writers.  Find people you want to follow and start observing how they write.  How do they describe situations?  Can you picture in your mind what is happening or how the person is feeling?  Make note of what works for you as the reader.

This post is part one of a series on writing books by Anne Day, President of Full Circle Publishing and author/editor of five books on Women and Entrepreneurship.  Her next book, co-authored with Amy Vodarek will be coming out in Spring, 2017

Pursuing the dream - writing your book

This summer I have several authors working away at their books.  All are at different stages and while the summer is a great time to set aside and write, it can also be challenging.

When you are sharing raw, emotional times in your life, it can be hard to revisit and dig up your past. And then there’s the decision about how much you reveal and how vulnerable you want to be.

I applaud the writer who can go there because at the end of the day, your courage will help others as you can be sure that your story will resonate with others who are in similar situations today or in the past.  But it is a tough decision, as often there are other people in your family who may be impacted by your brutal honesty.   

As well as the emotional side to writing a book, there’s also the physical aspects to consider.  Being summer you may well want to work outside but find it is hard to see your screen.  One option is to try pen and paper to see if that stirs up your creative juices.  Another is to work on your book through postcards, where you can jot down key messages, ideas and stories to tell, so that later when you are indoors, you can just sit at your computer and write.

Another challenge maybe that your book is in your head and if you could just dictate it, it would get done.  These days there’s lots of software where you can just dictate your book and voila, your words are on paper.  One friend swears by Read & Write on Google Chrome. So don’t make that an excuse – get cracking.

All of this to say that there is no right way to write a book.  The key is to get into a groove, schedule time to write (or dictate) and make it happen. 

Just remember that your first draft is just that… a first draft. 

The power of three

In his book, Nobody wants to read your sh*t, author Steven Pressfield talks about how the make up of your book is the same whether you are writing a novel, a memoir, a play or a script.  There needs to be a beginning, a middle and an end.

In terms of your writing, this means that you need a hook right at the start to keep the reader interested and reading. This doesn’t always mean that you begin in chronological order but it could be, in the case of a memoir for example, that you start when your life started to go south, and then you weave back to your beginnings.

Hooking the reader in is crucial so you want to make sure that what you are writing about grabs their attention or resonates with them to the point that they want to read on.

After building your momentum, you still have to keep up the pace in the middle of your book, expanding further on your story or what you want to say in more depth.

The ending has to summarize all that you have been saying and give some conclusion as well as some sense of where this is all going so the reader moves forward.

This power of three is what works in speech writing too. 

I often encourage writers to think of their three key messages, and then under each message list the different stories they could share to illustrate the point.  This keeps you honest and on track in writing your book, as you stay consistent and don’t get off topic. 

You may also want to check in part way through your book.  Have your messages changed? Sometimes when you drill down you discover a new message that you hadn’t considered before, one that ties in with your ending and where you want to take your book, and your reader.

Such an evolution is fine as it shows that you are getting more entrenched with your topic, and hopefully giving more thought on the end outcome.  It is good to ask yourself where do you want to leave the reader at the end?  What do you want them to do as a result of reading your book?  Once you have answered those questions, you may be clearer on what you need to write in order for that to happen.

At Full Circle Publishing, we’ve developed a “Book at a Glance” template which helps keep you focused and on track.  If you would like a copy, email me at anne@fullcirclepublishing.ca