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Want to write a book? You can. You start writing, and you keep going. At around 80,000 words, you've got yourself a book. Now what? You sell the book to a major publisher, hit the bestseller lists, and order your new cherry-red Ferrari.
Writing has a beginning, middle, and an end. Some writers start at the end and then try to figure out how the story got there. Others like to start at the very beginning and work their way through to the end. And still others start with an idea that could be anywhere in the story. They just simply start.Start writing is the best advice any new writer can learn from an old pro. But, when they start talking to several old pros, they come to realize that there is no one way to begin. Each strategy works for each writer, so new writers may want to try several strategies until they find what works. But if you really want to hold a writer's imagination to the fire to get a definitive answer to how to write a book, then please read on.
Start with an outline just like your English teacher taught you. The first part can be about who the characters are, what they do and how they are connected. The next part can be about what you where you think your story will go. Think is the key word here, because your imagination may take an unexpected path.Write. Anything and everything is game. You may want to focus only on your idea, but you may find more freedom to put the idea in a different context to see where it goes from there. After you have written your story you will revise and edit. You will find many directions and then you will find the right one. And then when you are done you will revisit, edit and revise again and possibly find another direction.
Let's imagine that you've read a Harry Potter novel, and you're so enthusiastic that you're inspired to write your own children's novel. The words pour out of you; you're on fire. You write and write and write, and the pages pile up on your computer's hard drive.This is great. While you're writing, ask yourself: "In a bookstore, where would this book of mine be shelved?"If you're not sure, go to a bookstore and wander around the shelves. Is your book in the nonfiction section? In the children's section? In the romance novel or mystery section?
Reward yourself when you're done. You need to put your manuscript aside for a few weeks, anyway. Even Stephen King follows this practice. So have a party or take a vacation. Refresh yourself before the real work, the re-writing, begins.
Here's my 'trick'. When I get an idea for a book I get a ring binder and label it with my book title. Then I chuck into that ring binder some blank paper and a few plastic punched pockets to store things in. Then as I go about my work over the coming days I'll just scribble down on the paper in my folder any ideas I get which might be useful for the book. Also if I see any articles in newspapers or magazines, I'll rip them out and place them in the plastic pockets in the binder. Similarly, if I see a web page which might have some value to my book, I'll print it out and shove it in the binder. I do not make any value judgements, I do not try to put things in order, I simply chuck everything that might be useful into the ring binder. I also jot down questions that people ask me that are related to the book subject and I try to come up with my own questions which the book might answer. Anything and everything is collected into the ring binder.
Writing has a beginning, middle, and an end. Some writers start at the end and then try to figure out how the story got there. Others like to start at the very beginning and work their way through to the end. And still others start with an idea that could be anywhere in the story. They just simply start.Start writing is the best advice any new writer can learn from an old pro. But, when they start talking to several old pros, they come to realize that there is no one way to begin. Each strategy works for each writer, so new writers may want to try several strategies until they find what works. But if you really want to hold a writer's imagination to the fire to get a definitive answer to how to write a book, then please read on.
Start with an outline just like your English teacher taught you. The first part can be about who the characters are, what they do and how they are connected. The next part can be about what you where you think your story will go. Think is the key word here, because your imagination may take an unexpected path.Write. Anything and everything is game. You may want to focus only on your idea, but you may find more freedom to put the idea in a different context to see where it goes from there. After you have written your story you will revise and edit. You will find many directions and then you will find the right one. And then when you are done you will revisit, edit and revise again and possibly find another direction.
Let's imagine that you've read a Harry Potter novel, and you're so enthusiastic that you're inspired to write your own children's novel. The words pour out of you; you're on fire. You write and write and write, and the pages pile up on your computer's hard drive.This is great. While you're writing, ask yourself: "In a bookstore, where would this book of mine be shelved?"If you're not sure, go to a bookstore and wander around the shelves. Is your book in the nonfiction section? In the children's section? In the romance novel or mystery section?
Reward yourself when you're done. You need to put your manuscript aside for a few weeks, anyway. Even Stephen King follows this practice. So have a party or take a vacation. Refresh yourself before the real work, the re-writing, begins.
Here's my 'trick'. When I get an idea for a book I get a ring binder and label it with my book title. Then I chuck into that ring binder some blank paper and a few plastic punched pockets to store things in. Then as I go about my work over the coming days I'll just scribble down on the paper in my folder any ideas I get which might be useful for the book. Also if I see any articles in newspapers or magazines, I'll rip them out and place them in the plastic pockets in the binder. Similarly, if I see a web page which might have some value to my book, I'll print it out and shove it in the binder. I do not make any value judgements, I do not try to put things in order, I simply chuck everything that might be useful into the ring binder. I also jot down questions that people ask me that are related to the book subject and I try to come up with my own questions which the book might answer. Anything and everything is collected into the ring binder.
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