As a novice writer, you will experience your fair share of ups and downs. For example, you might love writing, but writing might not come naturally to you. This indicates that you will have to adapt to the process to make it work for you.
Even if you’re a natural, it still takes a lot of practice and diligent effort to hone your skills, especially when you want to write a manuscript or a book that ends up published.
And while you are doing the hard work, toiling, and writing your book, you will learn a lot along the way. It all starts with believing in your story, working hard, and creating something that you are ultimately proud of.
How to Write a Book – An Overview
Many aspiring writers ask themselves the important question: how do you write a book, or how to get started?
The answer to this simple question can mean a lot of things, including character development, editing, publishing, and hiring French illustrators, that is, if you are residing in France, to ensure that your book has the right amount of illustration to appeal to your ideal readers.
Nonetheless, if you have been writing for quite some time and if you have done a bit of digging, you might ask yourself the question of how to finish your first draft. While you are pondering this important question, you might find that writing isn’t easy.
If you have been reading reviews, you will see that only up to 5% of aspiring writers actually complete their first draft.
Some aspiring writers struggle with getting words on paper, while others barely have the time to try.
While the struggles might never end—even if you have successfully published six books in a row—you will want to know that success starts with your mindset. In other words, it starts with you, which means that you have to believe in your story and be passionate about the subject that you want to share with the world, and no one and nothing will stop you from finishing your first draft.
Tip #1: Start Writing and Keep Writing
While this tip is quite obvious, many people out there will fail to do what is necessary. Your book and your first draft will not be written on their own unless you take the time to get seated and write.
There are countless great resources out there, such as writing classes and books on writing, that can help you improve your writing, organize your ideas, use a mindmap, and make the entire writing process so much more efficient. However, despite the countless resources, none of the available tools will actually write the book for you.
If you spend your entire time researching and planning instead of doing the thing that you need to do, there is a chance that you are afraid of failure. Of course, it is a lot easier to hide behind all that extra stuff and do everything else but not roll up your sleeves and write – but – here is the challenge: stop whatever you are doing right now and jot down one sentence for your book.
Now, turn the sentence into a paragraph, and if you keep writing, you will soon find momentum, which will inspire you to keep going until you have completed a few pages or even a chapter.
Tip #2: Every Word Counts
As a novice writer who is just starting their journey, you might admire writers who can write more than 3000 words a day. Perhaps, on your best day, you might only be able to produce 1500 words, and even this might not happen often enough.
You might have also experienced those days when you were simply not able to jot down more than one paragraph. Of course, things like these can get discouraging – but – believe us when we tell you that your words, lines, and paragraphs – all add up.
While you take your tiny steps, you might have a page and then two—and before you know it, you have a full chapter. Now, it should be surprising to you if this little progress inspires you to write more.
Tip #3: Choose Progress over Perfectionism
When it comes to writing, you should choose progress over perfectionism. Simply put, when you are working on your draft, you should leave all the editing for later. Remember, once you are in the flow, you must keep writing, even if it feels like you are writing on rum. You can always edit later when you are sober.
The thing is that you don’t necessarily have to be drunk to brain-dump your thoughts and ideas on paper. Even if you are writing “crappy” for the better term, you will still want to continue writing, as you don’t necessarily have to write well to get words on paper.
No matter what you are writing and how you are writing it, you can always come back and polish it later. You might also assess your writing, take what works, and ditch the rest. As long as you are writing, everything counts as progress. So, you will want to focus on progress and leave perfectionism for later.
What is even better – you will want to find a beta reader or hire a professional editor to do the polishing for you, as a fresh pair of eyes on your manuscript is always better than relying on yourself. Right now, as a novice writer, your goal is to carve paths instead of paving the streets.
Tip #4: Jot Down Your Ideas
Lastly, another tip that will help you complete your first book is to write down your ideas and thoughts. It is a great idea to have a journal by the bed so that when you wake up suddenly when your brain is on fire and your heart is racing, you can jot down that perfect idea.
Your best ideas can come anywhere, especially when your mind is already going – whether you are on a walk or actively thinking about a story and even when you are pretending not to think about your idea when you are in a meeting.
Your best ideas don’t always appear as the most convenient ideas, which is why it is a great tip to keep your journal with you at all times so that you can jot down your ideas whenever they come to you.
