Writing a book is not as difficult as it might seem. If a person who wants to write his work has a remarkable imagination, desire and story that he would like to convey to the reader, then all that remains for him is to gain willpower, perseverance and write, write and write.
You already have a theme, textural images of the main characters, a coherent plot is drawn, but how to turn the idea into a book? A clear organization is important here – make a plan for your work in advance and do not forget to stick to it, says Anastasia Chernysheva.
Let’s show this with examples.
How to write a book in 30 days
- Identify the main goals of writing the book. Why am I writing: for commercial gain, to advertise my services, to gain expert status?
- Collect materials on the selected topic in one folder, determine what must be in the book, and what is secondary
- Create a draft. It may not be perfect, but don’t waste time, the process is important.
- The next stage is literary processing. Structure the plot, make an introduction, conclusion, write down transitions between chapters. Once again, analyze all the characters, is there a solid image? Or do you need to add details? Have you provided all references to studies?
- Editing. Checking for readability, consistency, ease of perception, error correction. This work is best left to a professional editor. This will save time and avoid mistakes that a professional will not miss.
- Proofreading. Final proofreading, making final edits. This work is usually done by a professional proofreader, he will find all the missing commas, return the missing brackets and format the text in accordance with linguistic standards.
- Yes! Your manuscript is ready for publication!
All these stages may take 30 days, or maybe 365. However, if you do not have time to work on a work, you can always order the writing of a turnkey book – from scratch or based on your materials. There are such options as reciting the material by the author in audio format, interview sessions with the writer, providing the customer with their own audio courses, video recordings, webinars, outlines, training texts to create a book based on them.
How to write a fantasy book
- Determine the place and time of events: think over the main idea of your world, describe it, make a map, specify the time frame and the location of your future heroes.
- Create rules: the class system, the moral foundations of society, the laws of the existence of the supernatural.
- Introduce heroes, real and unreal characters: decide on the motivation of each, choose the main character, the main antagonist and other bright “Persians”.
- Think about the plot: start with an outline of the main line, highlight the main problem, pay close attention to the main character.
- Bring the story to its logical conclusion.
How to write a book about yourself
- Start with the information you would share when meeting someone you like.
- There is no need to strictly adhere to the chronological order. Start with what matters to you.
- In parallel, enter the card files of your memories – do not forget to systematize them, leave not only text notes, but also audio recordings, photos.
- Think about the structure of your book: introduction, chapters, paragraphs, conclusion, appendices. The main idea that you want to convey to readers.
- Determine how much time each day you will devote to a book when it is more convenient for you to work on it. Set deadlines!
- Don’t force yourself to write in a strict sequence. Work with those memories that you want to plunge into today.
How to start writing a book
- Motivation. Why am I writing? For whom? What do I want to achieve with this?
- Mode. Choose the schedule in which it is more comfortable for you to work: it is more convenient for someone to write every day for 30 minutes, for someone only on weekends, but for 5 hours.
- Select a theme. What will my work be about? Who is it for?
- Draw a plot outline. These are the main events, schemes of cause and effect relationships.
- Create detailed portraits of the main characters.
- Determine key scenes, turning points in the story.
And, most importantly, start writing! All preparatory steps are useless if the author keeps postponing work on the book.
The three main steps in writing a book
The process of writing a book boils down to three critical points, says Artem Kosorukov:
- choosing a general topic and specifying it in the title of the book,
- development of a structure or table of contents, according to which the presentation of the material will be built,
- collection and analysis of information, which, depending on the chosen topic, may include both scientific monographs and articles, dissertations, as well as materials from online publications and the media, databases, reports, reports, statistics, etc.
Given the time limit of 30 days, I would advise spending a third of the time on searching and reading specialized literature on the selected topic, a third of the time on writing a working version of the text, taking into account the search and formatting of citations, a third of the time on editing the text, adding tables to it, diagrams and drawings, design of the introduction and conclusion, footnotes and bibliography.
Thus, in 30 days you can write a book of 4-6 printed sheets (about 200 pages) with applications.
At the same time, it should be taken into account that the finished text will need to be sent to the publishing house, whose editors and proofreaders will make their corrections to the layout of the book within a few weeks. After that, the publisher will approve the final layout of the book and release the book in a few weeks, depending on the circulation. On average, work with a publishing house can take from a month to two or three months from the moment the finished text of the book is sent to the moment the circulation is received.
A few tips on how to write your book
The first thing a novice author should answer is why, for what, for whom he writes and what he wants to convey with his work, what result he wants to get.
Next, you need to decide on the topic on which the author wants to write. It is recommended to choose what the author is most passionate about. You can also publish a collection of wisdom, aphorisms, stories, and so on, carefully selected by the author.
It does not matter whether it is a collection or a work of art, so that the story goes on paper easily and the idea is not lost, it is recommended to draw up a plan or outline a plot. Describe the whole essence of the story in 2-3 sheets.
The plan may look different, it may be clearly constructed paragraphs or passages, ideas, main thoughts, dialogues, from which a single picture will later be assembled. The plan can also include a separate description of the main features of the characters and their characteristics, a pre-thought-out card file will help to create characters on paper more alive. Subsequently, it will be easier to show their character, since in the process of writing the author will feel his character as already familiar.
To start writing a book, you need a strong desire and a lot of free time. In fact, for a person who wants to write his work, there are no excuses: little time – write, there is no suitable place – write, noisy – write, thoughts are confused – write.
Modern authors recommend having a notepad and pen with you or installing an application on your phone so that you can write down thoughts at any time when inspiration strikes.
Do not be afraid to write non-linearly, most authors start from the middle, from the end, jumping from thought to thought. You can write everything that is written and everything that is thought about the characters. And later put the chapters in the right order and add an introduction and conclusion.
Ernest Hemingway said, “Write drunk, edit sober.” And the point here is not alcohol at all, the author’s recommendation is to write completely, surrendering to the impulse, and after a while, when there is no inspiration, return to what was written and edit. If you immediately try to write a verified and balanced text, then the wave of inspiration can simply be lost.
One of the problems of the author is a distraction from the process of writing a book. In order not to go astray, it is recommended to create ideal conditions for yourself. The author must determine what helps him: silence or music, the sound of nature or water. It is recommended to create such an environment for writing that it is perfect for him. Other than that, find something that will ignite inspiration.
Another roadblock to completing the book
A familiar problem for authors is starting and not finishing a book. What to do and how not to abandon the work begun? Some authors recommend making a public statement, announcing to friends and family on their social networks that the author has started writing and is going to finish the book by a certain date: public commitments will not allow you to relax or abandon what you started.
It is also recommended to write every day, what mood would not be, at least for half an hour, and if thoughts do not go, then edit the already written text. If the book, for example, is on a historical theme, then in order to be inspired, it is advised to search the Internet and books for information useful for writing.
It remains only to give advice on how to write interestingly. People love stories from personal experience, so in order to interest the author, you need to become a good storyteller, come up with images and beautiful metaphors, avoid clichés and official language.
All these simple tips will help a novice author write his work in a short time, if the author has enough inspiration, a strong desire and a well-developed imagination.
