How to begin writing a book for non-writers (you can do it)

As I travel about a good bit, finding new locations to write an edit, I meet many new people. When they find out what I do for a living, I have been surprised at the number who say:

“Oh, I have a great idea for a book!”

I probably shouldn’t be surprised. After all, there’s a saying in the publishing industry that says, “everyone has at least one book in them.” it might be something they experienced in life, it might be a self-help book, it might be a story or a novel… something that would entertain, encourage, or inform others.

When I ask them why haven’t they haven’t written it, they usually say something like, “Oh, I’m not a writer,” or “I don’t know how to write a book.”

The answer I give them is rather simple.

“Oh, I’m not a writer.” You might not be a professional writer, but certainly, you can write. For making your early drafts a publishable book, people like me exist to edit it or ghostwrite it.

“I don’t know how to write a book.” There are plenty of resources online to tell you how to do this, although I think some are overly complicated. I tell people there are two ways to begin. Rough out an outline, or just start writing.

But the most important part is this: Don’t think about the entire novel. First, just spend a little time a few days a week writing. Even just 15 minutes a day. You will be surprised at how much you have written in six months.

Second, don’t think about the entire novel. Just think about the scene or section in front of you. Or just that chapter, or even just that paragraph. Imagine the scene of an imploded building, and the people tasked with cleaning it up. If they looked at acres of rubble, they might get overwhelmed. Instead, they simply look at a square yard in front of them and focus on cleaning that. Then the next. Then the next. And before they know it, the site is clean.

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Of course, some books require more steps than others. My current work in progress, a historical fiction novel (Desert Steve), has required a few years of research. Part of this is because there are no definitive works about the man who founded Desert Center. Information is spread throughout old magazines, mentions in a few books here and there, Facebook, websites, government records, and the ghost town itself. Gathering all this has taken longer than any other book I have written.

Categorizing and tagging the info, then organizing it into a structure (chronological of course, for a historical fiction novel, making this part easy), and then writing the first draft.

Once you have a first draft, you are home free. Now you have a solid piece of work to begin editing, rewriting, re-organizing, and fine-tuning.

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One word of caution, if you happen to be writing on paper, make copies and keep them somewhere away from the other copies. Preferably in another building. If you are writing electronically, make sure it is being backed up in the cloud somewhere.

I point this out because I met someone recently I had the discussion with about writing a book. He had written a book about experiences in his life that he thought would be meaningful to others. He was writing it on an iPad, but it was not connected to the Internet or being backed up. Someone stole the iPad and the manuscript was lost.

I commiserated with him, of course. Terrible. But then, I told him he should start immediately rewriting it. Yes, frustrating, but it will be easier the second time around.

So there you go. If you have an idea for a book, start writing. Today. You will feel accomplished, and certainly, there are at least a few people who will benefit from your work.