Oftentimes when I tell people I’m a novelist, I hear them say “I’d like to write a book someday.” I’ve even had friends explain at length their wonderful story ideas for a book they’d like to write…someday. Or friends and family would tell me of something about their lives they would like to make into a book. Someday.
My response to them is always, “why not now?”
Getting beyond all the hemming and hawing and shoulda-coulda-woulda, the bottom line is that either you’re going to write a book or you’re not. You either have it in you or you don’t. So if you believe you have it in you, then why wait to bring it out? Tomorrow is not promised, and God forbid something bad were to happen with you, you don’t want all of those wonderful ideas dying with you, do you?
You can make all of the excuses you want to NOT start writing. You have too many chores to do. You have to tend to your spouse or raise your kids. Your work takes up too much time. The Game is on. The bottom line is that you will make time for the things you really want to do. At the height of my writing, I was getting up an hour early to write my latest novel before I got ready for work, then I’d write during my lunch break, and if I had to, I’d go to bed a half hour later to finish that final thought before heading to sleep. If I had downtime at work, I’d pull out a piece of scrap paper and jot down ideas, then type them in when I got home. I’ve vocally recorded story ideas with my phone. I’ve written while waiting in long lines for appointments instead of reading a magazine or surfing the social networks. If you really want to do it, you would find a way.
And it’s easier than ever before to publish now, so being worried about getting your book out is no longer an excuse. If you don’t want to deal with the haggle of finding an agent or an established publisher, self-publishing is a very viable option. Sites like KDP.com offer easy, convenient and FREE ways to get your book formatted and made available for purchase and download. And some even offer free book cover creation. All you really have to provide is the manuscript, especially if you don’t want an editor. There are tons of networking opportunities on social media for writers and bookmakers, so it’s easier than ever to find a proofreader, a beta reader, a reviewer, and even an editor. Heck, I even typeset books and design book covers as a freelance designer; you could hire me to do that for you.
Here are a couple of simple exercises to get you started.
- if you are writing nonfiction, first ask yourself what you want to write about. Then, once you come up with an overall subject matter, then make a list of ten different aspects of that subject that your potential reader would want to know about. Now, for each of those topics, make a list of three things: what you know about it, what you need to research, and how will this benefit your reader. You can even apply this formula in writing a biography. Your ten subjects are ten most significant events in your subject’s life, and the three questions pertain to details of the event. Once you finish this, then you have an instant book outline to build from. And from there it’s just filling in the details.
- If you are writing fiction, start with that kernel of an idea that you have in the back of your head. Write it down. Now ask yourself why your idea would be such a big deal in your world. Write that down. Then ask yourself what would have to happen for that idea to happen in real time. Write that down. Now ask yourself how that idea would affect the normal, everyday people of your world. Write that down. Keep going. Ask yourself as many details around your idea as possible. Ask the WHO, the WHAT, the WHERE, the WHEN and the WHY of your idea. Ask how people would respond if your idea really happened. Ask why anyone would try to stop that idea from coming forth, and how they would do it. Ask yourself these questions and whatever others come to mind, and once you have answers, then Write. Them. All. Down. Before you know it, you’ll have a simple story bible to build your tale from, and you’ll be immersed enough in this world that the people in that world will start speaking to you. Write down what they tell you. And you do not have to start at the beginning. That is something that intimidates a lot of would-be writers. Don’t let it intimidate you. Start writing with whatever is in your head RIGHT NOW. If you write enough, the beginning will come to you eventually.
There. I just eliminated all of your excuses for you. Now, if you’re serious about SOMEDAY getting that book idea of yours out, you’re in luck.
Someday just arrived.
So get started.
