When I tell people I wrote a book, I often hear “I’ve always wanted to write a book…”
Ok all you people. This one is for you.
I began writing my book when my roommate experiences got out of control. Really. As in a trip to the emergency room and four staples to the head (not me, but my roommate) kind of crazy. I sat down one evening at a coffee shop and began what is now my book. I honestly thought it would take me about a year to finish. Guess what? It took four years.
Holy cow. That’s dedication. Which brings me to my list of advice for anyone who wants to write a book:
- Dedication. Yep. If you can do that ONE THING, you can write a book. What is a book after all? A collection of writing. Its that simple. So dedicate yourself to it and it WILL get there. It may take half a decade, but hey we are talking about life goals…bucket list stuff. Dedication, I say. Dedication.
- You don’t know what to write about? Well I’m bias after all, but I think a memoir is a REALLY great place to begin if you don’t know what to write about. After all, you know you’re stories, you know you’re life experiences…and good writing can make anything interesting and funny. And if nothing else when you’re done you’ve 1. gotten better at your craft and 2. Have a memoir you can share with friends and family. Hey, that’s awesome!
- Don’t start at the beginning. Yes -you read that right. I found the introduction was the hardest part. I think its some kinda crazy mental pressure knowing that you’re beginning “a book” that makes the intro so hard. So after writing about a million crappy intros, I skipped it and wrote down my stories. The intro ending up being the LAST thing I wrote and guess what? I love it. You can read it HERE.
- Just start. Yes write one story to begin with. Then add on. Remember that quote, “the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time?” Writing a book IS definitely eating an elephant, so start small. Ten pages. If you can get ten pages you can get a hundred. But do it ten at a time. Even if they aren’t good. There is lots of time to make it good later, just write at first.
- Get some good resources. Yes. I love Anne Lamott’s book, “Bird by bird” for new (or old) writers as well as Stephen Kings book, “On Writing:”. After all who better to take writing advice from than best selling authors?
Alright. So you should go get started. You’ve got at least ten pages to write…
I have info for AFTER you’ve got the book written to make it better. More on that coming in following posts.