Jerry B. Jenkins's Blog, page 6

Creative Writing 101

You love to write and have been told you have a way with words. So you’ve decided to give writing a try—creative writing.

The problem is, you’re finding it tougher than you thought it would be.

You have a great story idea, but you’re not sure how to turn it into something people will read.

Don’t be discouraged—writing a compelling story can be grueling, even for veterans. Conflicting advice online may confuse you and make you want to quit before you start.

But you know more than you think. Stori...

Writing in Third-Person Point of View

What is Third-Person Point of View? 

Do you wonder, as so many budding writers do, how to master Point of View?

Third-person point of view is most common in storytelling—and with good reason.

While first-person may be the easiest POV for readers to understand, because that makes it easier to avoid head hopping, third-person is one you want to learn to grasp and effectively employ.

In third-person you refer to your characters by their names or as he/she and him/her.

Subsets of third-person POV ar...

15 Common Themes in Literature

If you’re like most people, the last time you discussed Literary Themes was in high school English class.

Perhaps you discussed the Theme of death in one of Edgar Allen Poe’s many short stories, or picked apart the use of shame in The Scarlet Letter.

Or maybe, like many, you were lost when finding the Theme of a story.

Understanding the importance of Themes can elevate your writing. Without a Theme, your story might be interesting but it won’t carry a deeper meaning.

If you struggle with how to ...

100+ Creative Writing Prompts to Hone Your Skills

How do you become a better athlete, musician, scholar—or anything?

You know.

Practice. 

You run drills, play scales, review flashcards, whatever it takes.

So how do you become a better writer?

Speaking only for myself, I feel I get better by exercising my writing muscles. In other words, I write.

Many of my colleagues swear by using writing prompts, believing these can help sharpen their skills and get their creative juices flowing.

Full disclosure: I’ve never felt the need for writing prompts. ...

Rising Action: Definition and Examples

To make your reader feel they can’t put down your novel, make sure everything your main character does to get out of his terrible trouble makes it only progressively worse, until everything appears hopeless.

Such obstacles and failures making things worse — with the emphasis on progressively — is the very definition of Rising Action.

Without it, you risk losing your reader after just a couple chapters.

This article will serve as your handy guide to Rising Action — what it is, how it fits into yo...

Writing Relationship Conflict: Prolonging the Agony

Guest post by Becca Puglisi

When it comes to story conflict, there are so many options to choose from. Power struggles, physical threats, moral dilemmas, failures, ticking clocks — they’re all great for ratcheting up tension, building reader empathy, and strengthening our plotlines. But the conflict we face most often as human beings — the kind that hits closest to home for our characters — is relationship friction.

It happens on the daily and comes in a variety of shapes and sizes:

Condescendi...

How to End a Story: 3 Secrets to Writing a Captivating Ending

As a novelist, you’ll find loads of advice to help you find a great book idea, get started writing, and push through what I call the Marathon of the Middle.

But you won’t find as much on how to end a story, even though that’s arguably as important (and maybe more so.)

Of my nearly 190 published books, more than two-thirds have been novels that started as ideas, so I know what most everybody in the business knows: ideas are easy to come by.

Ask any agent, publisher, editor, or movie producer. Eve...

Your Novel’s All-Important Inciting Incident: Definition, Examples, and Tips

A successful novel must feature an event, known as the inciting incident, that irreversibly ignites the story.

The stronger your inciting incident, the more dramatic, compelling, and engrossing your novel.

A weak or nonexistent inciting incident means no reason for your main character to become heroic, or for readers to keep turning pages.

What is an Inciting Incident?

It’s something that irrevocably changes things for your main character. It more than upends his status quo — it forces him to a...

How to Write a Children’s Book and Submit It to Publishers

Publishing a children’s book in today’s extremely competitive market can be tough.

And because most such books require four-color illustrations, they are also the most expensive to print — though most publishers have this done overseas.

You might think it’s easier to write children’s books because they’re shorter than adult novels. Well, they might not take quite as long to write, but they’re no easier.

You must limit your word count and your vocabulary without appearing to condescend, and you must engage both the adults who buy such books as well as the kids clamoring to hear or read them.

No easy task, but it CAN be done.

Why Write Children’s Books?

Book sales overall were strong in 2021, growing 8.9% over 2020.

The market for children’s books grew even faster.

Backlist sales — in other words, books from previous publishing seasons — are especially strong in children’s genres. Publishers look for series of such titles, because if parents and kids love one of your books, they’ll likely want more.

Children are loyal readers. Win a place in their hearts and minds, and fan mail will prove the best reward of all.

If you want to write for kids because you think it’s a quick way to make money, you may find yourself sorely disappointed.

But children’s book writing may be just the thing for you if you’re:

Dedicated to learning the craftWant to impact the next generationLove the genre and are thoroughly familiar with itWhy Writing Books for Kids is Different

Skill in writing for adults doesn’t necessarily translate into the children’s market.

Besides limiting your vocabulary and sentence length, it’s challenging to tell a story in 200, 700, or even 1,000 words.

A great kid’s book will:

Teach a lessonEducate while entertainingUse age-appropriate language and topicsFeature high-quality, professional illustrationsBe relatable to a wide range of children

Still interested and wondering where you start?

9 Steps to Writing Children’s Books and Submitting Them to Publishers1. Know the 4 Types of Children’s Books

For all types, protagonists are generally 1-2 years older than the readers. Young readers tend to enjoy reading “up” and imagining themselves as their heroes soon.

Picture Books

Board (heavy cardboard) books are read-to books for babies and toddlers. Illustrations do most of the work.

Board books: Ages 0 to 3, up to 200 words

Early picture books: Ages 3 to 5, 200 to 500 words

Examples

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. SeussWhere the Wild Things Are by Maurice SendakEarly Readers

These contain fewer pictures and more words. Series are popular.

Picture books: Ages 5 to 7, 500 to 800 words

Older picture books: Ages 7 to 8, 600 to 2000 words

Examples

The Animal Ark by Lucy DanielsAmelia Bedelia by Peggy ParishChapter Books

Written for kids ages 7 to 10, chapter books carry 3,000-10,000 words but are still quick reads. These have even fewer pictures, usually black-and-white sketches rather than four-color illustrations.

Examples

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff KinneyThe Magic Tree House by Mary Pope OsborneMiddle Grade Books

Kids ages 9 through 12 read books of from 30,000 to 50,000 words. There could still be some pictures, especially for the chapter headings.

Examples

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald DahlHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Word counts are important in children’s books, unless you’re J.K. Rowling. Her Middle Grade Harry Potter novels range to over 150,000 words and have become the bestselling books in history.

2. Know Your Readers

You must know and understand kids of the age you’re writing to — no guessing.

You also need to know what their parents are looking for.

Get to know your readers and their parents by:

Reading dozens of books in your genre

Become familiar with the conventions and expectations and learn what works and what doesn’t.

Remember that your primary goal is entertainment — the moral lesson is a bonus.

Paying attention to what kids are into

Talk to teachers, friends, and family. Kids are loyal and will be happy to tell you the books they love.

Visiting bookstores

Notice the themes, authors, and publishers on the shelves. See what kids gravitate toward and why. Come to understand the market.

3. Decide on a Concept

Have fun choosing your children’s book idea. Kids have great imaginations, so let yours soar.

Inspire them. Embrace silliness. Be outlandish.

Imagine your readers gasping, giggling, or even squealing.

Focus on universal themes both parents and kids love, including family, friendship, bravery, open-mindedness, and kindness.

Add your own twists to traditional stories, like:

Jack and the Beanstalk and the French Fries by Mark TeagueUprooted by Naomi Novik

You can also write or adapt nonfiction for younger readers:

The Everything Book of Cats and KittensNational Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs

Consider:

Your favorite books as a childWhat today’s kids loveWhat parents and teachers love about certain books

If you’re not sure, ask them!

A simple Google or Amazon search will show books similar to your ideas. How will your book be different or better because it’s uniquely yours?

Find a unique angle — a twist, a surprise ending, a different point of view.

4. Create Memorable Characters

The best stories feature an unforgettable character with an extraordinary arc.

Such characters aren’t perfect, but the most memorable characters develop skills, strength, and wisdom that change them and let them achieve their goals.

Your character’s arc is the transformation he experiences throughout the story. The more challenges he faces, the more memorable your story can be. Those challenges could be internal, for example, learning to be brave or confident, or external — sometimes even life and death.

Perhaps your main character believes, like Charles Dickens’s Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, that money is more valuable than love — then learns the truth. Or maybe he learns to become as confident as The Little Engine That Could.

Examples:

Heroes A2Z #1: Alien Ice Cream by David AnthonyCharlotte’s Web by E. B. White

The right character development, in spite of challenges and flaws, can result in timeless role models.

5. Write and RewriteDecide whether you’re writing a standalone or a series?

Kids, parents, and publishers love series, so it’s to your benefit if you can write one.

Create a strong plot

Don’t skimp on plot just because your book is short. Build tension and excitement to keep readers turning pages (even if they’re made of cardboard).

Avoid condescension

Avoid patronizing or talking down to kids. You’ll lose readers if they can’t relate to your story or feel you don’t understand them.

Develop your own voice. Read your book out loud and listen carefully. Does the story flow? Does the dialogue ring true? Does it hold your interest?

Even books written for older children may be read aloud in libraries or classrooms.

Use a grammar checker like the Hemingway App to gauge reading level.

Learn a new manuscript preparation process

Picture books average 28 pages, so you’ll create a book dummy — a 32-page book in which you’ll sketch out your scenes, text, cover, copyright page, and end matter.

That way you’ll make sure the book works visually and that the story flows.

If you’re writing middle grade, your process will be closer to writing a full-length novel.

What’s the same?

You’ll still need to push through and finish.

You’ll still need to schedule writing time, become accountable, set a firm deadline, and eliminate distractions.

Mind your rhymes

Poetry involves more than simply rhyming the ends of each line. You must not be derivative, and avoid lazy rhymes by also considering meter, rhythm, and pacing.

Jump into the action

Children’s books are short, so skip the backstory. Notice how successful books in your category start. Make sure your story begins immediately.

Challenge your hero

Your main character needs a realistic external or internal challenge without a quick fix. Is he solving a mystery? Learning bravery or developing confidence?

Your hero needs to fail, get back up, and try again — and more than once. Have him face several obstacles and finally succeed at something that matters.

Use repetition and ritual

Repetition is critical in children’s books, especially for the youngest readers. It’s how they learn. That’s one of the reasons kids ask for the same book over and over.

You can repeat a word or phrase (like Dr. Seuss) or a situation. Repetition reinforces memorability.

Allow yourself a messy first draft

Many aspiring authors never complete their first draft because they allow distractions or self-doubt to get in the way. On your first pass through, just get the story down. THEN polish it to your heart’s content.

Embrace rewriting

Learn to self-edit. Subsequent run-throughs will polish your book, adding detail, humor, and fixing mistakes. Work at it until you’re happy with every word.

Help your illustrator

Successful children’s books rely on great visuals, so don’t limit your hero to one boring room. Put him in the great outdoors, take him to other planets, other landscapes.

Wrap it up

Work toward a satisfying conclusion and tie up loose ends, giving it the time it deserves. Show your main character arc — how much he has grown or learned since the beginning of the story.

6. Suggest a strong title

Your title will be a major marketing tool for your book and may go through several iterations. In the end, the title is the publisher’s responsibility, but you need the best one you can think of to get their attention in the first place. Brainstorm countless possibilities.

Play with alliterationInclude action, not just descriptionAim to entice readers with mystery and curiosity

Get feedback from both kids and adults. Are kids curious and excited to read it? Would adults buy it?

7. Get feedback

Once you’ve completed your self-edit, you’ll want people’s reactions. Obviously, you want to test your book on people you trust to not broadcast your project or be tempted to claim it as their own. If you can get someone in the publishing business to take a quick peek, great, but otherwise you’re looking for typical buyers who have kids the right age to read it to and gauge their reactions.

Enlist beta readers

Consider joining a  critique group where you can bounce your work off fellow writers.

Research social media groups of children’s book authors you might want to join.

Once you’re published, professional organizations you may want to check out include the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Children’s Literature Association.

8. Getting Your Children’s Book Published

Finding an agent is your best chance of selling your manuscript to a publisher. Do your research so you’re querying ones who specialize in this genre.

Agents receive thousands of queries and proposals every year, so it can be tough to find one. But the time and effort can pay off if you impress one.

Start with a query letter.

Self-publishing, especially a four-color children’s book, can be a VERY expensive proposition. So first, exhaust all your efforts to traditionally publish — where they pay you and take ALL the financial risk, not the other way around.

9. What About Illustrations and Formatting?

You don’t need illustrations before you approach agents or publishers — simply explain the illustrations in brackets or sketch stick figures. Publishers hire their own illustrators.

If you’re also an artist, include illustrations for your book. Publishers love discovering strong writer/illustrators.

If you self-publish, finding an illustrator is the most important step and likely the most expensive.

Good illustrators can be booked out several months. Determine who will retain rights.

A good illustrator will help you choose the right type font and size and will know how to design and manage page breaks.

You can find illustrators on Fiverr, Upwork, The Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators, and Illustration Web.

Expect to spend thousands for illustrations.

Start Writing Children’s Books Today

What could be more rewarding than inspiring the next generation?

hat’s your big idea?

What’s your unique angle?

Strive to make your dream reality!

The post How to Write a Children’s Book and Submit It to Publishers appeared first on Jerry Jenkins | Proven Writing Tips.

How to Start Writing a Book: A Proven Process

You have a great idea and you want to start writing a book.

You love to write. You’re told you have a way with words.

Your friends and family might even be encouraging you to write.

But you struggle with:

How to beginHow to start fleshing out your ideasHow to know whether the timing is right

You might even wonder if you should write a book. Do you have what it takes?

The first thing I feel obligated to tell you is NOT to begin your writing career with a book.

Does that sound strange in a blog about how to do it? I’ll deliver that advice, but please — remember that for writers, a book is not where you start. It’s where you arrive.

Starting your writing career with a book is like a five-year-old starting her education in graduate school. There’s a lot to learn first!

Start with shorter stuff. Blogs, articles, e-zine pieces. Learn the trade, the business, how to be edited and work with editors.

As you learn the craft and hone your skills, THEN start thinking about writing a book.

How do you know when you might be ready? The only way to know for certain is to immerse yourself in the craft.

Writing a book is an enormous task. You need to know what you’re getting into.

Writing a book can change your life, especially if you succeed in seeing it published. It can also allow you to impact the lives of your readers.

And there’s nothing more rewarding to a writer.

While getting started can seem overwhelming, because it is, it helps to follow a proven process — something I’ve developed by writing and publishing more than 200 books in nearly a half century.

Let me tell you, you’ll find it much easier to quit than to finish.

That’s why you need to know:

How to start writing your book.The steps to take, and in which order.How to overcome writer’s fear, procrastination, and writer’s block.

You can finally start writing the book you’ve always dreamed of writing.

How to Start Writing a Book1. Establish a dedicated writing space.

If at all possible, don’t use an area for writing and anything else. If, for instance, you have to clear off the kitchen table to write, that’ll soon get old. Nothing else should happen where you write. Leave your workstation set up and ready to go when you are.

Your space doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to best serve you. I’ve always tried to make mine the best I could afford at the time.

When I first started writing books, my wife and I had young kids. My desk consisted of a board suspended between two kitchen chairs I set before the couch.

Ideal? Hardly. But I was productive and prolific in that space.

Obviously, as soon as I could afford my own room for writing, I loved operations there. But do what you have to to find your own space.

Dreamers talk about writing. Writers write.

2. Sharpen your focus.

I know writers who can treat the drone of conversation and clattering dishes in a coffee shop as white noise and even work there. Just learn how you work best, and if you need silence, find somewhere else to write.

Also know your weaknesses.

Is it clickbait videos on YouTube? Jumping on emails as soon as they arrive? An addiction to your phone?

I’m a morning person and write best then. But even I find I can concentrate better on my work after I have quickly checked my emails and caught up on the news.

You probably already know what time of day works best for your creativity — and if you don’t, experiment to find out — so try to schedule your writing then.

Eliminate distractions, either by rushing through some preliminary tasks like I do, or aggressively by taking advantage of a tool like Freedom, which lets you temporarily block apps, websites, and social media across all your devices.

3. Assemble your writing tools.

You may be one of the few who still handwrite your early drafts, but the publishing industry runs on Microsoft Word. That means you’ll need to submit your final manuscript as a Word doc from a desktop or laptop computer — either Mac or PC —  and the best one you can afford.

I write using Word, so when my manuscript is finished, I can submit it as is. Other writing software also works, but you’d have to convert your work to a Word document before transmitting.

Scrivener is particularly helpful for compiling and organizing research, can be used for writing your manuscript, and is also usable to format a self-published draft. I have not found it as helpful for formatting my manuscripts for a traditional publisher. It does have a steep learning curve, but plenty of resources can help, including the popular Learn Scrivener Fast online course and Scrivener’s own tutorials.

Many writers also rely on note taking apps such as Evernote and Notion.

While you’re learning to become an aggressive (even ferocious) self-editor, I recommend grammar checkers like Grammarly (for grammar and spelling), ProWritingAid (grammar, spelling, and style), and the Hemingway Editor (style and readability).

Check out my full list of software recommendations.

I love having every supply I might need within reach while I’m writing. For me that means:

Pens, pencils, stapler, staples, paper clips, ruler, pencil cup, pencil sharpener, note pads, sticky notes, printing paper, paperweights, tape dispenser, file folders, reference materials, space heater, fan, lamp, beverage mug, napkins, chargers, extension cords, you name it.

Finally, and most importantly, get the best ergonomic office chair you can afford. Little curbs your creative flow like back, neck, or wrist pain.

Upgrade your space as you’re able, but don’t wait to start writing until everything’s perfect. That day will never come.

4. Develop a writing (and reading) habit.

Block off at least six hours of writing time every week. It doesn’t matter whether that means three two-hour sessions one hour a day, six days a week. Any combination works, as long as you’re consistent enough to create a habit.

Writers are readers. Good writers are good readers. Great writers are great readers. You’ll be surprised at how much you can learn through reading. I recommend reading dozens and dozens of books in your genre before trying to write in it. You’ll see what’s expected, what works, and even what doesn’t.

5. Settle on a great idea.

To be book-worthy, only big concepts need apply. There’s no room in today’s competitive market for anything less.

If your concept is small but still important, make it an article or a blog post.

But for a book, if you’re a nonfiction writer, think How to Win Friends and Influence People or The Purpose-Driven Life. If you’re writing fiction, think Harry Potter. I can’t stress this enough.

You’ll know your concept has legs if it stays with you, if it grows every time you tell someone about it, and if you keep getting more and more excited about it. You must feel compelled to write it or you’ll never endure the grueling grind of writing a book.

If you have a big-concept idea, you owe it to yourself to bring it to life.

6. Distill your idea into a single sentence.

Notice I’m not saying to distill your entire book into one sentence — just your idea. Start with a one-page premise, then start cutting until you can get to that single sentence.

Examples:

An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family, and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world — Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

You can change other people’s behavior simply by changing your own — How to Win Friends and Influence People.

A judge tries a man for a murder that the judge committed — Margo

7. Create your outline.

This might come as surprising advice from me, a known Pantser (someone who writes by the seat of his pants rather than being an Outliner).

I follow Stephen King’s advice: “Put interesting characters in difficult situations and write to find out what happens.”

But even Pantsers need some idea where they’re going.

If you’ve not had a book published before, agents or publishers will require a complete synopsis for nonfiction and usually a complete manuscript for fiction.

Nonfiction outlines are non-negotiable because an agent or publisher must know what you plan to say, how you’ll approach it, and on what you’re basing your message.

For fiction, most agents and publishers require a complete manuscript because you must prove not only that you have a great idea and beginning, but also that you can finish. You need enough setups and payoffs to carry you all the way through.

In nonfiction, your setups will be made up of promises of solutions to problems or felt needs readers bring to the equation. The solutions you present are the payoffs to those setups.

8. Conduct your research.

If you’re writing nonfiction, you should be an expert on your topic — not writing from only your own experience but also knowing your field inside and out by being thoroughly familiar with the other experts. That requires thorough research.

Believe it or not, research is just as important in fiction because to be effective, fiction must be believable. Make a factual error and readers notice — and you lose credibility (and believability). Specificity lends credibility.

Be careful, however, not to show off your research — especially in a novel. The story is the main course, so view your research as seasoning to make your story believable. It’s the spice that adds credibility.

9. Break your project into small pieces.

It’s been said that the only way to eat an entire elephant is one bite at a time.

Your book may comprise 400 or even 500 pages of manuscript. Considering that all at once is too much to wrap your head around.

So view the task as a series of small pieces: words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, and chapters. What may seem slow progress at first — especially in light of the entire manuscript. But by staying at the task a little bit at a time, after a few months you’ll see pages adding up.

10. Determine your writing schedule and deadline.

First, estimate how many pages your final manuscript will be — double-spaced and in 12-point Times New Roman font. And don’t worry — you’re only guessing at this point. Divide the pages by the number of days you’ve set aside to write. That will give you your daily page target.

Don’t be alarmed if you start writing and realize you far over-estimated the number of pages you’re able to produce in a day’s session (however long you have designed it). You’ll soon get a handle on your most manageable number.

Once you’re comfortable with that pages-per-day figure and have a rough idea how long your manuscript will likely be, you’ll be able to estimate and set a reachable deadline. Be careful not to fudge on it because you’re new to this and it’s a self-prescribed deadline.

That said, your deadline can change as you learn more about your production capacity. But once you’re able to lock that in, keep your deadline sacred. Only about one in a hundred writers literally achieve their deadlines, so do even that and you’ve set yourself apart from 99 percent of the competition.

Let me be blunt: You will not find the time to write. You must make the time to write.

No one I know has six or more hours a week just waiting to be filled. But we all make time for what we really want to do, don’t we?

Carving out time for writing — if it’s as important to you as I think it is (or you wouldn’t still be reading this) — will require sacrificing something else on your calendar. What’s it going to be? How badly you want to finish your book will determine what you’re willing to sacrifice.

It might be social media. A movie. A binge-worthy TV series. A party. A concert.

Just be careful not to sacrifice too much sleep. A weary writer is a bad writer.

And don’t sacrifice your highest priorities: family and friends.

Just know this: something will have to give.

11. Embrace procrastination.

Yes, you read that correctly. Many experts recommend all kinds of ways to beat or push through procrastination — because it seems almost all writers struggle with it. I sure do. In fact, I should be awarded a doctorate in procrastination.

But somehow I’ve written over 200 books, so I must have discovered a solution to it, right?

Wrong. I haven’t. Nothing I tried worked. I lost a lot of sleep fretting over it through the years. So what happened? How am I able to finish so many books despite procrastinating?

I learned to manage it.

I finally accepted that procrastination is inevitable. Because it happens with every project, I came to realize that it must be part of the process.

Despite all that fretting, I found that when I did get back to the keyboard, my subconscious had been working on my novel or my nonfiction premise. So now I actually embrace procrastination and even see it as an asset. I accept it and even schedule it on my calendar, accommodating it while still keeping my deadlines sacred.

Yes, I often have to go back into my schedule and change the number of pages I must produce per day to make my deadline. But I never let my pages per day get out of hand. Keep your deadline sacred while allowing for inevitable procrastination.

12. Start writing your book.

At the risk of overstating the obvious, you can’t finish what you never begin. At some point, planning has to stop so writing can begin.

Over-planning can become another form of procrastination. It can also be evidence of writer’s fear.

Is fear holding you back?

Frankly, I embrace fear the way I embrace procrastination because it too is inevitable. But it can also be legitimate. Self-help gurus may urge you to not be afraid, to look within yourself or look up for courage.

I say it’s okay to be afraid of what’s worth fearing. Maybe your writing isn’t good enough. Maybe there is too much competition. Maybe an agent or a publisher’s acquisitions editor won’t like your manuscript.

Just don’t let those legitimate fears keep you from writing. All that will do is become a self-fulfilling prophecy. You’ll never finish, guaranteeing you’ve failed.

Rather, channel that fear into humility and humility into determination to do your absolute best writing every time. Sure it’s a risk. But you’ll never know what’s possible for you unless you try.

Start. Finish.

Start Writing Your Book Today

If you’ve been struggling with how to start writing a book, know you’re not alone.

Writing a book feels like an enormous challenge because it is! It can overwhelm anyone, including me.

But it can become much more manageable with a solid process.

So start today.

Set up your writing workstation, check out my favorite writing tools, and start refining your big-concept idea.

Carve out the time your book requires and get after it. Then keep going, every day.

You may finish your manuscript before you know it.

The post How to Start Writing a Book: A Proven Process appeared first on Jerry Jenkins | Proven Writing Tips.