Everything You Need to Know About Starting Your First Book

I recently became active (that is to say, as active as I can be on social media) on Quora, which is quite interesting to me because I get to see all of the questions that people ask concerning the world of writing. The most common questions that I have seen asked recently have been about the start up process of writing a book. Which has gotten me thinking back to when I decided to start writing. As an eleven year old, I thought I was invincible, so I never really questioned if I was capable or ready to start.  I’d read a lot of books, and I imagined myself a writer, so I just started to write.

No longer being eleven, I understand these questions a lot better. The idea of writing a book is daunting, and it should be. If you are serious about it, you will be devoting months or (more likely) years to this project. While one can easily write a first draft in a month, that’s only the very first step of a long process of rewriting and extensive editing to get it to be readable.

Is there a set guideline to follow?

No. There isn’t.

Believe me, there are times we all wish there was a set book of rules to follow. It can be a struggle having no one there telling you what to do and how to do it. As a writer, you are your own boss. You’re the one that makes yourself sit down and write. You are the one who knows where your story is going. Sure, you will have people around you with whom you can discuss your story, but it is ultimately up to you to get it written.

Which brings us back to the question: what will you need to become a writer and begin your first book? Take notes, people.

Good writing skills.

You don’t need to have a Ph.D. in English, but you will need to be able to string a coherent sentence together in an interesting way if you want anyone to appreciate your writing as much as you do. That doesn’t mean you have to write perfectly to be able to start (don’t forget that I was eleven when I started). If you have a passion to write, I would advise starting to write at whatever age you are. Just hold off on thinking you’re the bee’s knees until your skills have developed a little.

Something to write with/on.

Be it paper and a pen, a tablet, your laptop, your phone, or even a typewriter (if you’re super awesome), this is kinda essential to starting your book. Find what way you write best, and dive right in.

Ideas.

Yup, ideas. You have to have an original idea that’s all you and an idea of where you’re going with it. You may have heard the saying that everything has been written before, and it is true, to a certain extent. However, nothing that has been written before has been written the way you will write it, and that makes all the difference. (Obviously, this doesn’t excuse plagiarism.) With unique ideas and little bit of you, you’re all set to writing the book of your dreams.

Self-discipline.

Now we’re getting into the tough ones. Even as a writer with over nine years of experience, I find this one difficult at times. You have an hour of free time. You can either browse Pinterest, or pull up your document and write that book. Even tougher (and this one gets me every time) you can write that book, or you can sketch that awesome scene you thought up earlier. Nine times out of ten, I choose to sketch first. (Don’t follow my example!) Never wait for yourself to feel like writing. Train yourself to feel like writing whenever you sit down to do so.

Determination.

This one goes hand in hand with self-discipline. There is going to be a lot of discouragement coming your way, and it’s up to you to get through it, my friend.  Keep writing! Writing is an art, which makes every writer an artist. Every artist has their down moments. It’s what happens when doing something driven by that spring of passion within us. Sometimes, it will run out. Sometimes, you will get so discouraged that there doesn’t seem to be a point to carrying on with your darling. The only thing you can do is to keep writing through it. The sun will shine again, and you’ll feel much better about keeping at it.

Remember, it always helps to have people (fellow writers, friends, and family) around you to encourage you, to point out where you go wrong, and to test the impact of your writing! Improving is key!

 

Are you struggling with beginning your very first book? What lessons have you learned? Let me know in the comments! And don’t forget to like and subscribe for more awesome content like this!