Back to “School” To Re-Start Your Book

The idea has been realized; the outline has been established; maybe a couple of pages have already been written for the book that has been placed on your heart to write.

Yet as with all writers, regardless of education, skill set or experience, obstacles will come about to impede progress and, if left unchecked, will cause a promising book to be shelved indefinitely.

One recognized obstacle that can emerge happens to occur within the writer, you: the belief that you don’t have business writing a book on this particular topic. Such a thought could be disastrous to the incubation of a manuscript, as you could let fears and doubts cause you to give up the book and the publishing dream.

However, a great approach to adopt to re-ignite those writing fires is to go “old school”, in the sense of back to the times of writing book reports, papers and essays.

When a teacher gave you a writing project/assignment in school that required research, the most important step you took was to find resources to help educate you on the assignment’s topic and prepare you to write out the assignment.

The same step can be used for writing your book, although instead of getting encyclopedias and Internet articles, you would get books on the same topic/concept/book format as your book.

If you were thinking of writing a devotional, find some inspirational devotional books that cater to the topic you want reflected most in your manuscript. The same for memoirs, children’s books, Bible-focused texts and any other book idea in mind.

As you are reading these example resources, take notes, as you did in school, on the pros and cons you have about the author’s writing and grasp of subject, as well as what lessons you can gleam from the formatting, organization, narration and pace of the book. After making the list, determine the area(s) where you find it difficult to progress in your manuscript and see if the lessons you gained from the other books can alleviate that issue.

It may sound simple in theory, but by “researching” how other authors create their books, you gain more of an idea on shaping your manuscript into an inspirational and enjoyable read for your audience. You would avoid content holes where audiences could get lost or become confused by your book, achieving the impact you wish to make on your audience.

So go back to your schooling basics and revisit the homework habit of researching. Your teachers would be proud!

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