Sara K
asked
James Morcan:
i want to write a book.... i do have a severe brain injury where it makes it very difficult to transfer what goes on in my head into a book...i have been through hell and back and understand this world a little differently than the rest. i don't even know where to begin although i have thousands of ideas and topics and theories. any tips on a young confused writer??... anything helps. ..thank you -Sara
James Morcan
Hi Sara,
The way you eat a whole elephant is not to concentrate on eating the entire elephant as then it seems too daunting and you'll never finish. It's like that with anything in life. And writing is no different. So don't concentrate on writing an entire book, but rather break it down into small manageable steps - first, look to write a one page summary of the story or book you want to write, then expand that to a 10 page summary. Then start expanding that story outline into actual chapters. And then before you know it, by concentrating on small things every day and writing say 1000-2000 words per day, you will surprise yourself and write a whole book.
The other thing is many people who call themselves "published authors" publish books that have only gone through one or two drafts and they think that is a finished product ready to be purchased by the public. It's not. Remember this: Good books aren't written, they are rewritten. Therefore, once you have a finished draft, you must be prepared to show it to others and get feedback and then keep honing it with lots of rewrites until it is absolutely perfect and can be read by book buyers. Most of my books have gone thru at least a dozen full rewrites of the entire manuscript and most other authors are the same.
I wish you all the best and I can imagine you have some very unique insights to share with the world.
Good luck!
James
The way you eat a whole elephant is not to concentrate on eating the entire elephant as then it seems too daunting and you'll never finish. It's like that with anything in life. And writing is no different. So don't concentrate on writing an entire book, but rather break it down into small manageable steps - first, look to write a one page summary of the story or book you want to write, then expand that to a 10 page summary. Then start expanding that story outline into actual chapters. And then before you know it, by concentrating on small things every day and writing say 1000-2000 words per day, you will surprise yourself and write a whole book.
The other thing is many people who call themselves "published authors" publish books that have only gone through one or two drafts and they think that is a finished product ready to be purchased by the public. It's not. Remember this: Good books aren't written, they are rewritten. Therefore, once you have a finished draft, you must be prepared to show it to others and get feedback and then keep honing it with lots of rewrites until it is absolutely perfect and can be read by book buyers. Most of my books have gone thru at least a dozen full rewrites of the entire manuscript and most other authors are the same.
I wish you all the best and I can imagine you have some very unique insights to share with the world.
Good luck!
James
More Answered Questions
Bert Wouters
asked
James Morcan:
I just completed my manuscript of the novel 'Madonna on the Bridge. It tells the story of a Circassian family in the Dutch Resistance in WWII in Holland. The hero in the novel is the beautiful Danya who aved the life of a double agent. At one point in the novel she landed in jail at Wewelsburg Castle. Has your research taken you to the dark happenings at this castle, citadel of SS Aryanism? Just curious.
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