Tips for Writing your First Book

When I sat down to write my first book, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. I wrote the first chapter hoping that it would get easier after that….it didn’t. Now I knew why most people started writing and didn’t finish. I had the idea in my head but how was I going to turn my writing into a book? Things did start to get easier and the more I fell in love my characters, the more inspired I got to finish. Writing Saving Ciara is one of my favorite experiences and I am so glad that I did. In fact I will write more because I enjoyed it so much, but it isn’t easy, it is hard work and it takes focus and determination. There are some rules that I followed that helped me both write and finish my first book.

1. Write every day! Whether it is fifteen minutes or three hours, make yourself sit down and write. I heard this advice when I first started my book and I found it very challenging at first, but it works because once you get into the habit of writing every day it becomes hard NOT to write. I do have to admit that there were days when my writing was worthless and I erased it the next day, but I wrote and that’s what mattered.

2. Outline, outline, outline. I cannot count the number of times I outlined my book. Things changed in my book, characters developed differently than I expected and so I had to write a new outline each time. Every time I sat down to write I would read my outline, this helped me stay focused and really helped to avoid writers block.

3. Try not to give yourself a timeline. If you can avoid setting a time when your book needs to be finished, do it. Setting a timeline can hinder your writing. It makes it harder to let the creativeness flow when you are under pressure. Now I know this is an ideal situation but if this is your first book most likely you don’t have an agent or a publisher breathing down your neck with deadlines, so enjoy it and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to finish within a certain amount of time because you may just end up giving up all together.

4. Carry a notepad with you (in my case I use the notepad on my cell phone) and jot down ideas. Usually I get random ideas at random times so this helps tremendously. You may have yourself convinced that you won’t forget the ideas, but sometimes life gets in the way and the ideas you have get lost with it.

5. Get organized. You need a place to write, weather it is in a quiet corner or your house, or a separate room, the library or Starbucks, it is your special place and you can let your creative juices flow there. I write after my kids go to sleep and the house is quiet, I sit on the couch with my little laptop and just write. It’s the perfect time and place for me, and it’s comfortable.

6. Just do it. Challenge yourself and jump in, you really have nothing to lose. I didn’t start writing my book until a good friend of mine informed me that she had been writing, which gave me the encouragement to write the story that had been living inside me for years. I wanted to give it life, and I am so glad that I did.

Writing a book is no walk in the park, but if you have an idea and the determination you can write a book. Anyone can, the most important thing you need to remember is to believe in yourself, give yourself time and enjoy it. It’s a great journey to write, and no matter what happens after you write your book, whether it is published, self published or sits on your hard-drive forever, you have accomplished something amazing. So go for it.