Have you always dreamed of becoming a famous writer and seeing your name on the cover of a book? Or maybe a story idea has been playing around in your head for a while and you've finally decided to put it into writing. Writing a book, which is typically around 80,000 to 89,999 words, can seem daunting. Writing is a process, and tackling multiple steps at once can help build the confidence and courage needed to start your first book.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparing to Write
Step 1. Decide what you want to write
Think about a story that only you can write, or a story that excites you deep within. You may be interested in writing a how-to book, such as urban beekeeping, or a memoir about your complex family background. The best way to start writing a book is to choose a story idea that you're committed to and willing to spend a lot of time working on.
- Take a piece of paper and make a detailed list of all the things you know or ideas that are very close to your heart and interesting to dig deeper and put down into sheets of paper.
- You may already have a story idea in your mind. If so, think about whether the story idea is compelling enough to keep it in 80,000 words.
Step 2. Choose a genre you like
There are many types of writing, ranging from fiction, nonfiction, self help to memoirs. Some writers start with a story idea or a character first, rather than choosing a genre. But choosing a genre can also help you before you outline your story.
In fact, there are more than 70 writing genres. Your book on urban beekeeping, for example, might fall into the craft and hobby genre, while an autobiography on family history might fall under the memoir genre
Step 3. There's nothing wrong with reading three or four books that have similarities to your story idea
Visit your local library and look for book titles that relate to your story idea. Try to choose the latest titles so you can see how the market is for a story idea like yours. This will be considered later when you submit a proposal to the publisher as the book must compete with current titles to be relevant to the current market situation. This way, potential publishers will see that your story idea is in vogue and that similar titles that are currently circulating are loved and sought after by readers.
For books on beekeeping in cities, look for titles in the crafts and hobbies section that discuss beekeeping for the average person living in cities or urban areas. For books related to memoirs, check the historical fiction section as well as the memoirs section for titles that are similar to your family background
Step 4. Analyze the sample books
Read three to five books that relate to your story idea and pay attention to some details:
- What genre can this book fall into, and why? Consider why the publisher decided to place the book in a particular genre or category. You might be surprised, for example, to find a book about beekeeping in urban areas right on the Economics bookshelf in the library. You may be thinking about how to integrate the economic benefits of urban beekeeping into your book.
- Who is the target of your book? Think about the ideal reader for your book, and who would be the ideal reader for that book. For urban farming books, the ideal readers might be young professionals looking for a unique hobby, or retirees looking to earn extra money and improve the environment.
- Is there a positive message, theme, or moral in your book? Morals and themes are more common in fiction, but nonfiction and self-help books can also carry a positive message. Consider how the message, theme, or moral of your book is conveyed in the sample booklet. Does the author state the theme at the beginning of the book? Or are themes woven into the chapters and sections of the book? Are the morals or themes clear in the book, or are they difficult to define?
- How does the writer make the main character/character interesting and catch the reader's attention? This is very important in fiction books because the main character or protagonist serves as the driving force in the story. Do you find the main character easy to tell or fun? Are you getting bored with clichéd characters or flowery character descriptions in books? How does the author balance the main characters with the supporting characters in the book?
- Are there any unexpected events or conclusions at the end of the book. This is a key element in fiction books, especially thrillers and mystery books, as well as some self-help books. An unexpected event or conclusion is what keeps the reader entangled in the story and motivated to keep reading until the last page. Think about how the author builds suspense in each chapter to create a suspense peak. Was the unexpected event obvious from the start or were you as a reader surprised and amused by the unexpected event?
Part 2 of 3: Developing Story Ideas
Step 1. Determine the setting of the story
Often, when writing fiction or nonfiction, the setting will tell you details about the main characters and the genre you choose. Consider an area you know well, such as a small or large town you've lived in, or a geographic area you'd like to learn more about. You'll later have to research certain elements of the setting to make sure the place sounds plausible or clearly delineated to the reader.
- If you're writing historical fiction that takes place over a specific time period, you should research that period. If you're writing dystopian fiction or folklore, you can use your imagination to create a setting that's quirky and slightly futuristic or supernatural.
- For fiction books, there is no limit to setting. From spaceships on Mars to pirate ships in the Caribbean, all of these settings can be used for your story.
Step 2. Write a one-sentence summary for your book
This sentence will serve as the selling point of your manuscript when it is submitted to the publisher. The sentence should be a statement about the big picture of the book. When you write a book proposal later, this sentence should be mentioned at the very beginning of the proposal. Writing a one-sentence summary is not an easy task, and can be considered an art form in itself, so take enough time and revise the sentence until you feel confident.
- Don't be too long, no more than 15 words.
- Avoid using character names. It's best to use a short and clear description of your character.
- Link the big picture and the personal picture in the book. Which character suffered the most in your story?
- For example, a one-sentence summary for your book on urban beekeeping might be something like this: “Exploration of the economic and environmental benefits of urban beekeeping for hobbyists under 30”.
- A summary sentence for your memoir might go something like this: “The struggles of a young woman of mixed blood to find a mother she never knew and fight the addictions she suffered in Denpasar, Bali”.
Step 3. Find a working title
Creating a tentative title will help you answer readers' questions about the book and give you an idea of the book's overall purpose or theme. Try to match the title to the storytelling style in the book.
For example, an appropriate title for your book on urban beekeeping might be: “A Taste of Sweetness in the City: A Simple Guide to Urban Beekeeping”, and an appropriate title for your memoir might be: “The Autobiography of a Mixed Girl” or simply, "Looking For My Mother"
Step 4. Create a table of contents for your book
If you are writing a nonfiction book, the table of contents will help organize your thoughts and serve as a guide for writing the book.
- Make a list with bullets, with the main topic and then subtopics or headings under the main topic. For example, for a book on urban beekeeping, the main topic might be Urban Beekeeping and the subtopics might be: The Origins of Beekeeping, The Development of Beekeeping, Supply for Beekeeping, The Dangers of Beekeeping.
- You can also use this tactic to write fiction books. For example, the main topic might be My Life Story, and the subtopics might be: My Birth, My Childhood, My Teenagers, My Adulthood.
Step 5. Develop a rough outline of the story
For fiction books, you must outline the chapters or sections of the book. You might start with three distinct sections, broken down by time period, or twelve chapters, and each chapter represents a year in the main character's life. You may want to start with Chapter 1 and see how it progresses, but having a rough outline for chapters or book sections can help you focus your writing.
Create one folder on the Desktop for each book section, plus one for the introduction, another for the index or reference section. For fiction books, you can create folders for each chapter, or for each section
Step 6. Create an attractive main character
If you are writing a fiction book, the protagonist or main character will serve as a guide for the reader as they read the book. Your main character should be attractive and charming enough that the reader will care about what happens to him. To develop the main characters, write a summary sheet that includes:
- Main character name.
- A summary of the main character's storyline in one sentence.
- What motivates the character, or what he wants in the story in the abstract or the big picture. For example, your character may seek redemption and peace with his or her historical heritage.
- The main character's goal, or what he wants in the story concretely. For example, the main character might be looking for his missing mother, or a missing family member.
- The conflict the main character faces, or what is preventing him from achieving his goals. For example, the main character may struggle with addictions and other problems that get in the way of his quest.
- The main character's enlightenment, or what he learns or how he changes. For example, peace with his mother and his efforts to recover from addiction.
- One paragraph contains a summary of the main character's storyline. this summary should cover all of the above points in more detail.
Part 3 of 3: Writing the First Three Chapters
Step 1. Jump straight into the conflict
Make those first few sentences count. Start with the action, dialogue, or description that sets the mood for the story. Start as close as possible to the story catalyst, or a wow moment for the main character. This is the moment when the main character's life goes from ordinary to extraordinary and the story plot begins to take off.
- Don't make a false start, for example, the main character wakes up from a dream or dies in the first chapter. You should make the reader feel surprised and engaged, rather than feeling cheated or disappointed.
- Skip the prologue and start right in the middle of the action from the first chapter. Most prologues are not necessary for the main story or serve as a way to buy time into the intricacies of the story.
Step 2. Start with a paragraph that keeps the reader hooked
In nonfiction, this strategy helps to attract readers if you start with an attention grabbing first paragraph. Some ideas for generating paragraphs that can entangle readers include:
- Interesting or surprising examples: These could be drawn from personal experiences, such as childhood memories when you were involved in beekeeping in an urban area with family members, or your first failure at beekeeping.
- Provocative citations: Go through your research material for quotes that can represent the entire book. For example, quotes about the benefits of honey bees to the environment or about the relationship between beekeepers and their bees.
- Clear anecdotes: An anecdote is a very short story, but it has moral or symbolic value. Think of an anecdote that could be a poetic or powerful way to start your book. You can also browse the research material for your essay for appropriate anecdotes.
- Thought-provoking questions: You can ask questions that will get the reader thinking and engaged in your topic. For example: “Have you ever thought about how honey is made?”
Step 3. Do not edit the text until you have completed the first three chapters
Focus on completing the first three chapters, using a rough outline and one-sentence book summary as a guide. Do not stop to revise or edit the writing, especially in the early stages of the concept (draft). You should move forward in writing as this will allow you to work on all the ideas. Make edits towards the end.
