Writing a book is a fantastic goal to have, but it’s surprisingly difficult to stick to it and some people find it challenging to even put their first few words onto paper. There’s no doubt it’s a challenging prospect, but there are a couple of tips you could follow to make it a little easier.
Make sure you have a general idea of what it’s about
Some people with really creative minds can start a story and just write as they go along. However, most people will find it easier to have a general idea of what the story is about so they can plan ahead and think about all of the characters, settings, and scenes the story has. If you’re running out of story ideas or aren’t sure where to start, then brainstorming some themes you like and even getting some inspiration from other authors is always a good idea. Just make sure you’re not copying anyone else’s ideas or else you’ll be called out for plagiarism. It’s fine to be inspired by something, but it’s never acceptable to just straight up take ideas from another story!
Building the world, planning characters, and developing them can also be a lot of fun. It’s extremely helpful to flesh out the world and create lots of unique characters and potential scenarios before you decide to put together a timeline of events and actually start piecing together your story.
You don’t have to get fancy with publishing it
While it might be a little silly to start thinking about publishing so early, there’s no doubt it’s still an important consideration to keep in mind. If you want to make a book, you could always look for a company to help you print it. You could design a cover, think of a summary to write, and then print a couple of copies to send to a publisher or even to your friends. However, the internet has given us more ways to distribute books and there are plenty of unique ideas to try.
For example, you could release your book chapter by chapter on a blog. This is a great way to showcase your work to others and it can help improve engagement on your blog. Alternatively, you could even release it on an eBook story such as Amazon.
It’s fine to take breaks, but try and maintain your motivation
It’s common to occasionally hit a wall with your writing. Maybe a character you designed isn’t working out or maybe a scenario isn’t as fun to explore as you imagined. If you’re struggling to write, then it’s fine to take a few breaks now and then. In fact, some writers don’t finish books for years. Instead, they come back to it much later with a fresh mind and may even change some things that they’ve already written.
However, you have to make sure to at least maintain some kind of motivation to work on the story so that it eventually finishes. You might not need to write new chapters, but it’s still good to remember the world and keep the idea fresh in your head.
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