Writing your first book may seem like an impossible feat, but with proper planning you can compose your masterpiece quickly and effortlessly.
Sophie Howard's eSelling Machine can help! Start by condensing your book idea down into one sentence-your premise-this will help keep your writing focused and on task. Set daily word counts goals and schedule writing time each day, which will keep you on track while helping prevent procrastination. 1. Create an outlineWhen writing a book, creating an outline is key. An outline provides you with an understanding of what needs to be written about next and will also help avoid writer's block and keep you on the path towards finishing your manuscript. Create an outline in several ways, from index cards and mind mapping techniques (commonly known as the "Snowflake Method"), to using index cards or even the popular Snowflake Method of mind mapping (known by its other name as "The Snowflake Method"). However, the method that best suits you and your writing style should be chosen - this may take some experimentation before finding one that works well enough to organize your thoughts effectively. Your outline should highlight the main points and themes you wish to convey through your book, using the Five W's (who, what, when, where and why). Also, ensure to remove any irrelevant ideas while leaving blank spaces where more information may be necessary - this will save time when writing your novel faster! As soon as you're ready to write your book, set yourself a deadline. This will keep you on task each day and ensure you meet both short-term and long-term goals. However, don't set unrealistic deadlines; rather set realistic ones like finishing your first draft within two months or so. 2. Set a deadlineWriting a book can be hard work, and it can be easy to become discouraged when your goals don't align with reality. That's why it is vitally important that you set realistic deadlines for yourself and adhere to them - this can be accomplished through creating a book outline which serves as a roadmap to guide the writing of your manuscript and keep track of progress. Furthermore, knowing roughly how many words or pages you can write per writing session helps establish an appropriate writing schedule and goal. Establishing a daily writing schedule is vital to your success, helping to maintain consistency and make the work feel manageable. Setting time goals or word count goals such as specific numbers of pages written per day might work better; others simply prefer writing everyday regardless of word counts or pages completed. What matters is finding an approach that best fits with your lifestyle and committing yourself to sticking to it! Another key element of writing quickly is breaking your book into manageable chunks. Writing can feel like an insurmountable task, but really it's just words on pages! Look at your manuscript in terms of smaller parts - remember this proverb about eating an elephant: one bite at a time! Once you've set a deadline and writing schedule, don't let anything stand in your way of reaching those targets. Push past any internal or external resistance that arises and stay committed until the task at hand has been accomplished - then your book can be shared with the world! 3. Write every dayIf you want to write a book, committing to writing every day is essential for success. While that doesn't have to mean writing an entire novel in one sitting (although some authors do), but simply showing up every day and spending several hours working on your project. Doing this regularly will allow you to develop both skills and build momentum as an author. Find a space that works for you when it comes to writing. This doesn't need to be a luxurious soundproof room or expensive coffee shop - rather, find somewhere quiet where you can work without being distracted. If possible, set aside a desk or chair exclusively for writing as part of your daily routine so it becomes part of your everyday activities rather than an extracurricular extravagance. This will put writing on an equal footing with other aspects of life and promote consistency over extravagance in terms of commitment. Once you have established a regular writing schedule, track your progress by noting the words or pages written every day. This will give you a sense of achievement while encouraging you to stay within your daily writing quota and seeing your average daily output, helping set realistic goals. One way to speed up writing is to disable your word processor's spell and grammar checker. Doing this will keep you from clicking words for definitions or being distracted by its red line, saving time on typing! Finally, try writing in "word sprints" to stimulate your creative side and generate some fresh ideas. These short writing sessions may be just what's necessary to convert those scribbled notes into an impressive first draft. 4. Don’t re-readRe-reading everything that has just been written can be an ineffective use of your writing time; this is not editing; this is procrastination! Productivity experts know that stopping and restarting can quickly waste your time; moreover, re-reading can cause you to miss important details, such as why your character isn't acting how they should or if readers find some element confusing in your storyline. Writing fiction can be particularly tricky: when revising and revising again, even minor errors may tempt you to change meaning or delete scenes, reducing productivity and keeping you from reaching a timely completion of the book. Instead, seek feedback from others. Although it can be challenging, getting outside opinions will provide you with an objective viewpoint of your work. Have friends read individual chapters at a time and apply their suggestions throughout the book - having someone else read over your book can help spot small errors you miss when looking at it every day yourself. Writing a book may take time, but you can speed up the process if you stay determined and stick with your goals. Once accomplished, your readers will appreciate your creation of quality fiction or non-fiction works with Reedsy that are professionally formatted so they will leave an impression with them! 5. Stay motivatedAt first, having an amazing book idea can seem daunting; but with proper strategies in place and persistence, writing books faster than you think can become reality. Staying motivated to write requires setting realistic goals and deadlines, sticking to a writing routine, and structure your writing time - this will prevent excuses and procrastination from creeping in. Keep a notebook handy just in case an idea suddenly strikes that can't be captured on computer; that way you can still jot it down, then transfer it later onto your manuscript. Reminding yourself why you're doing this will keep you on the right track, reminding you why the going gets tough and reminding you why the goal should remain at the forefront of your mind. Writing a book can be an exhausting and time-consuming endeavor, particularly when juggling full-time work and family life. Finding motivation may prove difficult at times; however, by following these techniques it should become much simpler to start writing books much more quickly than expected and complete your first draft sooner. Just don't give up! Just save editing for later - and never stop!
0 Comments
|
TishArchives
November 2023
Categories |