As we all know, the hardest part of a writer's job is sitting down to do the work.  Books don't write themselves, unfortunately. Movies and tv show writers sitting at their desk, fingers flying over the keyboard, as they try to get their story down before the muse escapes. The reality, for most of us, is the "writer" likes the idea of writing a novel, and being acclaimed as a literary genius, but never seems to get started. Instead she, or he, wanders around finding things to do that have nothing to do with their writing.

If you're like me, and have decided that the book that's been rattling around in your brain for years is finally going to be written, read on...

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First things first, very few people sit down and type their masterpiece in a fit of creative inspiration. Most of us write a sentence, then a paragraph, then maybe, if we're lucky, an entire chapter. That's a good day. Enough of those and your book is done.  The secret, I find, is to have a structured plan, instead of waiting for the mythical perfect time to write. What I discovered is if I'm sitting at my computer, fingers poised, my brain realises "Oh we're writing today" and the creative part of my brain clicks into action. As a semi-professional procrastinator, I've read a lot of advice on being a better writer. Well, it's easier than doing the actual work, and make no mistake, writing is work. Here's the advice that's helped me. I set in out in stages so it won't be too daunting.

 

Basically, there are 3 phases:

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Beginning

You have to start writing. Obvious I know but it has to be done. Decide what you're going to write and how you're going to write it.

Staying motivated

Once you've started writing, you'll find yourself feeling overwhelmed, and worrying about everything that could go wrong. Every writer who ever lived has experienced this. Plan ahead what you're going to do when the little voice in your head starts poking you with a bony finger and whispering in your ear.

Finishing

We all have brilliant books we've almost written. The only one that counts is the book you finish. The difference between a wannabee, daydreaming about their fantastic book, and a real writer is the finished work. That's it.

Some of these tips may seem simple but if you put them into action, they can make a massive difference. Before you know it, you'll be in your local bookstore, holding a real hardback copy of your masterpiece, resisting the urge to hug it to your chest like a long lost friend and announce to everybody in the shop that you're the author. Author. That's a lovely word. Yes, you're an author now, a member of the club. You know, the club with everyone from Shakespeare and Dickens, to James Patterson and whoever your favourite is.    

Anyway, here goes.

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Stage 1: Beginning

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Get your writing tools ready. The publishing industry uses Microsoft Word, so you'll need to use it too. Even if you've got someone else to do your typing (lucky you!), you'll still need a computer to communicate with editors, publishers, agents and so on. If you're one of those writers who prefers to write out your work on paper, or maybe type it out on your faithful typewriter, at least for the first few drafts, that's fine, but the finished work needs to be on computer. No publisher would even look at a typed manuscript, never mind a handwritten one

 

Decide what your book is going to be about. Start with your working title then an outline. The basic premise needs to be something you feel is important, something that will draw you to your desk. If the concept isn't strong enough, you'll lose interest halfway through and your book will never get finished. Write down a sentence or two about the basic premise of your book. State it clearly as if you were explaining it to a friend. Nobody else will ever read this so it doesn't need to be fancy or clever. You can use bullet points or complete sentences, whichever you prefer. Elaborate a little more and write a paragraph. Stretch this paragraph into a one page outline.  Now you have a book outline, next step is to set out a rough plan, sort of like a map so you don't go astray. By this I mean a table of contents, so you can see where your book is going to go. All you need is a beginning, middle and end.  For a non-fiction work, a framework is vital. If your book is a novel, set up your plot so the reader goes along for the ride and gets a huge payoff at the end. And if you're writing a memoir, setting it out like a novel helps with the plot and building the drama. As a bonus, once you've managed a few chapters you can use this table of contents as a motivational tool, that you can look at and remind yourself how much you've got done.

 

Set a daily word count target. You don't need to spend hours each day slaving away, never seeing your friends or family. You don't need to write loads, you just need to write often. If you spend 1 hour each morning before work, you could easily write 300 words each day, that's about a page. Keep your target small so you can reach your goal every day and start building momentum.

 

Set a time to write every day. Being consistent helps build the habit. If you want to take a day off, that's fine. Just schedule it in advance. Setting yourself a daily deadline  also helps you get into the writing mindset quickly. Ideally, one hour a day, so six hours a week, is perfect. This also gives you a scheduled day off, important to avoid burnout. But if you can only arrange three sessions of two hours each, that's fine too. Whatever suits you, the important thing is to set a schedule and stick to it.

 

Set aside a place to write. Whether you choose a desk in your bedroom or the kitchen table doesn't matter. It just needs to be your special place for writing. Again this helps to get your brain into writing mode quickly. Gather everything you might need from stationery to a fan or heater. Don't forget to make sure you use a comfortable chair that offers decent support.

 

Stage 2: Staying motivated

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Set yourself a weekly deadline. Most of us need a deadline to keep us on track. Personally I could probably use a marine instructor with a cattle prod! Give yourself a word count target to aim for. This helps you stay objective, and gives you a clear idea of how much progress you've made. Remember the old saying about the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. For example, say you want to finish a 400 page manuscript by this time next year. 400 divided by 50 weeks (giving you 2 weeks off) is 8 pages per week. Divide 8 pages by the number of writing sessions you have each week to figure out how many pages you need to finish each session.

 

Do your research. Fiction writing isn't just making up a story. The details and logic must be right for your novel to be believable. If your working on a non-fiction book, getting all the facts right will give your finished product a polished look.

 

Be wary of distractions. Try writing on a computer not connected to the internet. Try writing a shorter book. Maybe a book of short stories? Setting out to create a novel the length of "War and Peace" is daunting.

 

Don't edit while you're writing. I have to hold my hand up and admit to doing this. The little red squiggly lines have a magnetic affect on me, I just can't ignore them. Stopping to fix these is the surest way to break your flow.

 

Always put your reader first. Concentrating on what your publisher, or your agent wants is a bad idea. Nobody cares how long or hard you worked on a piece. The only thing they care about is whether or not it speaks to them. Make it count.

 

Keep inspiring things nearby. Try setting up a noticeboard on a wall near your writing space, where you can stick up anything that helps you write. Maybe a photo from a magazine that looks like your main character, or the house they live in. For more ways to unleash your creativity, click here.

 

Find someone you trust to give honest feedback. It's very discouraging to have to rewrite an entire book, because you didn't let anyone read it. If you're lucky enough to have an editor, use them. Otherwise pick one or two trusted friends or family members. Getting feedback from someone whose opinion you trust, will keep you on the right path. And possibly save you weeks of rewrites.

 

Stage 3: Finishing

 

One of my worst writing-related faults is compulsive editing. To avoid this, a deadline is essential. The best kind of deadline is one involving other people, such as a publisher. It would be a shame to go to all the effort of crafting the perfect book and then leave it sitting in a drawer.  Put a calendar where you can see it while you're writing. Mark your deadline on it with something like "release book into the world!" 

 

Be realistic. Accept that this book writing business is hard. You'll mess up at some point, we all do. Expecting perfection is unrealistic. When you make a mistake, make a note to do better next time, and continue on your merry way.

 

Start your next book. Most authors are embarrassed by their first book. But, we all have to start somewhere. Look at it this way, in years to come when you're being interviewed about your career, you'll have a few tales to tell about your adventures as a novice writer.

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Find what works for you. Every successful writer has a system that works for them. When they sit down to write, they know what's made their work resonate with readers in the past, so they use that knowledge to create a new book. They don't just start typing and see what happens. Styles of writing go in and out of fashion. Remember the way every bookstore was crammed with vampire books a few years ago? Being aware as a writer that vampires were popular and writing a novel in that genre would have been a sensible move for a beginner. I'm not saying we should chase the latest writing fashions, but being aware of what the publishers are looking for is practical. Being stubborn and deciding to stick with your fantastic idea of writing a mystery novel from the viewpoint of the furniture, is only going to make your life harder. We all have areas of writing which suits us better than others.  For instance, I can't imagine Stephen King writing a romcom, or Shakespeare creating a woodwork manual. That's not to say writers shouldn't branch out into other areas if the muse insists, but what a lot of them do is use a different pen-name for each area. This division helps the brain make a clear distinction between different styles of writing. 

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Accept that some people will hate your writing. Some will be indifferent to it. But... a few will love it. Concentrate on the readers who get it, and ignore the naysayers. Smiling at them while carrying on about your business is the best way to deal with them. It also drives them crazy, but that's another story.

 

Thousands of books have never been written. Brilliant books that could have brought fascinating characters into the world, maybe could have helped people by giving them a giggle. All those wonderful books should be sitting on our bedside tables with a coffee shop receipt marking our page. But no, the writer gave up. Or worse, maybe those books have been finished but the author didn't know what to do with them, so they're sitting in a box under a layer of dust in someone's attic.