Oh, where do we start from! Writing a book is such a chore. Yet you will find authors with hundreds of bestsellers — just think of the Witcher books. How do they do it? There they are, and here you are – struggling to get your first manuscript ready even by your relaxed deadline iteration.
There’s no magic. Writing a book is a professional job. It’s not a hobby. Those who take book writing seriously and love their work can always find time to work on writing.
Paragraph by paragraph and page by page – you’ll also get there. All you need is confidence in your written word and some tips to guide you along the way.
And that’s precisely why you’re at the right place. Today, we’re going to talk about some very effective yet less popular tips for writing a book.
In the words of the great Mark Twain, “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” Oversimplification, yes, but an accurate one.
Strap your seatbelts on. We’re going for a ride.
Just begin
First things first.
If you’re still just planning on then it’s time to start. Forget about the formal beginnings. Just write the first chapter. Let out your mind. Write what you always wanted to. Remember the thrill of the time when you first came up with the idea. Revolutionary, wasn’t it?
Stop reading this article. Write faster. Come back here again and thank us later.
Break it down, organize, and schedule
Next up is breaking things down.
No problem is unsolvable. Break your problems and obstacles down. Even if you are not facing problems, divide your writing project into tasks and sub-tasks. Keep this project management list of sorts handy. You can use tools like Trello or Google Tasks to build a detailed multi-level list.
Monitor the lists. Don’t be too strict on yourself. Give yourself time to finish the tasks otherwise you’ll start to hate these tasks and won’t bother with them.
Just keep them for the sake of documentation and slowly start to build a schedule around your well-organized tasks list.
Make feedback an integral part of your writing
Feedback doesn’t start when you’re done with the manuscript. Share your progress with people you trust. Alternatively, share minimally with your fans online. Having your own blog or website is nice, but so is sharecropping (like Medium or Wattpad) or your favorite social media platform.
Know what makes you more productive
Coffee? A quiet place? Some meditation? Lots of water? What makes you tick?
If you don’t know what gives you a productivity boost then you’re not doing it right. We’re all living in a world full of things to do, people to please, and money to make.
Find out what makes you tick so you can use it as a boost even amid all the chaos and to finish that next chapter soon!
(Optional) Get an accountability partner
Get someone who holds you accountable for your writing. You’d be surprised seeing how well it works.
This isn’t a tool usually deployed by authors, or anyone in general. This is something that always works. If you had two similar projects – and one of them was with a partner who was also invested (not necessarily monetarily) in some way – then that project will be accomplished faster.
Have someone who holds you accountable.
“You didn’t make any progress today? Ah, that’s fine. Oh, yesterday was the same? We might have a problem.”
Over time, you’ll be programmed to give the project a fair deal of time and attention no matter how packed your day is.
Other tips:
- Remove distractions. You have greater things to do now. That book won’t finish itself if you’re stuck wasting time on 5 different things. At least move a few distractions out of your life.
- Set aside time specifically for writing.
- Take frequent breaks when you’re working. Stretch between long sessions. Get up and take a walk.
- Read, read, and then read some more. Being a better reader automatically makes you a better writer. Focus on the same or similar genres as the one you’re writing in.