#write a plan

[manicpixiedreamboots]

How to write your book Step 139

Become a prolific writer. 

To become a prolific author, one must become a prolific writer, and what that means is that basically you have to write a lot. Like a lot, a lot. The best way to write a lot is to become a chronic writer. 

Write every day, write every week, every month. Constantly be writing something.... Always have a project or two you are working on and writing for. Set yourself goals and deadlines and break them all... Start writing a new project when you’ve barely started your last. Write like if you stopped for too long you would start bleeding out your pores. Write. Finish projects. Start projects. Get your writing our of your system. Don’t panic, you won’t run out of creativity. The amount of writing you can do in a life time is but a drop in the ocean of creativity available for to you. 

Keep writing. 

[manicpixiedreamboots]

How to write your book Step 99

Everything is kind of okay. 

but that’s not an interesting story. To make a story compelling and intriguing  you have to ask yourself three questions. Who? What? and most importantly Why? 

Who is your main character? What do they want? and most importantly, Why hasn’t your ‘Who’ gotten their ‘What’. 

Everything is kind of okay is bland. In order to make your book not bland everything has to be either absolutely terrible, with the hope of being fixed. Or so absolutely perfect that something has to be wrong. Everything isn’t okay. or everything is ridiculously okay. Both of these are intriguing. We want to know why, and how your ‘who’ is going to fix it. 

Make the wants of your character the wants of your reader, and put some severe obstacles in the way of those goals. Overcoming the adversities to reach the end goal gives your book purpose and purpose is interesting. 

[manicpixiedreamboots]

How to write your book Step 80

DON’T WAIT 

What are you waiting for? The perfect writing conditions? a gust of inspiration? Until you have it all sorted out in your head? No. Don’t do any of it, start now,  write now, right now. Don’t put things off until you feel more confident about it, leap into it! Worst case scenario... You write something. If you spend your life waiting to write, you’ll never write enough. There will always be more to write, your’re not going to run out. Trust me. Write now. Go on. 20 mins ago was the perfect time to write, now is the next best. Have fun with it. Go write. 

[manicpixiedreamboots]

How to write your book Step 62

Happy New Year

Now is the time to make those new years resolutions. This is a terrible idea. If you are anything like myself you will have never actually accomplished a new years resolution, despite having made many each year of your life,or at least in your conscious memory.. I don’t know you though, maybe you remember 6 year old You’s new years resolutions.. maybe you accomplished them, but I certainly didn’t. New years resolutions are fake promises for me. They are a mild idea of a promise.... You expect yourself to fail at them and so you do. 

Don’t make ‘new years resolutions.’ Make Resolutions. You will write your book. And you will write it this year. Write your big brave heart out as much as you can. Don’t let the fear of a new year weigh down on your shoulders. Embrace it. Write it out. 

Even if the only time you write this whole year is today,  you will have written your book this year. (albeit only some of it... but still.) 

Happy New year. 

[manicpixiedreamboots]

How to write your book Step 58

Finish something.

I don’t care what it is, a short story, a letter to a parent, a Christmas card, a video game, a drawing.. anything. Once you start finishing things, you’ll want to finish more things. There is a great relief in ‘finishing’ your book. Your book, might never be fully actually completely 100% finished. There will always be bits you think you could have edited differently, even when (yes when, not if) you get published there will still be ideas coming to you, that you will wish you had put in your book. Don’t worry about it though, as soon as you have a complete finished book, there is a rush of excited terrified Adrenalin. It’s a great feeling. Chase it.  Finish your book. keep editing it if you feel you must,  perfectionism has its place, and by all means make it as perfect as you can, but please don’t forget to finish your book. 

[manicpixiedreamboots]

How to write your book Step 41

GOOGLE IS YOUR FRIEND.

When you are stuck and you want to write more, you’re in the writing mood, you have motivation, but haven’t a clue what to do next… GOOGLE IT. If you are writing an autobiography, try Googling “How to write an autobiography.” If you are writing a romance novel Google: “How to write a romance novel” If you can’t remember the word ‘toast’ Google: “Word for cooked bread.” When you Google “What should I write next in my book?” You will get ideas, Google will be like... “Dude, try adding in some frogs?” But you’ll be all like, “No, that would be incongruous... it would be more likely, that Allan moves to London for a year.”

Google is your friend.

[manicpixiedreamboots]

How to write your book Step 25

THINK

Hiatus time! You’ve earned this. Productivity can’t be continuous forever.  Take some time to think about where your novel is going. Think about changing that direction completely. Do nothing. Take a breather to think about your book and everything in it. Then, after a long while, get back at it. The entire book might be different now. Then again, it might not. Think about it all. Don’t forget to think. Think forward. Think big. Think backstory. Thinking is key in the writing process, thinking about thing that may never happen in your book is a great way to work out what’s best to include.   You don’t want to end up saying to a critic: ‘ Oh I never thought of that” of course you thought of it! you just decided against that course of the story.