When I sat down to write my first book CRUISE, I remember thinking, “How do I write a book?” I had a great idea and was sure I could fill a lot of pages, but I wasn’t sure of the actual process of how to write a book from start to finish. There are many schools of thought when writing a book, but songwriter, Johnny Mercer, who wrote “Moon river” for Frank Sinatra, said that you should “write for the waste basket.” In other words, just sit down and start writing, to get the creative juices flowing. While I agree with this method, I personally, like to have direction, before I start.
Having studied Tony Robbins for years, I had learnt how to chunk, which in essence, is the art of taking large tasks, and breaking them down into smaller, more manageable pieces.
So let’s look at this 5-step plan in more detail.
1. Have a clear idea of what you want to write.
I never start to write a book, without knowing exactly what I want to talk about. You don’t have to be exact, but at least have a good idea of your topic. Once I come up with an idea for a book, I usually spend the next few weeks, thinking about the topic. I carry a notepad in my phone titled “new book” and any time I think of any idea, I write in there. This is a great way to capture ideas, when you think of them; so you don’t forget.
2. Define your chapters
Once I have the idea for the book, I list 8-10 chapter ideas, about what I want to write about. This gives me more of a focus and breaks the overall task into smaller, less daunting chunks. Again, every time a new idea comes to mind, I add it to my phone’s notepad.
3. List sub-chapters, or story ideas.
These are small stories that when combined, make up your chapter and what will be the “guts” of your book. By doing this, you will get total clarity and find that your mind starts processing all types of ideas to explore.
4. Start writing.
Now that you have your book idea, chapter ideas, story or sub-chapter ideas, you have not only broken this huge task into smaller chunks, but you have a more defined focus on where to start. It doesn’t matter, if you start at the beginning, middle, or end, as long as you start. If you’re worried about “writers block” or just are just not motivated, have a read of my previous blog, “When would NOW be a good time to start.”
This is the most important part of the entire process. I have a friend, who started writing his first book 5 years ago, before I started writing my first book. He still hasn’t finished his, while I have published 5 books already.
You need to schedule time every day, or each week, that can’t be moved. No matter how you feel, or how busy you are, make sure you schedule the time and stick to it. Even if it’s only 1 hour, twice a week. You will find that once you make this a habit, the 1 hour, will turn into 3 and you will have your book finished before you know it. This is your book and unless you continually push yourself, to sit down and write, you will never finish it.
Once you have finished writing your first draft; celebrate. Many people want to write a book, but few actually accomplish it. Be proud of the fact that you’ve conquered this beast and celebrate your achievement. Even if you don’t publish the book, you’ve achieved something great.
I will look at how to edit, typeset and publish a book, in a later blog.
