The process of writing can become quite taxing if you don’t get the right help. Without someone who has done it before, chances are you may jump into a pool of confusion and make mistakes.
Are you an author, facing writer’s block, not feeling inspired to write or just writing for the first time? Then look no further because Austin Macauley has you covered!
Here’s a list of our tips and tricks that’ll help you to write a book.
Read, Read, Read!
All of you must have heard the phrase, ‘to write a lot, you need to read a lot.’ If not, then there you have it.
Reading helps enhance your creativity and knowledge. It keeps wrenching out the ideas in your mind and inspires you to write more.
Before writing any book, conducting research is a must. Reading can also help you find inspiration, be it from books, blogs, magazines, forums, quotes, history, newspapers, etc. It is one of the best ways to improve your writing style, character development, and story-telling technique.
Travel
Now, you must be wondering what does traveling have to do with writing? Researchers say that traveling helps in stimulating our cognitive processes which form the basis for our creative and innovative thinking.
When you visit new places you meet new people, try new things, break your routine; all these things help you in writing your book, inspire you to develop characters, create future settings, etc.
Exploring cultures and places also opens your mind and you become receptive towards new ideas.
Watch TV; movies, news, series, anything
Some people call TV a mental killer and advise authors and writers to stay as far as they can from it. But we advise otherwise. Given a rational thought, it can inspire you to write.
The stories, the scenarios, the colours, and everything else can provide you with great ideas for writing. Believe us or not, TV has the power to awaken emotions in our minds and give us food for thought. So, next time you’re in a hunt for inspiration try turning your TV and you may actually find it on TV
Go through success stories
One of the best ways to get inspired to write is to read the success stories. When people see others succeed, they feel the urge to succeed as well, which kicks in the motivation to do it.
Similarly, when you lack the inspiration to write, you should go through the success stories of authors and find your muse.
Discover the joy of writing
Think of the reason why you became an author or want to become an author.
Most do this merely for the love of writing and they can’t imagine doing anything else. They just put their pen to paper and watch the magic unfold. It’s time for you to embrace the power and feel the pleasure of the joy that comes with writing.
Zen before Pen
Before you start writing, you need to open and freshen up your mind. Why not try and meditate for a while, take a walk, have some green tea, or do whatever you do to relax and refresh yourself.
Remove all the stresses and negative thoughts and begin writing with a fresh and open mind.
Make habits instead of goals
Instead of setting goals such as ‘finish a book in a year’, ‘write the first draft by this month’, etc. try developing a habit of writing.
You could say ‘I will write for 30 minutes each day’. In this way, you remove the barrier in your mind placed by the pressure of finishing something or attaining the end product and let the words flow out of your mind in a smooth and relaxed manner.
You can incorporate the habit of writing in your goal setting. You can say, “I will finish my book in a year, and write one page every day.” It makes it small and attainable and helps you build a momentum of writing.
Think: Reader
When writing a book, make your readers a priority. Set a filter in your mind to eliminate or edit out the part that you think your readers may not like or find it boring.
If you’re confused about something in your book, put yourself in your readers’ shoes and see how it feels now. If you like it, keep it. If you don’t, delete or edit.
If you write to please your editor, agent, or publisher you may not necessarily please your readers.
Write compelling beginning and resounding ending
The start and end of your book should serve as bookends that hold the book together. The beginning should capture the attention of the reader so they may get hooked on to reading it further.
While the ending shouldn’t be ambiguous and vague leaving the readers in ambiguity unless you’re planning to write a sequel
Close the door
Our final tip is from a piece by Stephen King,
“Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Your stuff starts out being just for you, in other words, but then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it right — as of right as you can, anyway — it belongs to anyone who wants to read it. Or criticize it.”
He means to create your first draft without taking anyone’s opinion. Do what your heart desires, write what you like the best.
After you’re finished with it, have others read it, review it and criticize it, and adjust it accordingly. In this way, you will not frustrate yourself over what people are going to say about your work.
If you’ve enjoyed our top tips or want to share your own with us, get in touch via facebook and twitter!
