Arrange a schedule Let Your Ideas Flow Stick to Your Schedule
If you have been sitting in front of your computer screen staring at a blank page, you’ve realized by now that your book isn’t going to write itself. That perfect first sentence does not happen on the first try. Writing is hard work. But you can persevere with a few tips to get you started.
Begin with the idea that you will have several—or many—rewrites before you find your ideal beginning, middle, and end. Set up a reasonable time during the day or evening for your writing and stick to it—300 to 500 words per session. Set up a space where you don’t have to pack up your writing materials when you finish.
What kind of book are you writing? Is it fiction or non-fiction? Or are you writing your life story or a story about an event or events that shaped or significantly changed your life? Identify your audience.
Initially, just write out your ideas. Sit down, start writing, and see what happens. Don’t edit your writing; don’t keep rewriting them. Just let your ideas flow. You can organize your ideas later. Also keep a notebook and pen handy so that you can jot down your ideas wherever you are. Use the notebook feature of your smartphone or tablet to do the same.
Step away from your work and talk to your family and friends about your ideas. You may or may not gain fresh insights from others, but by talking through your ideas, you will clarify them in your own mind. You will now begin making choices about what you will include or not include in your writing. Again, do not edit your writing. If you stick with your schedule to write each day at the same time, you will eventually set a pace that will help keep your energy and ideas flowing.
Have you determined the place or setting of your book? How much research will you need to do about your location? Begin writing about the locale and see what develops. How does it affect your characters or you if you are writing your life story?
If you are writing a novel, do you have any characters in mind? Have you named your characters to give them life in your mind? Write a character description for each of your main characters and then your minor characters.
Have you considered what family and friends have thought of your ideas and written those ideas down? Time to get started and get those ideas flowing!
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