You can write a book as long as you can put pen to paper. However, aside from creativity, determination, and persistence, it also helps if you understand other crucial elements of book writing, such as plots, character development, and goal-setting. If you’ve been thinking about becoming a published author, you might lay the foundation for a successful book by taking note of the following tips.
Use a Character Template
Avid readers can identify a poorly developed character a mile away. Avoid significant flaws in your storylines by using a character template to write down every important detail about your characters. As you write, you can refer back to the template and ensure consistency throughout all chapters.
Character templates can be intensive and time-consuming to create, but they can be worth it when readers can truly understand who your characters are as people. The average character template generally incorporates the following:
- Demographics
- Physical appearance
- Their history
- Psychological traits
- Communication styles
- Strengths, weaknesses, and abilities
- Relationships
- Character growth
Everything from your characters’ most prominent birthmarks to their life regrets can be included in a character template, making them as complex as the average natural person. The more believable they are as a person, the more engaged your readers might be.
Understand That You Don’t Have to Be a Professional
Not being a skilled writer can hold many people back from achieving their goals of becoming published authors. It’s easy to believe you have no right to write a book because you lack writing skills, credentials, or qualifications.
However, if you have a story and the determination and perseverance to tell it, you can write a book. There’s no need to have any particular skills or talents. However, you might find that a creative writing class and reading plenty of your favorite books can work in your favor for understanding formatting and chapter structure.
Set a Writing Routine
When you don’t have any deadlines or a support network encouraging you, it’s easy to lose focus and stop giving your book the attention it deserves. Create a writing routine to stay on track.
Set a certain amount of time aside each day to dedicate to your book, be it 10 minutes, an hour, or longer. If you lack motivation or time management skills, set the alarm on your computer or mobile device to remind you to sit down, focus, and start writing. After establishing and sticking to a routine, you can achieve more than you thought possible.
Create a Comfortable Writing Space
While sitting on your sofa in your living room with your laptop on your knees is easy, it’s not an ideal writing environment. Shared spaces can be full of distractions, and you might not have the lighting or bodily support to write comfortably.
When your writing journey begins in earnest, establish a comfortable writing space you can retreat to each day or multiple days per week. A desk, computer, comfortable chair, and adequate lighting are a few of the many things you might incorporate into the space. If you’re easily distracted by noises in your home, turn on lyric-free music or white noise to minimize disturbances and keep you focused on the task.
Set Small and Large Goals
You are your biggest motivator, so set goals to remain motivated until your book is finished. You might aim to finish the first draft of one chapter by a specific date, or you might try to write 1,000 or more words per day until you complete your book. Most published works are between 50,000 and 100,000 words, so it might only be weeks until your first draft is complete.
It can be tempting to set larger goals, such as ‘write a book within a year’ and ‘become a published author within two years,’ but it can be disheartening if you don’t achieve those goals. Set smaller ones, and your larger goals might seem much more achievable.
Write First and Edit Later
No author ever writes a word-perfect first draft. Some of the greatest works by authors underwent multiple revisions before being published. Rather than editing, you can start from the beginning, fix spelling and grammatical errors, delete scenes, add scenes, and make edits.
Spend Time on Your Book Outline
You might have an excellent idea for your book, but a book in complete form can be far more multifaceted. Plan complex and basic plots by creating an in-depth book outline. This can involve picking a book format, establishing a beginning, middle, and end, and considering your conflict points. You can also incorporate your character template into your book outline.
Think about Your Ideal Reader
Your book won’t appeal to everyone. Some readers enjoy romance books, while others like murder mysteries, science fiction, and autobiographies. Create a fake target customer based on what your novel will be about. When you have an ideal reader in mind, you can create your book around them. Give them a name, hobbies, opinions, and age, and think about what they want to read in a book. You might even find it easier to develop the cover art and come up with marketing ideas once it’s published.
Ask Trusted Advisers for Early Feedback
It’s never easy knowing whether you’re heading in the right direction with your book, ideas, and character development. If you want to limit how much backtracking you’ll need to do, run your ideas and early drafts past trusted advisers. Friends, family members, and editors can assist with the writing process. The sooner you ask for help and constructive criticism, the more confidence you might have to continue.
Everybody who wants to write a book can, but it doesn’t always feel like that when you’ve never attempted to write one. If you consider these helpful tips above, you might be well on your way to becoming a published author with an avid reader fanbase.
