06 Jan Great Tips for Writing a Book

Writing a book is a very challenging task, especially if you are writing a book for the first time. Having a good idea for the plot is not merely enough – you need to have good writing skills in order for that idea to be realized in a gripping story. Another difficult task is to come up with characters, who need to be developed throughout the story and not come off as characters who are one dimensional. So, your idea and wisdom is something that needs to be conveyed to your audience through the dialogues between your characters, and you will need a pretty vivid imagination in order to bring those characters to life. Your characters need to have an inner drive that motivates them to behave the way you want them to, and say the things you want them to say. You will also need to have rich vocabulary, so that your figments of imagination can be brought closer to your audience – you will need to find the right words to describe the features of your characters and their surroundings. If you have a story brewing in your head that needs be told to the public, then you should not hesitate to channel those thoughts and feelings by writing a book. Maybe following these instructions will provide you with good focus when you are doing so.

Think of the characters and setting

First thing’s first, you need to come up with people and places that are going to be involved in your story. This is not easy at all because, if you make your protagonist someone who is a virtuous and good person and your antagonist the exact opposite, then you are just writing a children’s book. Regardless, whether someone is a main character, or a villain, he or she needs a very good explanation for the actions he or she takes. Their profiles and convictions must be thoroughly justified as your story progresses. Of course, you do not need to do this for every character that appears in your story, only for those who are crucial for your narrative.

Create a map of your story

Think of the scenes that will occur throughout your story, and what will happen in those scenes. These are you chapters, so mark which event will mean that one chapter is over and decide how you are going to begin the next one. Think of this as a TV series – try ending your chapter with some sort of cliff hanger, to compel the readers to go on. Each chapter should have some information or elements that are going to have consequences as the story moves forward. As you write, you may find yourself changing this map if you allow your characters to grab the reins of the story every now and then. As your characters develop, you may find yourself allowing them to do something which is in their impulsive nature – something that may change the course of your narrative.

Illustrate your story

A Picture is worth a thousand words, and throughout your book, you need to put pictures of your characters. This does not pay any crucial role in your story, but it is really nice to have portraits of your characters that represent their general mood and appearance. If you are not fond of illustrations in between pages, then at least your book cover needs to have an illustration, if there is any chance for your book to be sold. Think about it – when was the last time you bought a book without any pictures on its cover – it is hard to notice something like that on the shelf.

How to write

If you are to be good at this, you need to professionally devote yourself and create a writing routine of your own. There are various techniques you can try, techniques which can increase your productivity in the field of writing. Honestly, it is all about finding a good surrounding and allowing your mind to properly shape, what previously seemed as rough ideas, turns into a beautifully developed story.  Be witty and funny, when you can, allow the interaction between characters to be well argumented and to appear natural to the situation. If you manage to pull that off, you will have nothing to worry about.

How to sell your book

This is almost impossible to achieve if you are writing a book for the first time, and the best thing to do in this case is to upload your book on the internet as content that can be downloaded for free, or give your readers a couple of chapters that can be read for free, and if they want to find out what happens next, then they need to purchase the rest of the book. If you are planning on doing this, make sure that in the first few chapters, you introduce some sort of mystery to lure the people in, and you can hope they will be willing to pay in order to find out what happens next.