Many people have considered writing a book at one time or another. Whether a fiction novel or an informational guide, writing a book is worth a try. Writing is one of the most underrated forms of communication if not only for the fact that it can reach so many people. We can learn so many new things because of the writing others have done. It connects us and entertains us as a society, and you may just want to give it a shot.
The Challenges
Now, one of the biggest challenges of starting to write a book is one simple question. What do I write about? This question is so daunting that most people will never attempt to answer it. However, by doing a little research and a lot of subject exploring, it becomes much simpler. If you find a topic that seems intriguing or that you know a lot about, then it's easier to get a good start on your book.Deciding on your overall book topic is a good first start, however, it needs to be much more specific if you're planning on writing an entire book about it. Let's say the topic you picked was mental health. Well, that's good and all, but what will your book focus on? Are you going to pick a specific mental health struggle to write about? If so, what aspect will you elaborate on? Narrowing down your topic is a good way to find out what you're truly interested in enough to write a lot about.
Planning and Researching
Now that you've got a good, specific topic, it's time to start planning and researching. If your book is informational, you'll need to become somewhat of an expert on the subject you're writing on. Conduct your research with credible sources and remember to write down where you got certain information. Make sure every fact, statistic, or opinion you include is directly related to the subject of your book. Remember, the readers are expecting information written about your specific topic. You also have to make sure your book has a structure. Plan out how the chapters will be divided and how long you want each one to be.Actually writing a book is difficult. It will take more time and energy than you expected, and you will run into some stumbling blocks along the way. Whatever you do, don't stop writing. Your first draft can be terrible, but the good news is you can always revise it. Include all the relevant research you discovered, but remember to give credit where it's due. Stick to your plan, unless, of course, it isn't working. Then you can change things around until you find something that works.
Revision
Once your original draft is finished, you can go back and revise it. Read sections out loud to see if there is any awkward phrasing or misplaced words. Try and look through your book with the eyes of your readers. Does it make sense? Have you left out important information? Do the paragraphs connect together well? Once you've fixed everything, you can decide what you want to do with your writing. You can look for a publisher, do it yourself, put it online somewhere, or even just keep it for your eyes only.Writing Fiction Books
Now, what about fiction books? What if you decide to write a novel about something you made up entirely? Well, for the most part, you stick to the information above. Ask yourself what your characters, setting, and plot will be like. Make detailed plans of how the story will start, progress, and end. Each character should have individual meaning and purpose in your book. Writing fiction is very similar to writing informational books. Except, with this, you have to do different kinds of research. You have to find out how your fictional world will be for your characters to live in and how your chapters will be divided.Fiction gives lots of room to be free with your writing, but for some things, you do want to do actual research for. Does your story have any disabled or LGBTQ characters? Or what about characters part of other minorities? There are certain things you need to do careful research on before deciding to write them into your book. Representation is very important, but it must be done correctly and carefully.
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