• Home
  • About
    • Books
    • The Writing Place
  • Writing Services
    • Ghostwriter
    • Individual Coach, Mentor and Writer
    • $25/45
    • Testimonials
  • Workshops
    • Summer Writing Salon
    • Introduction to Memoir
    • Journal workshops and tuition
    • Feedback
  • The Writer's Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Store
  • Contact

The Writer's Life Blog

One word at a time ...

8/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
How do you write a book?

One word at a time, or, on a good day, several words.

It can seem like an impossible task, this book-writing gig. You have an idea, you can see the end result (your book sitting in the shop, people flocking to purchase, the movie deal knocking at your door), the fame and glory, cash rolling in ... fabulous!

But how do you get there?

I hate to tell you that the movie deal and tsunami of cash may be a bit of a challenge - but aim high, I say - and the reality of writing a book is a mission that needs to be undertaken with a commitment as solid as the Great Wall of China. Many books begin with a flurry only to languish in desk drawers or share a box in the attic with last year's Christmas decorations, or reside deep and lonely in a hard drive somewhere.

Having an idea for your book is the first step; having a plan to reach the endgame (publication, movie rights, adoration) is the next, and then, well, once again I'm sorry to tell you, you have to write the jolly thing.  

Going the distance with your writing will take discipline. Just like athletes training for the Olympics, they won't get there unless they have a plan, work hard, and stay with it. Of course you can hire someone to write it for you or mentor you while you write it (someone like me...) or you can set yourself a writing goal and make a writing plan you can live with and that's important because if it's unrealistic, you may not be able to stick to it and use this as an excuse not to do it.

Now comes the 'word by word' bit. That's how you write a book. Some days the words flow, other days they don't, but those words add up, they grow, layer on layer, page by page. Some words in that first draft may be outrageous, embarrassing, totally wrong, but that's what first drafts are for, building content, page after page, chapter after chapter, giving you content to hone, craft and polish .

Focusing word by word can take away that overwhelming feeling of 'the whole', the panic and desperation we sometimes feel when we visualise the flashy book on the shelf but cannot see how in the heck we will ever get there.

The whole is the sum of its parts.

Those parts are the chapters.

The chapters are the words. 

Go for it.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

Services

Writing
Workshops
Blog

Jane Bissell

About
Books
Store

Communicate

Contact
Newsletter

© COPYRIGHT 2018 Jane Bissell
  • Home
  • About
    • Books
    • The Writing Place
  • Writing Services
    • Ghostwriter
    • Individual Coach, Mentor and Writer
    • $25/45
    • Testimonials
  • Workshops
    • Summer Writing Salon
    • Introduction to Memoir
    • Journal workshops and tuition
    • Feedback
  • The Writer's Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Store
  • Contact