If you’re anything like me, you have probably always dreamed of becoming a successful writer. I remember my high school years, discovering literature and imagining I would write a book and become another Jane Austen or Margaret Atwood. I’ve never wanted to be a bestselling author who would get filthy rich thanks to writing, but rather to create something that would be appreciated by a certain group of people.
Writing may also be your newly discovered passion – not all writers were born with a quill in their hand; many of them weren’t even avid readers in their youth. On the contrary, whenever you decide to start writing, there’s so much to accomplish! Just think about great writers such as Toni Morrison, Mark Twain, or Marcel Proust, who were all around or even past 40 when they were first published.
Guide on How to Write a Good Book?
Whether you want to share your other passion by writing a non-fiction book, publish something that will go down in history as a classic, or become a bestselling author of entertaining fiction, you are in for lots of hard work and some sacrifices. While such individual matters as talent, writing style, ideas, and determination are essential to your potential success, there are also some things worth knowing before you begin to write a book.
While I may not be Jane Austen (yet), I have spent some time researching ideas, advice, and writing process tips shared by some famous writers, and I have decided to share all that with you!
Find Your Thing for Writing Inspiration
While you may be the author of fantasy books or political thrillers in your dreams, you need to be sure that you actually feel it. In most cases, a writer can only be successful when writing about something that truly excites them. Just like you can’t have an engaging conversation on a topic that’s irrelevant to you, you won’t be able to fill tens or hundreds of pages writing a book about a florist when you don’t care for flowers at all.
To find the big idea for your first book (or next), you need to consider what you genuinely care about, what you want to write, and what you would want to read yourself. Indeed, it is essential to bear your target audience and potential readers in mind, but you won’t get far by writing on topics that aren’t that important to you or building your fictional world around the idea that you don’t get yourself.
The most important thing is to listen to yourself, be present in every moment, and stay attentive. Stephen King, who certainly needs no introduction, says that he can provide the source of maybe half of all his ideas – the rest (which is very often better) is something that just pops into his head, appears to him in a dream, or simply starts to exist with no distinctive beginning.
That’s because our minds have two different systems: the controlled system is conscious and within our control, while the automatic system occurs outside of our awareness. The second one processes all the information and stimuli, deciding whether they should be processed deeper and more consciously.
Long story short, not all ideas come from a conscious mind, but you should work on self-awareness to be able to grab the ones worth considering. Yoga, meditation, mindfulness, or simply trying to be present while you live your life – it may all contribute to wonderful ideas popping up in your head.
Read, Read, Read
‘Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see …
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