Do you have a story in your head?
One you've been thinking about for years?
Are you struggling to right it? If so...
I've been where you are.
I know the pressure you may be feeling.
And trying to write a book with that much pressure is tough.
Really Tough.
You want to write the book you've been thinking about for so long, but how do you do it in a way that you like?
If you're like me...
You want readers to feel the same love that you have for your story.
You want them to be excited when the hero beats the bad guy, overcomes their struggles, and conquers their fears.
In this short blog post, let me share some tips that will help you write your book, so that one day, you'll hold the book you've worked so hard on in your hands, and feel it's exactly how you imagined it and more.
And no... I won't ask you to create a writing schedule ;)
Tip 1 - Let Go of the Expectations for your First Draft
My story coach and friend, Ali Cross, told this to me during one of our first meetings.
Letting go of your expectations for your first draft can be so FREEING.
To put it simply, your book doesn't have to be perfect on your first, or even second or third drafts. But ESPECIALLY not on your first.
I like to compare writing to black smithing (hey, there's a part of me that's always wanted to live in the medieval times).
The first draft is simply where you are gathering the materials you'll be working with. You're "mining" for the "precious materials" inside your head, and you're going to get a lot of "dirt" in the process.
Even the gold and diamonds you dig up (or write down) along the way may not even look to beautiful...
YET!
In fact, NOTHING might be pretty yet.
And it doesn't have to!
That's not the purpose.
The purpose is to get what's in your head on the page - however messy it may look.
Because really, you've been thinking about your story for SO long. It has a certain feel to it when you think about it, and you want it to FEEL a certain way when you write it.
But just because your first draft doesn't feel like how you want it to yet, don't worry, you'll get it there!
Tip 2 - There's no WRONG way to write your book
When I was starting my book, I thought that I had to do it in a certain way.
And that if I didn't, my book wouldn't be as good.
I thought that I had to write chapter 1 before I wrote chapter 2. And that I had to finish chapter 2 to be able to start chapter 3.
But think about it, when you're dreaming up ideas for your story, do you do that in order?
My guess is no.
You think about the part of the story that you want to think about.
And is that wrong?
Certainly not! After all, it's gotten your story to where it has now hasn't it?
The same goes for writing your story.
And that's really the trick I've been learning.
THINKING ABOUT and WRITING your story don't have to be so different.
Thinking about and writing your story are ALL part of that creative building process.
They're all part of a "story-smith's" process of creating a story.
I wish I could remember the person who said this, but I'll still share the quote:
"The only wrong way to write a book is the way it doesn't get written."
Tip 3 - Enjoy the Process
I wish it didn't take me this long to learn this one, but it did.
I hope it won't take you as long. :)
I've never needed to have a schedule to tell myself I needed to think about my story.
It was always just so fun to me that I thought about it whenever I had any spare time, and many times when I didn't.
Though writing your story is often more difficult than thinking about your story, you can still enjoy the process just as much, if not more.
Do you remember the feeling you had when you first started writing a small part of your story?
Perhaps it was years ago, and maybe you barely wrote anything.
Wasn't that such a fun feeling?
To me, it was as if my story was finally coming to life.
Like it wasn't real or true quite yet, but everything I wrote made it be real - made it be true.
Whether you've felt this feeling before or not, you can feel it!
It comes when you simply have joy in that you're making your story COME TO LIFE.
It may not be what you want it to be yet, but YOU'RE WRITING YOUR STORY!
That's such an amazing thing.
And it's something you can enjoy.
When you do, you're find yourself wanting to write every chance you get.
Tip 4 - Love Yourself. Write your Book.
This is my final tip.
And it's short and sweet.
My story coach, Ali Cross, has a podcast and YouTube channel where she gives AMAZING writing/story advice.
One of the gems of advice she has given, was this idea of "Self-Love".
She explained that, normally, we think of self-love as going to the spa, getting a massage, and watching our favorite movie snuggled up on the couch with our favorite treat (chocolate covered popcorn...)
But self-love can also mean doing hard things.
Like writing your book.
Losing an hour or two of sleep because you need to finish a chapter.
Waking up early to because you know you won't be able to write any other time.
Spending less time on your phone and more time writing.
Reading more books and watching less TV.
Love yourself enough to do what it takes to write your book.
Your future self will thank you for it. :)
Final Thoughts
And that's it!
I hope some of these tips have helped you in some way.
Mostly, I hope you write your book!
I know you can do it.
When you do, let me know! I'd love to hear about it and learn more about your story. :)
In the meantime, I'd love to hear about your works in progress in the comments below! :)
If you'd like to learn more about my story, go here. :)
Best,
Ben :)
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