Once Upon a Time… One Writer’s Approach to Slogging a Book

By Writer X

Once upon a time, a book started with an idea.

A simple idea. That’s how a book always starts, although most writers are all probably a little different in how they approach building a book around the idea. I’m no different in that I have developed a sort of routine over the years. It’s nothing fancy; it’s not even that complicated.

My writing process goes in stages, depending on how far along I am in developing the story. If I’m just getting started, I tend to take my time developing plot lines and characters. It’s kind of like buying a new car: I have to take it for a test drive and make sure I’m ready for a long-term commitment. But, if I’m totally into my book, consumed with putting words down on paper—look out! That’s because the book becomes all that I can think about 24/7.

So, I’ll get an idea. Maybe it will come from a quote that I read or someone I met or a song that I heard. I once built an entire book from a line in a song that inspired me. I’ve never been guilty of having a shortage of book ideas either. I have, in fact, pages of them.

Once a particular idea latches onto my brain, I’ll do some character development. I’ll picture my main characters in my mind—what they look like, where they’re from, the sound of their voices, how they behave, their likes and dislikes. Then I may (not always) loosely outline the plot lines in the book. For me, the first chapter is critical. Even more than that, the first sentence of the first chapter is super critical. That sentence must reach out and pull the reader into the story by the collar. It must be compelling. I’ve spent hours, even weeks, agonizing about the first sentence, making sure it’s just right. It may be only a few words; it may be a bunch. But when it’s right, you just know. As an aside, most literary agents will tell you that they make up their minds about a book after reading the first page. Brutal reality, but true. And think about when you go to a library or book store and you open a book, if that first page doesn’t speak to you on some level, don’t you put it back on the shelf?

Once I’ve written the first few chapters and I’ve realized that it’s a story that I simply must tell, I commit to writing about 2000 words a day till the book is completed. Some days, writing 2000 words takes me a couple of hours; other days, it can take 24 hours. Some days, I can’t tap out a single word on my keyboard. It just depends. Rarely does a day go by, though, that I’m not writing something.

I have a few trusted people to whom I feed drafts as I’m writing, just to make sure my story is flowing, interesting, compelling. A lot of writers belong to writing critique groups. I strongly recommend them, just as long as your writing group doesn’t consist solely of your mother and best friend. Trust me, your mother will LOVE everything you write. Your best friend will only be slightly less objective. And you can find writing groups just about everywhere—libraries, book stores, colleges. Many are even on-line.

Keep in mind that a book that’s longer than 100,000 words will be difficult to sell, unless it’s a literary masterpiece. Or you’re an established author. Conversely, a book that’s less than 70,000 words is probably too short. In any event, finishing the first draft is key. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect; you’ll have plenty of opportunities for revision. It usually takes me around three months to finish a first draft. After that, I put it aside for a couple of weeks. Then, as some writers will say, the real work begins. Editing.

Editing can be tedious and slow—you must make sure that all your plot lines mesh, your characters are three-dimensional (believable), and your dialogue doesn’t sound like drivel. More than anything, you must remember to show more than tell. In other words, if your book is one big long narrative, it’s probably a boring read.

You will revise your book again. And again. And there’s no telling what will happen when an agent/editor gets his hands on it. That’s why I always tell writers to enjoy the writing experience while they can. Until I turn my book over to someone, I’m writing for myself, for the pure enjoyment of writing. If you’re writing with the sole intention of selling a book or chasing a trend, it will show, and you will most likely be unhappy with the end result. That’s why you have to write about something you love and let the rest take care of itself.

And they all lived happily ever after. The end.