So, you want to write a book, but don’t know what’s holding you back?

So, you want to write a book, but don’t know what’s holding you back?

 You’ve daydreamed of writing a book, any book, a small book or perhaps a funny book. Well, you’re not alone, many of us have that dream, but how many of us actually write that book?

If we believe the statistics, it appears 82% of us still want to write a book and yearn achieve that goal. So, want is preventing that 82% of us from ever fulfilling that dream? I don’t know for sure about anyone else’s reason, for not writing. But I do know the main reasons I didn’t attempt to write a book until I’d retired. I’ll share them with you, and how I managed to overcome those obstacles to achieve the dream of seeing my book published.

 NOT ENOUGH TIME TO WRITE A BOOK.

Time is a precious commodity, and busy people are often reluctant to use a free moment to waste on a dream. The misconception of giving up the life you now know, to write a book and get it published is wrong. True, you will need to do a little more planning, but it is achievable.

It isn’t necessary to write every day, but if you can squeeze even a few minutes out of your hectic life, you will get into the habit of writing, and of course, your book gets written and finished quicker. Now that’s a bonus!

 DEVELOP THE HABIT OF WRITING

To develop the habit of writing, try and write at the same time each day. Just write in small chunks. See if you can complete 250 words in the time you’ve allocated for yourself. You can then graduate to little more as you become more proficient at storytelling.

Do you own a laptop or tablet? Can you write a few sentences in your break at work, or rise an hour earlier in the mornings, as I believe Joan Collins states she does? Neither of these methods worked for me. When I was at work I could never depend on a break, and to get up early is so aberrant to me I shudder at the thought, but it could work for you.

The most significant portion of my writing time was stolen from watching TV. Instead of arriving home each night and just plonking myself in front of the television (to watch a load of rubbish) I set an amount of time I was able to spare and began to write a book.

 FINDING TIME

Miraculously I found the time to write a book; it just appeared the more I got involved with the writing. Start small, even with just a sentence or two, you’re not in a race, so take your time.

I read this tip in several articles and used it myself with some success. Leave your work halfway through a sentence, so that when you return to it, you will need to finish the sentence. Using this strategy helps you start back writing without wasting any time. My little personal hint is to use the sticky notes on your computer to just write one or two words to remind you what to do with that sentence.

 NO CONFIDENCE TO WRITE A BOOK

You’ve managed to find some time, but now can’t ever envisage being able to write a book somebody may enjoy. You can, but you’ll never know unless you try. If you’re worried your confidence will disappear too soon, don’t tell anybody you’re writing a book until you have a few chapters under your belt. Nobody knew my little secret until I had published my first eBook, it was my guilty secret. What a buzz when people found out, it made everything worth it.

I was frightened people would ridicule me, but in fact it was the exact opposite and I got a lot of support, which made me wish I hadn’t left it so late in my life.

Once I’d set my mindset to write, my confidence grew with each chapter and by the time I’d reached that incredible landmark of having completed 5000 words I knew I could do it.

 EMBRACE FAILURE.

Don’t worry if that first draft isn’t perfect, so long as you included the relevant details from your completed ideas and plotline. Even famous authors often think their first drafts are rubbish, so don’t ever give up. When you start editing that is the time to spruce up the manuscript ready for publishing.

Guess what? My own writing isn’t perfect either, but I usually manage to revise even after publishing on Kindle. This task is so easy to do with Kindle publishing. So, relax, just write, errors and all, and get your story down and on paper. Most mistakes you’ll iron out later. We’ll discuss editing in another blog – coming soon. Remember there’s no such thing as perfect, what we are aiming for is… quality and entertainment.

Find a way to accept and be okay with things if you fail and learn from your mistakes. It’s not the end of the world. Give yourself grace.  Start again and learn from the experience.

 THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE OF ALL!

The biggest OBSTACLE stopping you from writing a book is often one I can’t solve from a distance, and that’s YOU.

Take a long hard look at yourself and your life and decide if you still really, desperately want to find the solutions to boost your confidence; to enable you to knock down those challenges standing in the way of your dream – to write a book. It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you want it hard enough.

Is your hunger strong enough? Are you going to face the challenges face-on? Do you still want to write that book?