Writing Craft

So You Want to Write a Book. Start Here.

By El Mehdi Said

*A practical guide for people who have an idea but no writing experience.*

The first page is where many would-be writers get into trouble. They open a blank document and expect the opening line to sound like it belongs in a published novel. When it does not, they assume they lack talent. Of course it does not sound finished. It was written five minutes ago. The novels on your shelf have been drafted, cut, rewritten, edited and proofread. You are seeing the result of that work while looking at your own attempt before the work has properly begun. Once you understand that difference, starting becomes less intimidating. Writing a book involves several skills. Coming up with an idea is one of them. Building a story, completing a draft and revising it are others. A beginner will be uneven at all of these, which is exactly why the first project should be treated as practice as well as a book. That does not mean the book will be bad. It means you should give yourself room to learn.

Before you plan chapters, try to describe the book in two sentences. If it is fiction, begin with a person who wants something and a reason they cannot easily have it. A restaurant owner is about to lose her business. Her only possible investor is the sister she has refused to speak to for 10 years. That gives you a character, a problem and an emotional complication. If it is nonfiction, decide who needs the book and what you hope it will help them understand or do. “I want to write about addiction” is a subject. “I want to help parents respond to a child’s addiction without destroying trust” is the beginning of a book. Your description will probably change as you write. That is fine. Its purpose is to give you something firm enough to work with now.