subject: Starting That Book [print this page] You take out your pen and notepad or your laptop then you freeze. Your mind goes blank, fear starts to creep in; This is a silly idea you start thinking Me an author.
You then put the pen down close the laptop and go about your everyday duties.
Meanwhile there is a book inside you just waiting to be written. Until you pluck up the courage to write the book the manuscript idea will always be there niggling in the back of your mind.
So where do you start? Get your pen, paper or laptop out for you to joint down these crucial points as they will come in handy.
You need to decide whether your book is fiction or non-fiction and what genre it will categories under for example romance, history, self help, comedy or thriller.
Who is your audience? Are they male, female, teenagers, or children? Is your aim at a particular ethnic or religious group? If it is you need to do thorough research on whatever culture or group you are choosing as it is important not to offend anybody.
What is the message of your book, why are you writing it, what are you wanting your readers to learn from you. For example when I wrote my book Dont Look Back The Harmful Consequences of Backsliding, my message was to encourage Christians not to turn away from the faith no matter what circumstances they faced, and I had to remind myself of this when writing the book.
If you are writing fiction it is important to write down a list of all the main characters, what are their names, built, hair colour and length, eye colour, and skin colour. What is their age job career, social circle, where do they live etc. Though they are fictional you need to make them as realistic as possible, because to your readers they could be somebody they relate to.
Remember to keep focus on why you are writing this book, my advice is dont write for money as believe me writing is not a get rich quick industry you have to have a genuine passion for writing as it is time consuming.
Finally just write, write, and write until your hearts content.
Congratulations youve just taken your first steps into becoming an Author.
