Writing a Book Don'ts

With “The Diamond in Your Speech” completed and we're slowly but steadily plodding through the editing and typesetting process, I have put myself under unflinching self-scrutiny. And it's hard to be sympathetic with myself. 

I’ve been really mulling over a laundry list of reasons (maybe, excuses would be the more appropriate word!) as to why it took me a long time before I could finish writing a book. Any book for that matter. 

I must admit here that I should shoulder all the blame. 

Annette White (left) who is the author of “Bucket List Adventures”, co-owner of Sugo Trattoria, a serial adventurer and creator of Bucket List Journey, an award-winning travel and lifestyle blog shared a few tricks about what NOT to do when writing a book – and I have to agree with the nine points that she has raised. 

Writing a Book Don’ts 

• Don’t Procrastinate 
• Don’t Think Blogging is Just Like Writing a Book 
• Don’t Wait for Inspiration to Strike 
• Don’t Underestimate Time Needed for Research 
• Don’t Include Everything 
• Don’t Think You Can Keep the Same Blogging Schedule 
• Don’t Become Too Attached: Step Away From a Chapter 
• Don’t Believe That You Won’t Get Better 
• Don’t Quit 

For me, writing isn’t the hardest part. It’s the period just before I actually start to put pen to paper or typing on the keyboard as the case may be that is the most arduous. And then to keep going and making steady progress is the other challenge. 

As the words spill out and they coalesce into sentences and in turn, these sentences consolidate into paragraphs, slowly but surely, a chapter takes shape. Chapter after chapter to follow until the narrative is fully told. The game is all about you not losing your momentum, once you’ve started. 

In between, there’s the seemingly endless repeats of rewriting. It’s a miracle my brain doesn’t go kablooey – but I recognize that this is part of the writing process. If it all makes sense and it sounds good, I don’t mind it at all. 

The joy of writing comes from expressing what I want to say in just the way I want to say it. And when I can do that, there is that satisfaction – that exultant elation – as the language I conjure rushes in to strike up a combinative harmony of continuous connection. 

This is all very well – but let's get real. The next question is, when am I going to start on my second book? I did say I wanted to write fiction.