Part 2 - The writing process

How do you quit procrastinating and write a book?

This is probably the million dollar question, because procrastination can hit on any of the hundred days (or more) it takes to write a book and torpedo your chances of ever completing it. Even then, you may finish the draft but procrastinate on editing it.

There is a saying in the Bible book of Ecclesiastes:

For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

What does that mean in terms of book writing? It means any old tatty, badly written, boring finished book is better than your part written masterpiece.

It means your chapter packed from beginning to end with scintillating character insights and thumping story-line, is worth nothing compared to any chapter in any published book, no matter how dull.

It means the finished first draft of your stunning debut novel sitting in a cardboard box under your desk is worthless compared with a published one written by a jaded old hack who’s churned out the same tired story-line over and over again for thirty years.

The key to procrastination is in that phrase.

You need to be properly scared of never finishing.

Writing your book needs to carry on through illness, pregnancy, birth, loss of job, accident… all the things that life throws at you. Only some strong medicine is going to keep you going through all that.

Your nine step plan to beating procrastination

This is the strategy I followed to write a 80,000 word novel in 3 months.

1. Set a target of when you will finish your first draft. Three months sounds about right for 80,000 words.
2. Divide that by the number of days you will be writing. Either make that every day, or take out the Sabbath or Sunday if you wish. That leaves you about 77 days.
3. Turn your spell checker off. Turn off the internet to your PC. Tell your family about your plan.
4. On the first day, sit down and write your target of say 1000 words. Write fast, doing no edits, checking no spellings, doing no planning… just write. Write it full of mistakes, dead ends, whatever you need to keep going. If you stop to put “quality” into it at this stage you will never get your book finished. Any mangy living dog is better than a dead lion.
5. If you run out of time before your wordcount is done, go and do whatever you have to do, then come back to it before you go to sleep, even if it’s the early hours and you’re half asleep while you type. Keep your habitual daily target alive at all cost … remember, a living dog is better than a dead lion.
6. When the first draft is done, don’t print it out in case seeing it there tricks you into thinking you’ve finished.
7. Set a deadline for when you want to have this edited. Divide the number of pages by the days you have. Set a target for that number of pages per day.
8. Print out the day’s pages and edit them, then write up those edits straight away. When finished chuck the pages. If the day’s edits are enormous and require a rewrite, jot this down in a notepad along with how many pages it needs.
9. With your edits done, now set a deadline for the rewrites in your notepad. This time do it by taking the number of words you need to write, divide that by how many you wrote per day, and use that as your deadline.

At any point along this long path when you’re starting to slow down or stop, or to skip a day’s writing, remind yourself that until this is written, edited, rewritten, and finally published, anything out there no matter how poorly written, boring, or derivative, is infinitely better than your unfinished (dead) work.

What are some ways to get ideas for writing books?

Observe the world. Life is way stranger than fiction. If anything, you’ll need to tone it down for a fiction book!

When do you push back on an edit?

I’ve written for several editors, and worked as one too. This is a personal view from both sides of the fence.

As an editor I’ve rarely found significant push back from authors. Where I’ve felt strongly, I’ve had it my way in the end. The reason is that, ultimately as an editor you represent the publisher, and the publisher owns the book.

Let me say that again, because a lot of writers reading this will assume that was a typo.

The publisher owns the book.

Even while the author is writing it.

So as the editor you have to make decisions to safeguard the publisher’s investment. You have a lot of power to wield, backed up (within reason) by your senior colleagues. In extreme cases you even have to sack the author and find a replacement. I’ve had to do that, and not just once.

The two types of Authors that have been most challenging are the ones that won’t accept any edits, and those that accept all edits too meekly.

Similarly from the author’s point of view, you probably know your work better than anyone. If an edit entirely disagrees with your vision for the book, discuss it with your editor. They will probably agree with you once they hear your point of view.

What software tools are out there to help me write a book?

By experience there are no software tools that will help you. Software gets in the way. The more features you have, the less easy it is to concentrate on the simple act of writing. Ideally you want a free path between brain and page. Try not to clog that path.

If for you typing is easy, use a keyboard and minimalist word processor. If you’re more of a talker, use voice recognition software such as Dragon, or the built-in one on your phone.

How do I have my voice notes transcribed?

A free way to use speech to text is to use Google Docs on your phone and laptop at the same time. Sign in on your phone and also on a laptop and set up a document. Now dictate into your phone using Google’s speech recognition. You can then correct errors as you go using your laptop.

I prefer to use Dragon Naturally Speaking. It’s not free, but for the small price tag it’s invaluable. With a keyboard I can write 1000 words in an hour. With Dragon it takes half an hour. It also has an Android or iPhone app, so you can pace around while you talk, and the screen on your laptop fills up with your words.

Should you write specifically for your audience or write what you want?

Oscar-winning composer of the score for The Lion King and a series of superhero blockbusters including Batman v Superman, Hans Zimmer, put it this way in an interview with the BBC:

“It might sound a bit strange but I compose for just one person. This lady is a single mum with a hard life. After a long, week looking after children and working hard, she has just two hours to herself to relax and unwind. She enters that cinema and sits down, so I’d better entertain her.”

I think that’s the most wonderful summary of the way it is. When faced with this reality, how can we write for ourselves? Hans is saying with this simple statement that there’s probably a million more “literary” things he’d rather write, but he doesn’t because he has a job to do. A job to save people from their drudgery.

After years of writing and encouraging other new authors to write, I don’t think I can write “what I want” any more. Everything always starts with “who is this for?”, and then “How can I meet their need?”.

I feel I must write everything specifically for the reader. Without that I feel my words are empty.

Which software do writers use to compile their novel?

You can do everything you need using free and Open Source software. Here are my suggestions, going through the publishing process step by step.

1. Writing software. Choose LibreOffice or WPS Writer by Kingsoft. Other software either doesn’t give you enough features (e.g. Google Docs, or has so many features that they get in the way of writing (e.g. Scrivener).
2. Graphics software. GIMP is just like a free Photoshop. You can use it for covers, for illustration, or to handle screenshots or photos.
3. Ebook software. Use Sigil to convert your text to Epub format for the eBook version of your book.
4. Desktop Publishing software. If possible, try not to use DTP software, as it’s usually an unnecessarily complex step to take, and once your work is in a DTP format it’s time consuming to get it into eBook formats. If you have complex layouts, or you’re publishing a magazine, use Scribus.

That’s it. Don’t forget that if you’re creating a text only novel (no pictures), you can probably get away with just using no.1, and when you upload your file on Createspace, it will do the rest.

Which writing software is better: Scrivener or Ulysses 3?

“I am looking to purchase a serious writing software and have narrowed it down to these two programs. However, I am having trouble seeing which is better.”

I think you need to evaluate why you want “serious” software for something that is not a software solvable problem. I wrote about it at length in an article and a lot of authors said it resonated: (See chapter “Aspiring writers: Borrow the bashed up bike”).

The trend today is actually to move away from complex tools like Scrivener and Microsoft Word toward distraction free writing software. See the online reviews at Five Best Distraction-Free Writing Tools.

If you’re doing a lot of research and your writing entails complex plots, ask yourself why your own marvellous subconscious cannot cope with the complexity. Is it that you have not yet internalised your research or perhaps that your plots are too complex so that your readers won’t follow it either?

Leaving the biggest reason for last, I really feel that the very worst thing you can do while writing a first draft is to stop every few paragraphs and get sidetracked by filling in notes or reading them. It’s akin to jumping out of the shower every few minutes to answer the door. The extra cognitive load that creates is like drying off, putting on clothes, going downstairs, then getting undressed and back in the shower again. Not optimal!

How hard is it to write/publish a 300 page eBook in 2-3 months on Kindle?

My answer would be “not very difficult”, even when you work full-time, but there’s two secret ingredients. Firstly, if you need to write fast, you will need speech to text software. Secondly, you will need to aim to get this book adequate, not perfect. You’ve heard of the 80/20 rule? It means that you can get 80% of the result by doing 50% of the work. Doing the next 20% to complete the project will take you a further 50%. So if you’re serious about this venture, decide early on what level of quality you are aiming at, what you need someone else to do, and what you’re prepared to leave out.

Is it easy to write a 30-page e-book in a weekend that’s a bestseller?

It is next to impossible. Best-seller status (at least if you define it in the way big publishers do) is only ever there for novels and non-fiction of book length, which would be considerably longer than 30 pages. As an eBook only format you further reduce your chances.

There are exceptions.

• Minecraft, Raspberry Pi and Video Game Guides. If you catch the crest of a huge wave and get a really great book out when something HUGE is launching, you might get a bestseller. Many Publishers were astonished that Minecraft topped the charts last year, outselling everything else.
• Childrens picture books. You’d be struggling to do art and text in one weekend, but at least the lower page count would work for you, not against. As for eBook, again, no. It has to be print.
• Someone important dies, and leaves no biographer. It’s unlikely, but again in this case you could steal a few weeks of sales before the official book comes out.

Aiming for Amazon category best-seller is another matter, and this is where I would recommend expending your efforts. If you find a niche category you may be able to be the best-seller in there.