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A dear friend has expressed more than once that she’d love to write a book. She loves mysteries and I’m pretty sure she thinks, “Hey, I could write one of those.”
She’s not alone; there are countless readers who no doubt feel they’d be pretty good at writing a book. You may be one of them. I know that several years ago, I was one of them, too.
So, how do you get from thinking about writing to actually doing it? Here’s a checklist guaranteed to put you on that path:
1) Decide, in your gut, that now is the time to achieve your goal. Put affirmations up everywhere in your house and/or at work as reminders of what you are going to accomplish. Suggested mantras: “I can do this,” “I am a writer,” or “I am going to complete my novel.”
2) Read, read, read the kinds of books (or short fiction) that you think you’d like to write. Take notes if you’re so inclined, but at a minimum, ask yourself why a particular story or novel works or doesn’t work.
3) Keep a notebook (or your phone) handy where you can write down ideas that come to you (and they will start coming to you) about an interesting character or series of events, or a theme, as in “I wonder what it would be like to be a kid with a loving mother whose husbands (and therefore the kid’s step-fathers) keep mysteriously dying.”
4) Buy books on writing technique, second-hand if you need to, and read them. I have a gazillion of them and refer to them often.
5) Research writing blogs online and follow those experts who make sense to you. Joanna Penn is a good one. https://www.thecreativepenn.com/blog/
6) Ease yourself into writing for others by taking a writing class or workshop, perhaps at your local library, or as part of a Community Education program. If you live near a community college, maybe you can enroll in one there. Or, how about online? There are lots of writing courses available, such as Dean Wesley Smith’s online courses. I have attended a couple of his in-person workshops; he knows what he’s talking about. https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/online-workshops/
7) Connect with someone (possibly in the class) who has the same goals you do or find a friend to whom you can feel accountable. When you’re first starting, it’s a matter of incorporating the act of researching/writing/editing into your daily life; you’re creating a new habit. Like dieting or exercising or giving up smoking, you have to forge new behaviors and you have to be accountable to someone while you do it.
8) Create a realistic schedule for your work, even if the goal is just to finish a short project. If a novel seems too daunting, then start with a short story. Don’t over-promise yourself; if life gets in the way and you can’t deliver, the temptation to quit will be too great. Remember, you are building a new mindset, which takes time, and you don’t want to sabotage it.
9) Begin with baby steps: maybe just a few hundred words a day. Don’t think about the completed novel or even a finished short story because it will seem like an impossible task (I assure you it isn’t, but you’ll still feel overwhelmed). If you don’t yet know what you want to write, look at any notes you might have made about an interesting character and start typing as you picture that person. For example, I just read an article about a man who lost the fingers on one hand and had a few of his toes transferred to his hand so that he would have some digits to work with. Strange but true. Ask yourself, who would find themselves in such a predicament? How did the accident happen? What’s the man like? How did he come to the decision to sacrifice his toes so that he could have fingers? The details of the news story aren’t super important because you’re writing fiction—you can make up any story you want about this person. Like, maybe it’s a woman instead. Ooooh, maybe she’s a ballet dancer or a pianist. You get the picture. Writing is like using a group of muscles; the more you exercise them, the better they’ll perform for you. I guarantee that if you keep creating little scenarios like the toe-fingered man, you’ll start coming up with all sorts of ideas that are good enough to turn into readable fiction.
10) Keep at it, little by little. You’ll be amazed at what you can produce over time. Once your story has come together, either in novel or short story form, put it away, take a little break from writing (but not too long), then start writing something else.
11) After a few weeks or more, pull your first project out and look at it dispassionately if you can; did you really mean to write some of the stuff you wrote? Probably not. Get rid of what’s not working. Don’t necessarily throw it away – it may come in handy in another story. Add to the story if you need to and take notes about which aspects of the story are hard for you (plot? characterization? dialogue? description?). Pull out your reference books and read up on the aspects you feel you need help with.
12) When you’ve got your finished project the way you like it, or as good as you think you can make it, show it to someone who cares about you enough to be honest, but kind. It doesn’t have to be the person you’re holding yourself accountable to, but it could be. A fellow writer would be good, since they know what you’re trying to achieve. Don’t be afraid of constructive criticism—you need it, just like every writer who’s ever written needs it. And yes, I’m talking about best-selling authors, too!
13) Keep refining your work until you tell yourself one of three things:
** I want to see about getting an agent and having this published traditionally.
** I want to publish it myself.
** I want to put it in a drawer to “season” some more and start on something else.
14) If you’ve picked option one or two, you have a whole new learning curve ahead of you. If you’ve picked option three, just go back and repeat the steps that got you to this point. But don’t throw away your work; no matter what you think, it has value—if only as something you look back on fondly after you’ve become one of those best-selling authors yourself!
15) Pat yourself on the back for achieving your goal of becoming a writer. You’ll either be hooked (like I am) or you’ll decide it’s not something you’re interested in pursuing after all—but at least you’ll know you could do it if you wanted to.
The fact that she’s considering modeling the jewels in the nude like her grandmother did infuriates photographer Walker Banks, a co-owner of The Grove who’s in charge of the exhibit. Neither is willing to admit the real reason for the sparks between them.
Their argument takes a back seat when Reggie discovers that one of the most compelling pieces in the collection is not at all what it seems. Tracking down the truth will take the couple into the dark heart of a quest that’s lasted more than a century, one in which destroying human lives—including Reggie’s and Walker’s—means nothing in the pursuit of a twisted sense of justice.
The Jade Hunters is Book Three of Michaels’ contemporary series, “Sinner’s Grove Suspense.” The series follows the descendants of characters introduced in Michaels’ historical fiction series, “The Golden City.”
“The Phone Call”
“With what you went through today, are you okay now with getting the authorities to step in on this? Nothing is worth getting hurt over.” Walker gently tipped her chin up. “Nothing.”
She took a breath, knowing he was only trying to emphasize a point, but feeling that pull all the same. Professional. Keep it professional. “I suppose you’re right—”
At that moment the satchel she’d dropped on the dining room table began to buzz.
“That’s probably my Aunt Beth. She’s been trying to reach me off and on today, but she’s a talker, and I just don’t have the energy, so I haven’t returned the call.”
Walker dropped his hand but didn’t move. “Best to check,” he said.
She leaned over him to pull the phone out. “Oh, it’s my cousin Ava,” she said. “Let me get it.”
It took less than a minute for Reggie to feel the earth drop underneath her.
“Oh my God,” she cried.
“What?” Walker touched her again. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t believe it. No, it can’t be. Are you sure?”
On the other end of the line, Ava didn’t sugar coat it. “They found him stabbed to death in the Tenderloin along with some call girl, Chandra somebody. Just thought you ought to know.”
“Th ... thanks. I’ll get back to you.” Stunned, Reggie ended the call.
“For God’s sake, tell me what happened,” Walker demanded.
“It’s Uncle Allen,” she said, tears beginning to fall. “He’s been murdered.”
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