How to Write a Book
Sunday 15th March
You've made the decision to write a book, but where do you actually start?
Writing a book can feel a little like climbing a mountain. There are foundational steps you can skip if you want to, but they have a way of catching up with you. Without them, you can find yourself stuck halfway up, the peak still miles away and the path back looking just as daunting as the path forwards.
In this post, we're breaking down the ten steps we'd recommend to anyone figuring out how to write a book for the first time:
1. Stop comparing your writing journey to anyone else's.
Before we get into the practical steps, here's the most important piece of advice we can offer - your journey is yours alone.
There are plenty of writers out there who will insist that you follow their process. That it worked for them, so it will absolutely work for you. But you're different people with different goals and different lives. One person might thrive writing at 6am before the sun comes up; another might find that losing an hour of sleep kills their creativity entirely.
We're not going to tell you exactly how to structure your writing practice in this post, because that's yours to discover. What works for us may not work for you, and even within the team at Rewild EDU, we all have very, very different methods. Some of it genuinely does come down to trial and error.
If you ever find yourself spiralling into comparison, try stepping back from the sources or social media for a little while. It can be a wonderful source of information, but it can just as easily become a source of noise that drowns out your own instincts.
2. If you're not already, start to keep an idea journal.
Have you ever had one of those ideas that you know was brilliant, but you can't for the life of you remember what it was?
That escapee of an idea is the reason we would recommend that every writer keeps some kind of idea journal. It doesn't have to be a journal, either. Kimberley, the tutor on Marketing for Writers, likes to keep post-it notes and stick them absolutely everywhere, which is a madness we can't all ascribe to, but she wouldn't look at her phone if she was to text herself her ideas.
Find whatever works for you... a notes app, a voice memo, a scrap of paper.
What matters is capturing those little sparks when they happen, because any one of them could be the seed of something much bigger or the answer to a narrative problem you're facing. No idea is too small, too strange or too half-formed to write down. Some of the best stories start as the kind of scribbled thought that doesn't make much sense on its own.
3. What do you want to write about?
Every good book starts with an idea, but you don't need to have every detail mapped out before you begin.
Some writers love plotting every beat of their story before they type a single word. Others prefer to start with a genre, a character or even just a single sentence and see where it leads. Have a think about where you feel most comfortable, and try writing a little every day to discover what clicks into place for you. You might even find your answer simply by sitting down at a keyboard or with a pen and seeing what comes to mind.
Remember, there's no wrong starting point, but this is a question you'll need to be able to answer eventually. It can also help to ask yourself who you're writing for, not in a commercial sense necessarily, but in one where a single reader helps you to see what they would want to see.
4. Find a writing schedule that works for you.
One of the most important parts of learning how to write a book is building a sustainable writing practice that fits your real life, not an idealised version of it. Is there a time of day when you write best? A window in your schedule that reliably opens up?
Try committing to writing something, even something small, every day and see how it feels.
For some writers, daily writing is the habit that gets their novel finished. For others, it doesn't suit them at all. Through experimentation, you'll work out what timing works best for you.
It's also worth thinking about your environment. Some writers need complete silence; others do their best work with background noise or music. Some need a dedicated desk, others write on their phone during their commute. Don't underestimate how much your physical surroundings can affect your output.
5. Start writing, and don't force yourself to be linear.
Some authors write their books from start to finish. Others absolutely don't, and that's fine. You have the freedom to begin wherever you like: the opening chapter, the ending or a random scene from somewhere in the middle. Just be aware that you may end up assembling quite the jigsaw, but for many authors, that's simply part of the process.
If you're completely new to writing, starting with short stories can be a good way in. These shorter pieces force you to be creative and selective with your words, and they're a great way to explore your characters and your voice before you commit to a longer project. They're also a lot less intimidating than staring down the barrel of an entire novel, and finishing one, however short, gives you a real sense of momentum.
6. Have an action plan for dealing with writer's block.
We'd all love to pretend writer's block doesn't exist. Most writers will tell you it absolutely does, and that it tends to arrive when you least expect it. The key is having a strategy in place for when it strikes. Some writers find that removing the pressure to write every single day is enough. Others need to step away entirely to do something different for a while.
Dipping into a separate project can help, as long as you're confident you'll come back to the first one once the side quest is done.
It's also worth remembering that writer's block sometimes has an underlying cause... burnout, self-doubt, a plot problem you haven't worked out just yet. If you find yourself stuck, try writing about why you're stuck rather than forcing yourself to continue. Sometimes articulating the block is enough to dissolve it, and you might surprise yourself with the solution that comes out.
7. Let your first draft sit for a second while your eyes freshen up.
Once you've got your first draft down, resist the urge to edit it straight away.
Our brains are still in full author mode right after we finish writing, which means we're very good at filling in gaps and glossing over problems without even noticing them. Give yourself some distance first. Step away for a week, a fortnight, or however long you need. When you come back, you'll be able to swap your author's hat for your editor's hat and look at your work with far fresher, more critical eyes.
While you're waiting, it can be useful to jot down any thoughts or concerns about the draft that are already nagging at you, things you suspect might need attention. Don't go back in and fix them yet, but capturing them means you won't lose them, and you'll have a useful starting point when you do sit down and edit.
8. Do a full readthrough, make notes, then begin editing.
It would be peaceful if we could edit a draft just once, but most of us edit far more than once. Expect to redraft your first book several times as you shape it into its finished form, working out what needs to go, what can stay and what needs a little more work to land the way you intended.
For some writers, the editing process makes the writing feel like the easy part. It can be uncomfortable, especially at first. A good approach is to tackle your edits in passes rather than trying to fix everything at once. Your first readthrough might focus purely on the big picture. A second pass might look at scene-level issues. A third at prose and word choice.
Trying to address everything simultaneously can quickly become overwhelming, and breaking it down into layers makes the whole process feel far more manageable. Be kind to yourself throughout. Every writer makes mistakes, and a piece of creative writing has a lot of moving parts.
9. Get your friends and peers involved.
Once you've got your draft to a point you're happy with, it's time to bring in some outside readers.
Letting someone read your first draft can be daunting, but it's a vital part of the process. You need to know whether readers experience your work the way you intended. When feedback starts coming in, just remember that other people's tastes and biases will always colour their response.
Not every note signals something needs to change.
When you're choosing who to share your work with, think carefully about what kind of feedback you actually need. A trusted friend might be brilliant for a gut-reaction read, but a fellow writer or someone familiar with your genre might be better placed to give you specific, craft-level notes. Ideally, try to get both the emotional responses and the editorial ones.
If two or more readers flag the same issue, it's time to pay attention to it.
10. Decide whether to self-publish or pitch to publishers.
We know that this is a big area, which is why we're currently putting together some talks under The Narrative Hub that help to pull back the curtain on self-publishing and pitching to publishers. If you'd like to be kept in the loop, sign up for our newsletter and you'll be the first to know when these free talks go live.
In the meantime, it's worth doing some early research into both routes so you have a clearer sense of what each involves before you get there. Self-publishing offers creative control and faster timelines; traditional publishing offers industry support and wider distribution, but both have their trade-offs, and neither is right for everyone. Understanding your goals as a writer will go a long way in helping you decide which is right for you.
Enjoy Writing Your First Book
We hope that some of this helps you work out how you want to tackle writing your first book. It can be a little bit challenging at first, especially if you don't currently have a creative writing practice build into your routine, but it's something that everyone is capable of working towards. If you need any help, we offer courses on writing creative non-fiction and writing short stories that can help you get to grips with the fundamentals.
If you have any questions for us, you can contact us and we'll help if we're able!
