Book Writing 101

Okay, I admit it. I am an addict. Addicted to writing. In a recent intervention from family and friends, I had to admit that I was powerless over the pen. Writing has some deep roots with me. Ever since I was a teenager I lived across the street from Ray Bradbury, the science fiction writer. From this moment I was stung with the writing bug. Yeah, that’s right, I’ll blame my addiction on him.

Though writing isn’t a bad addiction, it can be a positive. I’ve written books on self-help, my experiences in my life that were comical, and even the paranormal, but they were nonfiction (meaning based on facts), this latest novel has been purely fictional (meaning made up), and I have been writing to the point that others had to step in.  

Everything in moderation is what my doctor tells me. Though, I think that is in regards to the food and exercising I do. That, I can handle pretty well. But typing from sun up to past sundown isn’t healthy one bit. Still, I push on to get my fix, as I did almost 40 years ago in my drug-using days.  

There are so many ways to write, and each writer needs to find their own style. My editor writes differently than me. She will map out the characters, create a timeline, map out events, and then let the characters bring it to life. That technical style doesn’t work for me. I am the type that just starts writing and lets the story write itself off the top of my head. This makes it more guttural, more spontaneous, and less fabricated.

My cousin was an avid writer, sat me down one day, and told me how he writes. He advised me to make the characters as real as I could and let them bring the action to life. Instead of describing something, let the characters dialogue it out. Ray Bradbury only told me to keep writing and the more I did so the more I would create my own style. Figuring I had these two heavyweights in my corner I began to follow my passion.

If I could recommend anything, it would be following your passion. Stay away from copying somebody else’s work and become an expert on your style of you! They say that after you do something 10,000 hours you will be an expert. Don’t follow what I did and excessively write 10,000 hours straight, but all kidding aside, do so at your own pace and in moderation.

My latest book was just completed on my part and now it is in the hands of my editor. It seems like a good practice for me to hand it off to see if I have crossed all the tees and dotted all the eyes.

Please don’t let anybody stop you. If you are looking for praise you won’t get it, but if you give yourself praise you will attract that from others.

Let me clue you in on how much I am into writing. An average novel runs about 55,000 words. My latest one is over 90,000 words! Don’t blame me, the novel wrote itself. I tried to cut it down and did chop off about 8,000 words. Excessive? Absolutely. Did I have fun doing it? Of course. That is why I write because it is out of pure enjoyment of it.

I am bored as I await my editor’s reply. Imagine you were plopped into the time of the caveman. How would you survive? That was my premise. Do you know who invented the wheel? In my book, it was me! So you can see how much fun I had in creating this fantasy.

I plan to keep you posted, let you know when it finally comes out. I have begun to jot down ideas for a sequel. If baseball season doesn’t get underway, I know what I am going to do with my free time. If it does, then the sequel will get underway next winter.

In conclusion, write, write, and keep on writing. Try to enjoy the process. Write about what interests you and make it your own. If you do write something, let me know. I’ll take a look at it… Well, I might look at it, depending on how busy I am. I’ve made promises in the past and sometimes feel bad when I can’t keep them.

Great writing to you.

Compassionate Care is Always Available

There are many more tools and strategies you can use in your pursuit of happiness. Here is where we come in. Contact us at Basic Steps Mental Health and let us support and educate you on this journey back to your loving heart center. Imagine living a heart-centered life, regardless of what is happening externally. We’d love to be of help.

For 25 years, Dr. Scott Alpert, the clinical director of Basic Steps Mental Health, has treated over 7,000 people with mental health and addiction problems, using a Psychological approach that mixes and matches ten of the top approaches used in the industry.  We are here virtually and in-person to help you get through this COVID-19 pandemic and many other difficulties you may be experiencing.

May you have good mental health.