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Journaling Your Book To Completion
On any given day, how many people, events, problems, projects, family issues, things to remember and appointments are running through your mind? A LOT, right? If you're writing a book, you have to add on top of that a whole other world of characters, events, settings, plots, (if you're writing fiction) or stories, bullet points, theories and rhetoric (if you're writing non-fiction). How do you keep track of it all?
Keeping a journal for your book can be a great tool. In it you can keep your outline, character details, plotting charts and anything else that serves as a guide for helping you stay on track. The following is a simple outline of headings for setting up your daily journal pages to help you with the day-to-day writing of your book.
Word Goal
At the top of your page start out with the date of the writing session and set a goal for how many words you will write for the day. Make the number big enough to challenge you, but not too big that you feel overwhelmed if you consistently miss it. You can also keep the word goal in line with what you're working on that day. If you are re-writing a chapter instead of creating a new one, then your word count for the day will be significantly smaller. (And that's okay!)
Today's Work Will Focus On...
Under this heading you will plan out what you want to handle in the session. Are you writing a dialogue where your main character learns someone's innermost secrets? Are you doing a scene setter that places the reader in the heart of your book? Are you writing a how-to chapter to explain how the reader can put to use the new strategies you've given them on how to be a better networker? Doing this also makes the word goal less intimidating because you immediately see what you're going to do with all those words!
What Problems Might I Encounter?
There WILL be problems--no big deal. Note what they may be so you won't get tangled up in the problem as you're sitting in front of the computer screen. Write down each one. Some examples: "How do I get my character to go from living at home to a place nearer to where all the action is happening?" "How do I introduce the character to the guy who will ruin her life?" "How do I shrink my program down to 5 simple steps that people can remember?" Acknowledging problems really helps to lessen their power over your writing. You aren't scared away from a problem so easily when you know you can come up with a solution.
Possible Solutions Include...
This is where you'll do a quick brainstorming of how you can solve the problem. You can try out one of the solutions in your writing session. If that doesn't work, you'll have a list of things you can try the next day. What's great about this is that you're starting to train your mind to look for answers. You'll find that when you're writing consistently, you'll be thinking about ideas and solutions all the time--in your car, in the shower, while you're taking a walk. This is really where the magic happens. I truly believe that the bulk of books can be worked out in your head--then you have to sit down and get it onto some paper!
Today's Result and Where It Will Take Me Tomorrow...
At the end of your writing for the day you'll want to take note of what you accomplished. Maybe the dialogue you wrote today has opened up another avenue you'd like to explore with your character. Or perhaps you've noticed a big hole in the research you've done for the biography you're writing and you realize you need to make a few more calls. I like to print out the pages I've written so I can really see and feel what I've done for the day. It makes me excited to do more. The idea here is to reward yourself for your work and also see that you have more to do. You're less likely to get writer's block if you see that you still have plenty more to say for your next session. But if you do happen to get stuck anyway, go to...
Your Fun Page
This is the page where you just dawdle and dream when the writing isn't quite happening. I had a page with "Acknowledgments" written at the top. Whenever I didn't feel like writing, I would go to this page and think about who I wanted to thank when the book was finished! It was fun to add names or cross them out depending on my mood! Having such a page helped me stay connected to my vision of being a published author. Your page could have the list of cities for your book tour, or notes on the introduction you would give before your readings. Keep it light, keep it fun. This way, getting to the end of your book will be a pleasure, not a struggle. Isn't that the way you want it to be?
© 2005 Sophfronia Scott
BONUS : Jump Start Your Writing By Following These Simple Guidelines
Youve just completed a writing course. Perhaps recently graduated from college. Maybe your career has finally ended, and now that youve reached retirement youre free to pursue your long-awaited dream of writing a book. You cant wait to rush to the computer and finally get started on this long-held dream.
Slow down or youll find yourself in the clutches of that dread disease, Writers Block.
You dont want to join the many hopefuls who sit and stare, their typing fingers paralyzed as they face a blank computer screen their grand ideas shattered by the forbidding glower of that empty screen.
To avoid placing yourself in that position, you have some major decisions to make: What is it you want to write? How do you want to present your thoughts? Will fiction or nonfiction work best? All of that sounds rather elementary, doesnt it?
It is, but these are essential exercises if you want to become a proficient writer and avoid an author's greatest nemesis - writer's block. As I state in my latest book The Writer Within You, careful planning is the best medication to help you avoid that frightening disease.
Fiction or Nonfiction?
As you begin developing your idea, a key consideration is whether you choose to write fiction or nonfiction. You have something you hope to pass on to your readers, probably something very specific taken from the deep well of your life experience, family history or career. The latter is very popular among retired writers who are reluctant to sever all connections with their former careers.
Among the questions you must ask yourself is whether your writing tends to be more journalistic or more fanciful in style. Can it best be presented in a strictly factual context or will a fictitious setting better serve what you choose to write?
If you are leaning toward fiction, can you flesh out a first-rate plot? Do you have the sensitivity and the insight to fine tune characters and settings? Are you able to create dialogue that reflects the nature of your characters and their relationships to others in the book? If the answers are both honest and positive, then you can decide among the many subgenres of fiction. Will you write a novel, a mystery, a series of short stories?
When you embark on the nonfiction route, the decisions you face differ somewhat. It is important to determine whether the topic you choose is timely and whether there is a substantial audience interested in that topic. Make sure your knowledge of the subject is fully up to date. Many retirees, for example, don't stop to think that the world they knew in their working years has progressed to new levels.
Head to the library or to the Web. Do your research carefully. Make no assumptions that you are fully knowledgeable on a specific topic. Always remember that the key to writing successful nonfiction is content. To a publisher or to a reader looking for information, your understanding of the subject and your ability to explain it is of far greater consequence than the style in which you write.
Searching for Ideas
Many people have only a general idea of what they want to write about. Some are more fortunate and are eager to tackle a specific subject or issue. Possibilities abound everywhere. Start by looking right within your own home or within your circle of friends and acquaintances.
Perhaps you have a unique sibling or even a unique relationship with a sibling. That can be the nucleus of a fascinating book or article. You may have some special ideas about parenting, developed during your years of raising a family. Have you experienced the trauma of a serious illness in the family? How did you and the other members cope? Your home and your family can generate a number of different ideas. Look carefully, and you will discover them.
Similarly, the workplace can offer endless possibilities. Trade journals are hungry for informative content. From the technical side of your job to interactions with fellow workers, from ethical workplace issues to managerial skills, all of these and more are grist for your writing mill.
Hobbies, sports and other pastimes are excellent subjects to consider if you are particularly knowledgeable about one of them.. You can place articles in the many magazines that are devoted exclusively to these subjects if you choose not to write a complete book.
Whether you are twenty-some, a baby boomer or a senior, your life has been filled with endless numbers of interesting events and contacts that can provide excellent starting points for writing either fiction or nonfiction. You've visited unique locations, met unusual characters, attended fascinating events all of these are there for the calling. Summon up those memories, and get your computer's keyboard chattering away.
Idea Resources
There are many helpful resources to stimulate your mind, and assist you to zero in on the best choice. Considered the freelancer's bible by many, Writer's Digest is an 1175-page compendium, revised annually, that lists 50 categories of consumer magazines and 60 types of trade journals. Whether you are planning an article or a book, it is an invaluable tool to trigger ideas as you range through subjects from Animal Lovers to Women's Periodicals in the consumer section and from Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations to Veterinary Medicine in the trades.
A number of other helpful directories are available in your librarys reference room, and of course, browsing subjects on the Internet's major search engines offers you an overwhelming selection of ideas. If thats not enough to get you started, personalized coaching for your writing is available. You can find some of my fellow book coaches by searching the Web.
So toss aside the excuses and roll up your sleeves for several hours of concentrated research. Be sure to file away every idea that interests you for use now or in the future. The majority of my former students find it impossible to stop once they publish what they write. There's a very strong likelihood that after your initial exposure to the wonderful world of writing, you'll be hooked, and want to do it again and again.
Youve just completed a writing course. Perhaps recently graduated from college. Maybe your career has finally ended, and now that youve reached retirement youre free to pursue your long-awaited dream of writing a book. You cant wait to rush to the computer and finally get started on this long-held dream.
Slow down or youll find yourself in the clutches of that dread disease, Writers Block.
You dont want to join the many hopefuls who sit and stare, their typing fingers paralyzed as they face a blank computer screen their grand ideas shattered by the forbidding glower of that empty screen.
To avoid placing yourself in that position, you have some major decisions to make: What is it you want to write? How do you want to present your thoughts? Will fiction or nonfiction work best? All of that sounds rather elementary, doesnt it?
It is, but these are essential exercises if you want to become a proficient writer and avoid an author's greatest nemesis - writer's block. As I state in my latest book The Writer Within You, careful planning is the best medication to help you avoid that frightening disease.
Fiction or Nonfiction?
As you begin developing your idea, a key consideration is whether you choose to write fiction or nonfiction. You have something you hope to pass on to your readers, probably something very specific taken from the deep well of your life experience, family history or career. The latter is very popular among retired writers who are reluctant to sever all connections with their former careers.
Among the questions you must ask yourself is whether your writing tends to be more journalistic or more fanciful in style. Can it best be presented in a strictly factual context or will a fictitious setting better serve what you choose to write?
If you are leaning toward fiction, can you flesh out a first-rate plot? Do you have the sensitivity and the insight to fine tune characters and settings? Are you able to create dialogue that reflects the nature of your characters and their relationships to others in the book? If the answers are both honest and positive, then you can decide among the many subgenres of fiction. Will you write a novel, a mystery, a series of short stories?
When you embark on the nonfiction route, the decisions you face differ somewhat. It is important to determine whether the topic you choose is timely and whether there is a substantial audience interested in that topic. Make sure your knowledge of the subject is fully up to date. Many retirees, for example, don't stop to think that the world they knew in their working years has progressed to new levels.
Head to the library or to the Web. Do your research carefully. Make no assumptions that you are fully knowledgeable on a specific topic. Always remember that the key to writing successful nonfiction is content. To a publisher or to a reader looking for information, your understanding of the subject and your ability to explain it is of far greater consequence than the style in which you write.
Searching for Ideas
Many people have only a general idea of what they want to write about. Some are more fortunate and are eager to tackle a specific subject or issue. Possibilities abound everywhere. Start by looking right within your own home or within your circle of friends and acquaintances.
Perhaps you have a unique sibling or even a unique relationship with a sibling. That can be the nucleus of a fascinating book or article. You may have some special ideas about parenting, developed during your years of raising a family. Have you experienced the trauma of a serious illness in the family? How did you and the other members cope? Your home and your family can generate a number of different ideas. Look carefully, and you will discover them.
Similarly, the workplace can offer endless possibilities. Trade journals are hungry for informative content. From the technical side of your job to interactions with fellow workers, from ethical workplace issues to managerial skills, all of these and more are grist for your writing mill.
Hobbies, sports and other pastimes are excellent subjects to consider if you are particularly knowledgeable about one of them.. You can place articles in the many magazines that are devoted exclusively to these subjects if you choose not to write a complete book.
Whether you are twenty-some, a baby boomer or a senior, your life has been filled with endless numbers of interesting events and contacts that can provide excellent starting points for writing either fiction or nonfiction. You've visited unique locations, met unusual characters, attended fascinating events all of these are there for the calling. Summon up those memories, and get your computer's keyboard chattering away.
Idea Resources
There are many helpful resources to stimulate your mind, and assist you to zero in on the best choice. Considered the freelancer's bible by many, Writer's Digest is an 1175-page compendium, revised annually, that lists 50 categories of consumer magazines and 60 types of trade journals. Whether you are planning an article or a book, it is an invaluable tool to trigger ideas as you range through subjects from Animal Lovers to Women's Periodicals in the consumer section and from Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations to Veterinary Medicine in the trades.
A number of other helpful directories are available in your librarys reference room, and of course, browsing subjects on the Internet's major search engines offers you an overwhelming selection of ideas. If thats not enough to get you started, personalized coaching for your writing is available. You can find some of my fellow book coaches by searching the Web.
So toss aside the excuses and roll up your sleeves for several hours of concentrated research. Be sure to file away every idea that interests you for use now or in the future. The majority of my former students find it impossible to stop once they publish what they write. There's a very strong likelihood that after your initial exposure to the wonderful world of writing, you'll be hooked, and want to do it again and again.
