I Want to Write a Book, but ……

“You want to write a book, okay. But what’s your concern?” I inquired.

“I want to write a book, but the thought scares me. I’ve never written anything longer than college and university papers, and I think trying to write anything more than 20 pages is beyond my ability.”

We discussed his interests, background, and vocation. When he told me he was a newspaper reporter, I asked him how long he’d been a journalist.

“Oh, about seven years.”

“How many reports have you written?”

“Oh, 2 or 3 a week; I don’t know, maybe over 800.”

“Okay, here’s an idea. As a journalist, you have to keep your word count down, but you know there’s more to each story. Why don’t you select 75-100 of those reports, rewrite each one, and fill out the story with some of the details you had to cut. That way, you don’t have to think about the daunting challenge of writing an entire book – just a series of very short stories. Putting them together will get you your book. What do you think about that?”

He was elated! He’s been working on it now for about seven months, and we’ll edit it, format it, and get it published several months from now.

How about you? Are you ready to start on your book? Or perhaps you’re ready to get it edited, formatted, and published. Call or email us at P&L Publishing and Literary Services. Use the contact button above, or use this one https://plpubandlit.org/.

And don’t forget to…

Write Creatively.

Where do I start?

Sometimes when we sit down to write, we get lost and wonder, “Where do I start?”

One answer: Choose a natural starting point.

When we read a good novel, it all seems to unfold so naturally from the first sentence, so why do we have a difficult time getting started? We need to remind ourselves that famous authors are faced with the same problem. Don’t laugh now, but they have editors to help them, too.

Think about real life. No significant episode in your own life sprung up from nothing; things happened that shaped the current event, and things happened afterward as a result of it. Think about your story in the same way. The characters have pasts and futures (unless you plan to kill them). Places, too, have pasts and futures. Therefore, every good storyteller jumps into his story midstream. Knowing this can help you relax about picking a starting point.

For example, I’m writing about Abraham, and I start with him as an adult in the desert with his camel when God speaks to him. Abe begins mulling over world events and planning his escape from Ur of the Chaldees without being caught. With that setting as my anchor, I build the story.

If you’re unsure where to begin, pick a scene you know you’re going to put in—you just don’t know where yet—and start writing it. You might discover your Chapter One right there. And even if you don’t, you’ll have story material for that scene when the time comes.

Or……

Write several character sketches. You need them anyway, and they’re great warm-ups for Chapter One. Ask yourself: What will this character be doing when we first meet him? Write it. Again, you might find yourself writing Chapter One…or Chapter three. But start.

Your could even do a Chapter-One-Only brainstorm and see what comes out.

You can write a great story starting from any of several places. But wherever it is, start with action! That will help you to …

Write Creatively.

The Courage to Fail


An acquaintance allowed me to post his thought on why some folks won’t write.

“Through the years I have noticed a curious phenomenon. People who are experts in literature, who know grammar, who can discuss the intricacies of plotting, characterization, setting, pacing, etc., people who seem to have all the equipment necessary to succeed at writing, rarely try it. Although these people sometimes have PhDs in English and literature, they seem quite content watching hacks like me turn out numerous successful novels. I’m not complaining, you understand, but I have a theory about why this is so. These folks would be satisfied with nothing less than writing a masterpiece, and since they know that is highly unlikely, they write nothing. They are afraid they will fail. On the other hand, I have no ambitions about masterpieces–I just want to write fun books that entertain people and make a living doing it. I want to write the kind of books that I like to read. So I write and the experts read.”

So, dear reader, develop the courage to fail. But remember, the only real failure is one who doesn’t try. So sit down and begin writing that story that’s been on your mind. You will be glad you did. And you will surprise yourself to find that you can …

Write Creatively.