“It’s the first blank page of the 365 page book you are to begin. Write a mind-blowing one”.
Writing a book can be tough but this can be handled by keeping the basics right. After all, nothing comes easy in life.
A book is a compilation of a lot of wonderful pieces – character, plot, story, feelings, emotions and even a climax. When you are starting it all might sound like a jigsaw puzzle and you may be wondering how to solve this challenge.
Involving these many elements in a specific fashion or series with a story in mind and transforming in to a readable format might sound baffling and challenging. But as it is well said ‘sometimes we need fantasy to survive the reality’, we can overcome this hurdle with some basic tips and fiction in mind.
Firstly, if you want to have a novel then it is critical to imagine the whole thing in your head from start to end. It is your fancy imagination and your vision that creates every little aspect of your book. If you have a fair idea of the story or the plot and can imagine an outline of the book then you have won half the battle.
What we mean here is you need to have the basic idea or sketch in mind of what you want out of the book. Let’s take an example to get this more clearly – are you looking to write a suspense thriller, a romance novel, a horror story or a murder mystery. This would give a basic structure to your book and taking the story further gets easy.
Second thing to think, is your book revolving around the plot or the character? A very crucial and important piece which decides the entire course and making?
Quoting a few examples to clarify this point can be books which have revolved around the plot like ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and ‘The Digital Fortress’ by Dan Brown or ‘The Fountainhead’ by Ayn Rand. These master pieces have such a strong plot and storyline that the entire writing goes around the strategy and the conspiracy. The characters support and compliment the theme. Vice versa, there are some scripts which are character creations and only highlight the personality. Example – ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho or ‘The God Father’ by Mario Puzo.
In either case, character plays an important role and should be carefully drafted however; its flexibility and amalgamation with the story line may vary as per the concept.
Pen down the overall structure, developing chapters, particular actions or specific points you might want to include in the book. This is of a great help to form the outline and sketch of the entire manuscript.
You may want to make a note of the main characters, their role and contribution, relations and their significance, incidents and events, story development and the final resolution or climax. Remember, this rough draft only helps in visualizing the theme and has to be kept open to any change that might come across as the story progresses.
Feel your book and live it as you write it. Only by doing that, you would be able to come out with something that really touches the hearts of the readers. Your rough draft is a living and breathing creature and you need to nurture it with your thoughts, fantasies and imaginations.
A lot of renowned authors start from the end. That means they write the end of the book first and then figure out how to get there. This enables the authors to create sketch of the book, craft the characters as per their final purpose and also include scenarios and actions which co-relates to the final climax.
Book Writing is an art. There can never be a set format to follow. Each author and writer have their own style and rules and you need to find the one which best suits you.
Creating a structure only helps to understand which style you want to adopt and how you want to take your creation to its finishing line.
Remember, a book is not just pages but could be an experience and a life influencer. When you hold a pen you have the power to impact the minds of those hundreds of readers. So touch your heart and bring out the most inspiring and heart touching story you want to share with the world and make a difference.
