I recently read an excellent post on LinkedIn about ‘inspiration’. The point was being made by a commercial copywriter, that professional writers can’t afford to wait for inspiration or we’d never be able to sustain a business!
When you’re facing the task of writing a book, particularly non-fiction, that blank screen can be daunting – but you don’t have to start with a blank page, you just need to do a bit of forward planning.
Get structured!
Before you start to write you need some structure.
There are two elements to this:
- Your overall book structure: what each chapter is about
- The chapter structure – I call it a ‘recipe’, which is, effectively, a template that you’ll apply to every chapter.
I find mind-mapping is a useful way to start putting this together, as it allows you to add subjects in any order, organising them as you go.
You’ll end up with a list of chapter subjects and a template for each chapter that shows what will be in it; e.g. quotation to start, real life story, model, anecdote, case study, end of chapter action plan, etc.
The next step is to map each chapter against the template, identifying which quotations, stories, case studies, models, etc., you will include in each chapter and any specific content information subheadings.
This is your skeleton plan.
Putting flesh on the bones
Gathering this information isn’t usually particularly arduous as, with subject headings, you probably already know what you want to include. However, it’s a valuable first step as you will never have to face a blank page. Instead, you have a list of things to write – in order, so all you’re doing is filling in the detail.
Writing a chapter with a plan like this will be a breeze!
Remember, you’re only aiming for a first draft – not perfection, so it doesn’t matter if the grammar and punctuation aren’t perfect.
Aim to complete one chapter at a time – and you might be surprised at how quickly your book develops. And without having to stare at that blank screen, waiting for inspiration to strike!
