Open with panache and also caution – a simple mistake with misdirection that might turn readers off
We always want to grab the reader at the start of a story. But are we grabbing them with the right things? Especially if we’re using misdirection. When does…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2026/01/11/open-with-panache-and-also-caution-a-simple-mistake-with-misdirection-that-might-turn-readers-off/
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING A BOOK
With narrative examples from“The Could Have Been Man.”
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING A BOOK
You Too Can Write a Book
Writers often believe they need training or permission to write a book. You do not. You need a clear process, clear goals, and the ability to start. My own path began with soap operas. Then film. Only later did I write novels. That journey shaped how I build stories. I focus on clarity and character choices. This guide shows you the same approach.
Let’s make the process easier to follow. We use one reference story throughout this guide. The story is a simple drama called “The Could Have Been Man.” It is about an old man who never married, never built a family, and now spends his days alone on a park bench feeding pigeons. He narrates pieces of his past with regret and honesty. Each step in this guide uses his story to demonstrate what you should do in your own book.
Why You Write, and Why It Matters More Than You Think
You sit down to write because something inside you refuses to stay quiet. You might want to tell a story, build a world, or leave something behind long after you’re gone. None of that happens unless you understand why you’re doing it. A clear purpose keeps you steady when the work feels slow or when you’re doubting yourself.
How to make this real? You’re going to meet someone who could have used this chapter decades earlier. His name is Harold, but the neighbourhood calls him the Could-Have-Been Man. He spends most days on the same park bench near the old fountain. He feeds a small group of pigeons that gather around him. People walk past him without thinking twice. He notices everything. He notices the parents, the couples, the noise, the silence, and how time moves, whether you want it to or not.
Harold never wrote the stories he carried. He used to keep ideas in a folded notebook. He had a plan for a small novel about a boy who learned to fix clocks. He kept another idea about a retired detective solving one last case. None of the ideas reached a first draft. At first, he ran out of time. After that, he ran out of confidence. Later, he convinced himself it didn’t matter. Years passed. The pages yellowed. Then the notebook disappeared during a move. Harold assumed writing was something he had missed his chance on. He settled into a routine. Now he feeds pigeons and tries not to think about what he abandoned.
Be Creative and Follow Harold
You don’t want Harold’s ending. You want your words on a page, in a file, in a finished book. You want something you can point to with pride. So before you get lost in structure, character arcs, or editing theory, stop and answer the questions Harold avoided.
Why are you writing this book?
What do you want your reader to feel?
What do you want your work to leave behind?
Writers who skip these questions tend to drift. They write in circles or abandon what they start. Writers who take fifteen quiet minutes to think through their purpose finish more often. You don’t need a perfect mission statement. You just need clarity. A simple sentence is enough, such as:
“I want to help a first-time writer finish their book.”
“I want to share a story that has lived in my head for ten years.”
“I want to teach something I learned the hard way.”
Get Back To The Keyboard
Purpose keeps you moving when pressure hits. When I wrote my first long project, I nearly quit halfway through. I didn’t like the middle chapters. I thought the entire concept might be weak. The only thing that pushed me forward was remembering why I started. I wanted to show myself that I could complete something difficult. That reason pulled me back to the keyboard every time.
Think of Harold again. Each morning, he wakes up early. He sits on the same wooden bench with a small paper bag of crumbs. The pigeons run toward him. Some jump onto his shoes. He talks to them quietly. You can hear him if you walk close enough. He tells them stories he never wrote. He describes worlds and characters,s and twists. He does it for free and for no audience. He could have shared these stories with thousands if he had taken the first step, then the next, then the next.
Finish What You Start!
Our task in this chapter is to avoid becoming him. The moment you write your purpose down, you become someone who will finish.
Here’s what you can do right now:
• Write one sentence about why this book matters to you.
• Write one sentence about what you want your reader to gain.
• Write one sentence about how your life would change if you finish.
• Write one sentence describing what will happen if you don’t.
Writers respond well to honesty. When you see the cost of inaction clearly, you stop wasting time. You avoid what Harold became. He is a reminder, not a warning. He shows you what happens when desire meets hesitation for too long.
As you go through this guide, you’ll come back to him at key moments. His story will help you stay grounded in your own. You’ll watch how small decisions shape his life in the park. You’ll see how a shift in his day can push him out of his usual pattern. And unless something big happens, he stays in character.
No Writer’s Conviniences Here!
This is important. Characters must act in ways that match who they are unless something strong enough forces change. In Harold’s case, the only thing that could alter him would be a real shock. Something that breaks his routine. Something like someone hurting his favourite pigeon. A moment that forces him to stop accepting the life he settled for.
Keep this in mind when you write your own characters later. For now, stay focused on yourself. You’re here to finish a book. You’re here to avoid regret. You’re here because you don’t want to wake up years later feeding pigeons with stories stuck in your throat.
Your writing starts with purpose. Set it down. You’ll need it for every chapter that follows.
Zsolt Zsemba
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO WRITING A BOOK
https://wp.me/p84YjG-a3t
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Ever Wanted to Tell Your Story? But Don’t Know How?
Ever wanted to tell your story?
Not the polite version you tell people when they ask how life is going.
Not the edited version you share online.
The real one. The one that stays with you when everything is quiet.
Most people carry a story like that.
Very few ever write it.
They convince themselves their story is not interesting enough.
That it is too small.
That someone else has lived it better.
That it is already too late.
That belief stops more books from being written than lack of talent ever will.
If you have ever thought, “one day I should write this down,” then you already understand something important. You know stories matter. You just do not know how to start or how to keep going once doubt shows up.
That is where most people get stuck.
They wait for confidence.
They wait for motivation.
They wait for the perfect moment.
That moment never arrives.
What actually works is having a clear method you can rely on even when you do not feel creative. A way to move forward that does not depend on mood or inspiration.
That is why I put my writing process into a practical guide.
I did not create it as theory. I created it because I kept meeting people who wanted to write a book and had no structure. They had ideas scattered across notebooks and notes apps. They had strong emotions and no clear direction. They started chapters and never finished them.
This guide shows you how I actually write books from beginning to end.
You start with inspiration, but you do not stay there.
You learn how to turn an idea into a working title.
You learn how to build characters that stay consistent.
You learn how to map a story without killing creativity.
You learn how to write forward instead of rewriting the same chapter forever.
You learn how to finish.
The guide includes worksheets that force clarity. Not vague prompts. Real questions that make you define your story and your characters, so you stop drifting halfway through.
One of the core ideas I teach is allowing yourself to write into difficult corners. Real stories are not neat. They create problems that force decisions. That is where voice and honesty appear.
Most people quit right before that point.
You do not need permission to tell your story. You do not need validation. You need a method that keeps you moving when doubt shows up.
Doubt always shows up.
The difference between writers and everyone else is not talent. It is finishing.
If you are tired of thinking about writing a book and ready to actually write one, this guide will help you do it.
You can find the full writing guide here:
Read what is inside. Look at the structure. Imagine where you could be if you stopped waiting and started writing.
Your story does not need to be perfect. It needs to exist.
And you are the only one who can write it.
A KEYWORDS
write your story, how to write a book, writing your life story, beginner writing guide, storytelling, creative writing, writing process, author advice, write a memoir, writing ins
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Keeping hold of your work-in-progress over Christmas (or nail your novel while nailing your noel)
For all of us with creative work on the go, Christmas and the end-of-year holidays might mean one of two things: 1 Goody! Loads of time to work…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/12/09/keeping-hold-of-your-work-in-progress-over-christmas-or-nail-your-novel-while-nailing-your-noel/
#Howtowriteabook #author #books #dontlosetouchwithyourbookoverChristmas #fiction
‘He seemed to have been born with all the best words’ – remembering Porter Anderson #obituary
When a Facebook post begins ‘I first met…’ and has a picture of someone you knew closely for many years, you feel, with a chill, you already understand the news it’s bringing. The…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/12/04/he-seemed-to-have-been-born-with-all-the-best-words-remembering-porter-anderson-obituary/
‘The metaphor arrived… and I worked to make sense of it’: talking to memoirist Jocelyn Jane Cox
I love the genre of memoir. It might be a straightforward A to B in a person’s life; or a braid of diverse strands that makes meaning, sense and a unique narrative journey.
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/11/27/the-metaphor-arrived-and-i-worked-to-make-sense-of-it-talking-to-memoirist-jocelyn-jane-cox/
#Howtowriteabook #books #coachingwriters #figureskating #grief
The quiet beginning – one trick to keep the reader’s attention
Starting a story is always a challenge. You have to do a lot at once, but not too much. Don’t overwhelm the reader, don’t confuse, don’t info-dump, don’t send misleading signals, don’t lose the reader’s interest. Sometimes you can start…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/the-quiet-beginning-one-trick-to-keep-the-readers-attention/
#Howtowriteabook #beginning #beginnings #books #creativewriting
Burnout to breakthrough to memoir: how Rachael Wesley rediscovered writing
Rachael Wesley spent nearly a decade pouring her heart into teaching, until burnout forced her to rediscover her first love: writing. Her debut memoir Second Set Chances weaves together…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/10/26/burnout-to-breakthrough-to-memoir-rediscovering-writing-with-rachael-wesley/
#Howtowriteabook #bookreview #books #howtobecomeawriter #lifelongwritingdream
Why marketing your book is selling your soul – in a good way
One of the projects I’ve worked on recently is a guide to book marketing by the Alliance of Independent Authors. It has been an eye-opener. I thought I knew the basics of book marketing – choose the right keywords in book…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/10/25/why-marketing-your-book-is-selling-your-soul-in-a-good-way/
#Howtowriteabook #AllianceofIndependentAuthors #author #bookmarketing #books
The Le Guin Prize and the lost continent of imaginative fiction
The 2025 Ursula K Le Guin Prize for Fiction is about to be awarded. It’s for works that are categorised as ‘imaginative fiction’ – they have elements of science fiction and fantasy, but also of literary. What does this…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/10/20/the-le-guin-prize-and-the-lost-continent-of-imaginative-fiction/
#Howtowriteabook #2025UrsulaKLeGuinprize #Blindness #books #ClaraAndTheSun
Plan smart, write fast, finish strong: my guide to writing a novel in 30 days
Soon it will be NaNoWriMo time! The official National Novel-Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) organisation closed earlier this year, but the writing world is still hard wired to Nano in November, come what may.
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/10/12/plan-smart-write-fast-finish-strong-my-guide-to-writing-a-novel-in-30-days/
#Howtowriteabook #books #campnanowrimo #creativewriting #firstdraft
Wired to experience the world through words – talking to multilingual novelist, short story writer and memoirist Claire Polders
If you’ve read my memoir collection Not Quite Lost, you’ll know I am laughably inept at foreign…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/09/28/wired-to-experience-the-world-through-words-talking-to-multilingual-novelist-short-story-writer-and-memoirist-claire-polders/
#Howtowriteabook #authorinterview #books #creativewriting #fiction
Age of distraction: two simple principles to keep readers’ attention in longform stories
Is longform fiction dying? Everywhere we’re told attention spans are shrinking, readers want brevity and writers should be adding flash fiction or essays to their repertoire.
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/09/14/age-of-distraction-two-simple-principles-to-keep-readers-attention-in-longform-stories/
#Howtowriteabook #ageofdistraction #books #creativewriting #editingtips
@indieauthors
It started with ‘why’ – writing fiction about uncomfortable subjects, with Andrew Verlaine
Andrew Verlaine distinctly remembers the moment that sent him off to write a novel. He was watching a demonstration of a controversial piece of equipment and noticed its…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/08/31/it-started-with-why-writing-fiction-about-uncomfortable-subjects-with-andrew-verlaine/
#Howtowriteabook #AliceBirch #AlisonRumfitt #AndrewVerlaine #ArronHook
@indieauthors
On Being Ready to Write and Publish a Book https://www.writersdigest.com/on-being-ready-to-write-and-publish-a-book #howtowriteanonfictionbook #WriteBetterNonfiction #publishnonfictionbook #writingnonfiction #howtowriteabook #foodwriting
On Being Ready to Write and Publish a Book
Author Elspeth Hay shares her story of getting a great book idea and then learning the hard way how difficult it is to write and publish it.
The post On Being Ready to Write and Publish a Book appeared first on Writer's Digest.
https://www.writersdigest.com/on-being-ready-to-write-and-publish-a-book
#WriteBetterNonfiction #foodwriting #howtowriteabook #howtowriteanonfictionbook #publishnonfictionbook
@indieauthors
Beta readers: your book’s first reality check and why you need it
I’ve just sent the manuscript of my memoir – the follow-up to Not Quite Lost – to beta readers. I announced this on Twitter and immediately was asked: what do you need in a beta reader and where do you find them? Beta…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/08/10/beta-readers-your-books-first-reality-check-and-why-you-need-it/
#Howtowriteabook #beingedited #betareader #betareaderquestions #betareaders
@indieauthors
‘Being able to build a creative career has been a privilege’ – talking to memoirist Nina Boug Lichtenstein
I’m always curious to know how we end up making our lives in the creative arts. For some, it’s in their family culture. Others find their own…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/07/24/being-able-to-build-a-creative-career-has-been-a-privilege-talking-to-memoirist-nina-boug-lichtenstein/
#Howtowriteabook #authorlife #BodyMyLifeInParts #books #creativecareers
@indieauthors
Three sneaky style sins that confuse your reader (and how to fix them)
Smart writing knows how it’s handling the reader. It knows what it’s making them notice. Where it’s directing their curiosity. How it’s making them feel. There are many factors to this, including the…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/07/13/three-sneaky-style-sins-that-confuse-your-reader-and-how-to-fix-them/
#Howtowriteabook #clarityinwriting #contextinascene #headhopping #howtoselfedit
@indieauthors
‘I started to write as a way of organising my life’ – talking to novelist Janet Clare
Janet Clare has just released her second novel, but when she began writing it was purely a personal practice, with no thoughts of being published. From small starts… I’ll let her explain. When I…
https://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2025/06/29/i-started-to-write-as-a-way-of-organising-my-life-talking-to-novelist-janet-clare/
#Howtowriteabook #author #authorlife #books #conceptsofhome
@indieauthors
