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MARI SUGGS 

Romance Author

HOW TO WRITE A BOOK

Hi everyone, I hope you’re having an amazing December thus far! Today, I’m tackling the broad topic of How to Write a Book. There are many things that go into writing a book, but I believe there are specific things that one needs to consider right from the start. Here are my top five tips on what you will need to do if you want to write a book. Make sure you read all the way to the end because I have a special treat for you.

If you’re more visual and would like to see the YouTube video on this topic go here:

Tip #1 Decide On Your Age Group

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You may not realize how important it is to have this part clear as water, but I assure you that your entire story weighs heavily on your target audience. Having a clear understanding on who you’re writing for will help you create the perfect plot and sub-plots. Without knowing this, you could be setting your novel up to fail before it even gets a chance. For example, if you’re writing for middle grade and young adult, your language, your subject matter, sexual content, and age of the protagonist are all important to the story. Without knowing your age group, it will be difficult to know what to include or exclude in your story.

Tip #2: Plot Ideas

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I recommend that you write down all your plot ideas for a birds-eye view. By doing so, you’ll be able to see which plot ideas you can easily develop into a full novel and which plot ideas work well together to make as sub-plots.

Tip #3: Create Character Profiles

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Creating my characters is by far my favorite part of starting a new book. Creating profiles is fun and an essential part of your story because you must know them in detail in order to create strong and believable characters.

Tip #4: Outline Your Novel

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As I stated in my blog How to Outline Using Index Cards, there are some of us that outline and some of us that don’t. However, if this is your first time writing a book, I recommend that you outline your novel. By doing so, you’ll avoid problems such as plot wholes and pacing. The benefit of doing so is also that you’ll have a strong novel, with fully developed characters and story lines that will hit all the important parts of a novel, such as, your inciting incident, climax and conclusion. For more on this you can watch my YouTube video Outlining with Index Cards.

Tip #5: Write the First Draft

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After you’ve done the above 4 steps, then it’s time to start writing. A really helpful tip I heard recently is that writing that first draft is you telling the story to yourself. I thought this was a great tip because it eliminates some of the pressure that comes with writing a book. Remember, above all, have fun in the process. Try to forget about the end product (the destination) and enjoy the process (the journey) of writing your book .

To help you stay on track, I created a checklist so that you don’t miss a beat while writing your first book. If you would like to get your copy click here for instant access.

If you haven’t done so already, I would love for you to hop on over to my YouTube channel and subscribe. I share weekly tips on writing, publishing and living with joy.

Also, if you’re passionate about setting and reaching goals, my book #Believe Dammit: 10 Principle for Attracting and Creating the Life You Crave is the perfect companion for you as you will learn valuable lessons that will help you reach all your goals.

Until Next Time!

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