There may come a time when a writer will want to write a book, but do not know where to begin. A writer may think that they can just write a book and send it to a literary agent, but it does not work that way. There are steps that you must take when it comes to writing a book. Here are some tips for writers who want to write a book, so that they will be successful when it’s time to send out query letters to literary agents.
One tip is that you must have an idea on what you want to write about. Sometimes writers already know what they want to write about, while others don’t. Sit and think about what is important, such as asking yourself questions like, what kind of characters I want to talk about will the idea I’m thinking about make sense. This may take some time if you do not know the answers to these questions. You can get ideas from books that you have read in the past, such as romance novels. Do you want your book to have a romantic or horror theme, for example?
A writer needs to know what genre he or she wants to write, such as a memoir or comedy, for example. Some ways you can find if your idea will work is by researching. Go to your public library and find out if what you want to write about is like what is already out there. Another place is going to Kindle books to find out what is selling. In both cases look for bestsellers. You may want to read books on the genre that is of interest in to get an idea on if your idea will make sense to put out there in the public.
Another tip is to make an outline of what you want to write about. You cannot just start writing your book because you may miss important details. When you make an outline, your outline needs to have a beginning, middle, and end. You want it to make sense as well. You want to know what your scene will look like. Picture in your mind what your scene looks like. This is easier for you. The middle will have all the important details of what you want the reader to know, including your characters. What kind of personality do you want your characters to have? Who is the main character? What kind of story will it be, adventure, horror, or romance, just to name a few? What do you want to happen in the story? There are questions you have to ask yourself to make a good book.
Begin writing your first chapter. You will want to make it where it will catch the reader’s attention. This will have the scene, theme, and characters. You can get some ideas from other books you have read. It has to have a strong beginning as well. This may take some time, but you want to make it strong. The best writers took their time to make that first chapter stand out. Read books that are in the same genre as yours. You want your first chapter to make sense. For instance, you would not want to make your first chapter sound funny, if your genre is horror. Talk about the characters. What makes them important? In fact, the first chapter has to have something exciting, such as the opening of what to expect from the next chapters.
Another tip is to not worry about using big words. You want your reader to read without stopping. The reader shouldn’t stop to look in the dictionary for meaning of words. Use words that you know the reader will understand, but at the same time make it interesting. For instance, most people know what apprehensive means. It means being nervous or afraid.