Claire Wade
  • Home
  • The Choice
  • About
    • Awards
    • Articles & Interviews
    • Writing FAQ
  • Disability
    • ME/CFS
    • Disabled Authors - ADCI
    • The Bookseller
  • Blog
  • Book Club
    • Book Club Questions
  • Contact
    • Newsletter

How to Write a Book - Start Writing aka Getting over the Fear

3/5/2019

 
​Writing a book is pretty simple. You come up with an idea. Sit down. Start writing.
 
It’s as easy and as incredibly hard as that.
 
I’ve found that the worst part of writing a book is the self-doubt, the fear of not being good enough, the worry that no one will care, that either no one will read your book, or equally horrifying, that lots of people will read it and hate it. You haven’t even typed a word and you’re already planning for its failure.
Picture
Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash
You have to stop. Stop thinking ahead, stop planning for disaster. Stop over-thinking in general.
 
Start by setting the tiniest of goals. Don’t try to write a novel, write one page. If that feels too big, write a paragraph. Don’t just aim to write a sentence because you will try to write the most perfect sentence since language was created and it will kill your creativity.
​
That sentence, and the ones that follow, probably won’t be the first sentence. It probably won’t even be your first chapter by the end of your edits. My original first chapter started with a version of the recipe books chapter, now it starts in the supermarket. Want to see what I mean? Order The Choice.
 
This is your first draft. It’s meant to be bad. Terrible. A complete travesty to published literature. It’s allowed to be, because no one will ever see it. Not unless you show them - which I’d strongly suggest you don’t.
Picture
Photo by MILKOVÍ on Unsplash
You have to get your idea onto the page and let it grow, follow it down blind alleys, discover unexpected twists and turns, figure out what you’re writing, because I can pretty much guarantee it’s not what you think it is.
 
The Choice started out as a gentle baking book, about a woman who liked to cook, but couldn’t because of a law. Technically, that’s still what it’s about, but now there’s much more depth, it’s far darker and more political than I ever intended. It’s the book I was meant to write, but not the story I could ever have gotten to without many (many, many, many) drafts.
 
Throw it onto the page. Type faster than your critical inner editor can shout at you. Type until you wear the letters off your keyboard (I’ve done that twice).

A page a day is a novel by the end of the year. You can do that. Once you get started, you might find you get into the flow, the way I do. You’ll pick up speed, but there are times I still have to trick myself into starting, by just focusing on one page.
 
Things not to worry about:
 
  • Spelling
  • Punctuation & grammar
  • If the idea is any good
  • For me where the story is going - I’m a pantser not a planner (I’ll explain more about this in the future) I let the story unfold and then edit it down
  • What other people will think
  • If anyone else has written something similar
  • The title


Make a start, today. Don’t go for perfect. Done is beautiful.

​You'll get there, it works.

Pre-order The Choice, winner of the Good Housekeeping Novel Competition 

The Choice is available to pre-order from Amazon, Waterstones, Book Depository
DETAILS
Published: 26th December 2019
Publisher: Orion
ISBN: 1409187748
Claire Wade is the winner of the Good Housekeeping Novel Competition and author of The Choice. She was bed bound for six years with severe ME, trapped in a body that wouldn't do what she wanted. She now writes about people who want to break free from the constraints of their lives, a subject she's deeply familiar with.

Comments are closed.
    Claire Wade

    Claire Wade

    I'm an author, disability activist, winner of the Good Housekeeping First Novel Competition and The EABA for Fiction 2020 and founder of Authors with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses (ADCI).


    The Choice is available from:

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    DETAILS:
    ​Title:
    The Choice
    Publisher: Orion
    ISBN: 1409187748

    You can keep up to date with all my latest blog posts by signing up to my email newsletter.

    RSS Feed


    Follow on Bloglovin

    Claire Wade



The Only News Newsletter

Fill in your details to receive my very occasional newsletter.

Marketing Permissions

The information you provide on this form will only be used to provide you with updates and personalized marketing. Your privacy is important to us! Please let us know how you would like to keep in touch:

We will send you occasional emails about promotions, new products and important updates to keep you in the loop.
We will use your information to show you ads that are more relevant to you to improve your online experience.

By clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined my VIP Reader list.

.
    Terms & Conditions         Privacy Policy        Site map            

© Claire Wade
Studio  17659, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US
  • Home
  • The Choice
  • About
    • Awards
    • Articles & Interviews
    • Writing FAQ
  • Disability
    • ME/CFS
    • Disabled Authors - ADCI
    • The Bookseller
  • Blog
  • Book Club
    • Book Club Questions
  • Contact
    • Newsletter