Budding Authors' Playbook vol.1: Is There a Mindset I Need to Write Down my Thoughts?

Since I started writing fiction books, I've been hearing this a lot: "how do you start writing a book?" I hear it from friends who are just curious to find out about the writing procedure. But I also hear it from people who come up with an idea they love and they decide to share it with the world.

We have a saying in my mother tongue, Greek: the beginning is the half of everything. It might sound a little strange or be all Greek to you, but the point here is to outline the importance of the beginning in everything you do.

So, after a lot of questions I've been asked, I decided to write a few words on it. And I've categorized the procedure in a few articles.

This is the initial one, on the mindset behind writing.

 

Is there Right or Wrong in Writing?

I bet you've been hearing a lot about the writing procedure. The fascinating thing - but tricky sometimes for the newcomers in the writing world - is that there is no fixed, standard procedure for writing. Storytelling is not math - although, even in math, there are more than one ways to reach your desired outcome.

Writing is a personal work and procedure; and subjective in any case. You might read and hear a lot. However, the question is what suits you best. You will meet several articles on do's and dont's on book promoting and marketing later on. Things are different there. Writing, however, is about expressing your thoughts. And about what kind of story you're writing. So, I suggest you read articles or attend courses on writing if you find it helpful, but always remember: deep inside, there are no rules on writing. The writing procedure and style of different people can be as diverse, as the people themselves; but equally good in any case.

Writing has always been a personal experience to me as well. For all these reasons I've already mentioned, I decided to never attend a creative writing class. I didn't want anyone to indicate to me the way I would write my thoughts, because I felt I knew better than anyone what the best way for this was. Again, this is my opinion and how I feel about writing during these seven years I've been writing in total.

 

 

Why do You Want to Write?

Writing includes a lot of self-examination and concerns. One of them is the question above.

I know! You keep falling upon such questions on some many topics and you wonder: what the hell is this supposed to help with? Well... Trying to understand why you do or want to do something, always explains if and to what degree this is important to you. How badly you want this, in other words.

I hear this line a lot: "I want to be a writer!" And I don't quite understand what people mean by this. I hear it from people who have no particular interest in writing or creating in general. They've never felt the need to put some thoughts or rough copy on paper or keyboard. They just think writing is cool, classy and a way to upgrade their social status. So, they soar in (creative) writing classes and courses and they quit after a while, presenting today's writers like pieces of an industrial line and praising the writers of the past, "the only original ones"... Guess what: writing is a work! Not an easy one! Make no mistake about it!

Your "why" on wanting to write might not be clear enough from the beginning. But trying to determine it will help you understand how important this thing is to you.

When I first started writing, becoming a writer wasn't a plan for me. I didn't call myself a writer. I didn't even know whether I would do something with my manuscript after completing it or not. When I finished it, I already knew I wanted to share it with the world. Was there an initial "why"? Yes. Writing made me feel better in a period my life sucked. I felt anxious and depressed and I didn't know what to do about it. So, writing helped me relax and clear my mind. This is how I realized I loved this thing. And then the rest came.

 

 

After all those seven years, my ability to write on any moment is the indicator of my psychology.

You might just want to share an amazing story you conceptualized with the world. Bu you aren't sure yet on wheter you want to keep writing. That's fine! Just make sure that the reason you want to write for the time being, is something substantial that matters to you. And don't trust sites that tell you you can use writing to make some easy money working from home. If you do this, I guarantee you will either never write a good piece this way or never make the money promised, because you will freak out when you understand how much effort it takes to make money from writing!

Bottomline of Playbook's vol.1:

Before spending time and effort on finding a way to start writing, make sure you really want this. Being committed to writing is no hobby! It's not a "find an easy job" or "get rich fast" procedure. And it's not something just to impress the others. These are only ways to write lousy texts and get disappointed for this. So, if there's nothing about writing making you feel you've found your destiny, or just fascinating you, quit it.

If you feel like this, stay tuned for vol.2!