Questions

I have found two writers of short fiction via a previous question. What we share and offer comments on has been very useful and enjoyable, even if I don’t know who they are. ‘Useful and enjoyable’ because of our anonymity; they say what they want, share (often private) experiences they would not share with a partner or a relative. Such sharing adds perspective and ideas. My stories are from sweet romance to tasteful erotica, frequently in international locations. What can we share? Shall we explore possibilities?
- AngelaM

Is your writing a joy-filled creative process or a drudgery-filled chore? If you answered a chore, today is the day to change your perspective. Read this article and you’ll see writing your book easily is simply a matter of harvesting your information. You may discover you already possess the majority of the information needed to complete your book.

The real test is simply to organize what you know into a database of usable ideas. The beginning steps outlined below will help you identify and organize the information you need (and already have) into chunks of information to write your book. By analyzing your experiences and life observations into building block ideas and organizing them, you will be ready to write sooner.

Follow these simple steps, identify, organize your ideas, mine the gold called your knowledge; then easily write and complete your book. To get started do this:

1. Realize You Know More Than You Think.

You have gained a certain level of success in your field, career or even hobby. You may be an active consultant, business owner, speaker, or writer. In your field you have been constantly learning and observing. On your path to success through failures, successes and opportunities to learn, you have been accumulating the information you need to complete your book.

You have experienced and observed what works and does not work. Through the process of continually doing what you do, you have gained a wealth of knowledge and information.

The challenge is that your knowledge is unorganized. Once you create a structure for organizing your ideas, your ability to create your book and/or books will quickly take shape.

2. Divide and conquer; begin to break your knowledge into chunks of information. The beginning point is to begin separate your files, speeches, articles into general topics. For example, I have bodies of information for my inspirational writing and a whole other body or topic for business writing.

And of course there’s another topic for the how-tos of writing in my files. When I first started, I went through and separated these chunks of information into different folders and eventually as my chunks of information grew I had to house them in separate file units.

After creating topical groups, break your knowledge for your book into individual ideas or chunks of information so you can inventory what you already know on the subject.

You’ll notice as you organize and inventory the ideas you already possess; it will uncover some areas that your knowledge is bit weak. Once you identify the weak areas in your knowledge, it becomes easy to locate the information needed to fill in the gap or strengthen the weak area.

3. Create framework for organizing your ideas

For a short book, simply create a list of every idea related to your book’s topic. After you start your list and create a structure, it can be suprising how quickly your book takes shape.

Now take your list and number them in order of importance. After your ideas have been prioritized, you can easily spot patterns of what will lead to writing a book on what you are most passionate about.

4. Pursue your most passionate idea

Successful books are based on one central idea. The author concentrates on one main theme to drive their book to success. Textbooks can get away with a list of all kinds of facts. But non-fiction books, especially how-to books are based on one main idea.

The central idea provides the focus needed to make your writing compelling. For your book, you need a viewpoint, a position, and a conclusion that you develop fact by fact or step by step as you write your book.

Readers look for an easy read. They look for a book that will help them solve their problem step by step. They need interpretation, perspective and sequence.

The easiest way to come up with a main idea for your book is to follow your passion. To choose a subject that you will be still be passionate about in a year or so, ask yourself these questions:

What ideas are you really passionate about, What ideas do you consistently discuss no matter where you are? What ideas do you really want to share with the world? Where do you see others making the same mistakes you did? How can you help people with your knowledge? What key ideas helped you succeed or caused you to fail? What main idea can make a difference in the lives of others?

This is important because if you pinpoint your passion well, the easier it will be to write a book that expresses what you want to express. Readers enjoy and appreciate passion. Choose a topic you are excited by and let your enthusiasm and excitement spread faster than the common cold.

Your readers will connect to you and be excited by it. They will reward you by reading your book from cover to cover and then tell all their friends about your wonderful, insightful book. Remember, the more passionate you are about your topic the faster you will be able to write, complete and publish your book.


- Earma Brown

I’m writing a novel called “Public Enemies” centered on the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It is centered on a Japanese girl named Reiko Ito and told from her perspective of uncertainty as her family if beaten and forced into Camp Manzanar with several other Japanese families and must survive until the end of the war for 3 years while the fighting is going on until they are released.
- Blaze

I’ve been writing and writing the last few days, and now, the inevitable nightmare of all writers has returned… writer’s block.

I’m stuck on the sentence below. It sounds so amateur and I just can’t do anything to fix it. The sentence is driving me crazy, and I haven’t been able to write anything else. If I could just fix this sentence, I think I’ll be able to continue with the rest of my story.

Could anyone expand this sentence, or modify bits that don’t sound right? (In the story, the car crashes, with the main character - a young girl - and her father inside. The father dies, but the girl survives. This sentence is part of a flashback.)

*The cars span out of control and crashed, the chorus of scathing metal and screams was worse than the pain itself.*
I’m writing in past tense - “The car SPAN…”

I’m also writing in first person, from the perspective of the teenage girl.

I’d like the sentence to be expanded, if anyone can help.
Oops, you’re totally right, I’ve mixed up my tenses. I’ll fix it up. It’s in past tense.
Oh goodness. Sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with my writing today. There’s only one car.
Thanks for all the advice!! I made so many silly mistakes. Trust me, my writing is usually not this horrific.
- Samantha

I have to a creative writing piece (about a thousand words) from a 16 year old girls perspective, and it has to be loosely based on catcher in the rye. I am having real trouble coming up with what to write about, and how to go about it. Like the setting, storyline etc. I haven’t a clue what to do. PLEASE help, I’m getting desperate.
- Pie