From idea to publication Episode 3 – Organizing your ideas

From idea to publication – Episode 3 – Organizing your ideas

From idea to publication – you are overcoming your fears… You have an idea and a perfect place to start writing. Now you just sit and write, right?

Well, some people do that – they sit and write. But even the pantsers (people who don’t outline) have some sort of direction before start writing.

Remember your writing classes in high school and college? Well, they can come in handy when you want to start writing your book. The thing is that writing is a process, and if you follow this process, you might just happen to avoid writer’s block.

Nothing is more frustrating than writer’s block. You sit in front of the computer, you’ve got 30 minutes, an hour most, and you just waste it, watching surfing dog videos, because you don’t know what to write.

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Sometimes, you start writing your book desperately, your ideas are flowing, and you feel nothing can stop you. Until something does – you don’t know where you’re going with your ideas anymore.

That’s why planning is so important. If you’re writing fiction, plan your character’s arc, know what is going to happen with each one of them, know what kind of people they are (so you know what kind of choices they’ll make). You may not have the ending very well planned, but at least you know where you’re going.

Write an outline for your plot

With chapters and major events. You don’t necessarily need to write each chapter in chronological order, but it is important to know which chapters you need to write. If your book brings topics like domestic violence, mental health, among others, do some research, read stories from real people. Research is very important.

If you’re writing non-fiction, plan the topic of each chapter beforehand. Have a thesis statement indicating the major idea or argument of each chapter.

For non-fiction writers research is the essence of the book – you need to know what you’re talking about, and you need to show your readers that you’ve done your homework, that they can trust what you’re saying. Gather evidence from experts in your field, interview people if you must.

Use a table and organize your ideas by chapter or section. Put down everything you think of in an organized way. We’re sure that if you do that, you will finish this book in no time.