Excerpt

Chapter: How to write the first draft

When you haven't written a book before, you assume it's easy enough. This is why authors commonly hear things like, 'Oh, yes, I'll write a book someday when I have the time.'

As if time is all you need!

I still find first drafts challenging after more than forty books, but I have some specific processes and tools that help me get it done and may also help you.

There are no rules — find a process that works for your personality and lifestyle

It's important to state upfront that there are no rules. Too many writing books and courses end up making writers feel bad in some way because the suggested process doesn't work for them.

We are all different people, and we all have different lives, so in this chapter, I only offer suggestions, not commandments. Discard any that don't work for you and find your own way into writing. The important thing is finishing the book, however you get there.

I spent years hearing authors say, 'you should write every day,' or 'writers write,' which made me feel guilty, even as I managed to produce finished books.

I've been a full-time author entrepreneur since 2011, and I still don't write every day. Instead, I work in projects and phases.

Once I've decided on the book I'm going to write — my next project — I go deep into research, then I write the first draft in binge writing sessions, clearing my calendar to get it done. Then I edit, publish, and market that book before moving onto the next one.

I rarely work on more than one book project at a time, so most of my actual writing is done in a shorter period during the first draft and editing phase. This process works for me, and you must find what works for you. Here are some more ideas.

Schedule blocks of time for writing — and only write in that time

Scheduling your writing time is the secret to completing a book. If you get your butt in the chair, or stand and dictate, for consistent periods of time, you will finish a draft. While you don't have to write every day, it can be easier to get the first draft done in a compressed period.

If you leave a first draft for months or even years without touching it, you'll find it hard to return to, and the threads of the book will be difficult to pull back together.

I use Google Calendar to schedule my time, and when I'm in the writing phase, I put blocks in for first draft writing. I turn up for those appointments with myself in the same way as I would turn up for an appointment with another professional whose time I respect.

I don't turn up late. I don't cancel on myself. I don't miss sessions.

During each time block, I focus on writing words and finishing draft chapters.

No email or messaging.

No social media.

Just words on the page.

If you can't block out an hour or more of free time, try smaller chunks, or postpone other commitments until you're finished.

During my first draft phase, I reduce and postpone other meetings, appointments, and social events in order to have time to get the writing done.

You need to get black on white and finish that first draft in order to edit it into something useful later.

Find a location that will help you create

Our brains get used to specific locations for specific things. If you always watch TV from the couch, you'll sit down on it and automatically turn the TV on.

If you use your home office for email or accounts, or if it's cluttered with children's toys or unfinished DIY projects, you'll find it hard to write your book there.

I've tried different writing locations over the years. My local café is great for a few hours when I need to get out of the house. I wear noise-cancelling headphones and listen to rain and thunderstorms on repeat. I drink one black coffee per hour, leaving once it gets busy so the café can use the table more profitably.

I've also booked a desk or private room in a local co-working space for writing and dictating, which also gave me the opportunity to meet other people in my area who work remotely and online.

When we lived in London, I used to write in the London Library, and when I had a day job in Australia, I would write from 5:00 a.m. before work in the spare room of our house.

These days I often write in my home office with one of my British shorthair cats, Cashew or Noisette, beside me. If you're a cat person, you can find pictures of them on Instagram @jfpennauthor.

If I find I'm getting too distracted, I put on my noise-cancelling headphones, which helps me focus.

If you're struggling to write, consider finding a different location.

Once you're there, make sure you won't be disturbed. Turn your phone to Do Not Disturb or airplane mode. Turn off social media and email. Put a sign on your door. If you're continually disrupted, get out of the house.

Do whatever it takes to get the words on the page.

Use timed writing sessions

Once you've scheduled your writing blocks, use the time effectively. This might be heads down for the whole time or broken up by small breaks for coffee, stretching, or comfort stops.

Setting a timer can help you focus more intensely.

You'll achieve more if you do several smaller timed chunks than if you try to write for long periods with no scheduled breaks, especially if you haven't yet gained the stamina for long writing sessions.

Use challenges, sprints, and community support

Some writers find it useful to write communally, spurred on by the collective energy of a challenge.

You can find genre communities and groups online — for example, #writingsprint on social media or #5amwritersclub if you're an early bird. Writershour.com offers an online group writing experience, and there are many other online options in every time zone.

You can also find groups of writers who meet at cafés or libraries on Meetup or Eventbrite, so you will probably be able to find something to suit you. Or you could start your own writing group.

Just remember to write and not chat!

Write in any order

As a discovery writer, I write all over the place and I never write in linear order from beginning to end, whether that's a chapter or even a paragraph. My process is quite chaotic, but I get there eventually!

If you find yourself struggling, don't try to write the first sentence of the first chapter first, unless you have such a detailed outline that it's ready to go.

You can jump around and write in any order — especially if you're a discovery writer like me. You can reorder and edit everything later. Just get it all down in the first draft phase.

Track your progress

Writing a book can be daunting, especially if the words are hard to produce and you manage little in some sessions.

But when you break it down, a book is just a series of words arranged in sentences, gathered together into chapters and collected into book form.

If you've managed a sentence, a paragraph, or a page, you have taken another step on the journey. Tracking your progress can help you feel you're achieving something, however small.

Some authors use spreadsheets to track time writing or number of words. You can also add them to a wall chart, or note them in an app.

I keep a year book by my desk where I write a few lines about what happened each day. When I'm writing a first draft, I add a coloured sticker for each writing session, no matter the word count. My inner creative child loves stickers!

I also write in Scrivener, which has a project targets area. You can set and track word count per session and it turns green if you achieve your goal.

I also use coloured flags in the manuscript, turning the chapters yellow when I've finished the first draft. I turn them blue after editing. This makes the manuscript more visually manageable, and if I can change the colour of a flag by the end of a writing session, I feel like I've won the day.

How much do you want this?

If you're struggling to find time to write, or months and years are going by without progress on your book, then revisit the reason you're writing. Does finishing this book really mean that much to you?

We all make time for the things we value.

If you're not making time for writing, then it's not high enough on your priority list.

That's okay, because life is difficult enough without writing a book! The only person who can decide whether it's worth the time is you.

My turning point as an author came when I fully committed to the writing path. I stuck at my consulting job for many years, thinking that it was just what I had to do to get by.

It was only when I started crying at work most days, wondering what the hell I was doing with my life, that I found the necessary motivation to make a change.

I started getting up at 5:00 a.m. to write, learn the craft, and build my author platform. When I returned home after work, I didn't watch TV. I read books on writing, creative business, and online marketing. I started my podcast and YouTube channel, and joined social media.

At the weekends, I ducked out of social arrangements so I could have a whole day for writing. I made time for the book by giving up other things.

Remember, writing is simple, but it's not easy.

Getting black on white can sometimes seem like the hardest thing in the world, and yet your book will be nothing without words on a page.

Getting them down takes time, and setting aside time requires you to make a choice about what you value and what you want to achieve.

Questions:

•Have you scheduled time blocks for writing in your calendar, not just in your head?

•Have you found a location where you can write without being disturbed?

•Have you found ways to stop yourself from being distracted when you write?

•Are you going to use timed writing sessions? How will you break these up?

•How will you track your progress? How will you structure your time so you finish this book? How will you keep yourself focused?

•Where is your line when it comes to using generative AI tools?

•How much do you want this? What will you say to yourself if you struggle with writing?