Has it always been your dream to write a book? Do you have a great idea for a mystery novel, a romance for women’s fiction, or an interesting life story to tell as a memoir? Now is the time to put your ideas to paper and write your book.

Starting the process of writing a book can seem overwhelming. Here are a few tips to write your book.

If you are writing fiction, or a novel, the first and most important step is developing the story, or plot, of your book. Before you concern yourself with the details, start simply and build up the general story arc of your book. You should be able to describe your story in a concise paragraph of about five sentences incorporating the beginning, middle, and end. My book is about …….

The next step in writing your book is choosing the characters. It is important to develop strong characters that the reader will connect with. Start with the protagonist, as this will be the main focus of your book, then develop the secondary characters. It may be helpful to take a sheet of paper for each character with their name, physical description, their role in the story, and their motivations simply outlined.

Once you have set out the plot and characters, you can begin to plan further details that will help you write your book. Begin by developing your plot and setting goals and conflicts. The protagonist must have a goal, that drives the plot forward. Then you must establish conflict by presenting obstacles for the protagonist, to create tension and keep the readers turning the pages. Finally, choose a setting as the backdrop as you write your book. Whether using a real location, or developing your own world, it is important to describe the setting for the readers. It will influence the plot, characters, and dialogue, to make your story more believable.

You can now begin to write your book using all of these tips to help you as you go along.

If you are writing a memoir or narrative non-fiction book, the process to write your book is a bit different, as it is based on real life. The first step is to focus on a theme, or message, that will connect the various events in your life. Start with either one moment in time, or a series of moments which make up the theme. Write around the theme, show how you see and think about this idea, and share other experiences in your life. Next you should choose the structure of your book. Are you going to write your book in chronological order of events, or based on similar ideas? This is important to consider. Often a writer will pull out one moment in his or her life and start there and then go back to the beginning of their book.

Finally, for non-fiction it is important to develop your authentic voice. Whether you are writing a memoir and telling your own story, or sharing history, or writing a book where you are an expert in the field, as an author you are the authority on the subject and need to develop an honest, engaging voice. As everyone is staying home, now is a great time to write your book. Central Park South Publishing is always looking for new authors and would be happy to read your book and help you publish it when you are ready.

Learn more from our website www.centralparksouthpublishing.com or contact us at centralparksouthpublishing@gmail.com