The Writing Biz
Are You Working on a Book Project?
Would love to hear about it
Recently, my husband suggested that I should start writing a book. It would be centered on our lives. I’ve been through a lot of shit and so has he.
Born in Trinidad & Tobago, my husband relocated to New York City (Brooklyn) when he was still just a boy. Thus, he always has many intriguing stories to tell… like that his father was in the mob.
Wow! At first, I thought he was pulling my leg… until I talked to his siblings, and they had the same stories.
I myself grew up in a religious cult, lost my dear mother when I was only 17 and ended up living an acutely tumultuous life. I was homeless several times, recovered from a debilitating mental illness and earned an English degree.
What I really mean to say is that we have plenty of things to write about.
However, it’s not just the details alone. It’s the way the story is told that is most important, right?
That’s the truly hard part to figure out. How best to tell the story.
Content vs book writing
Content writing is of course much different than writing a book. Content writing online is pretty nice and convenient because you can churn out small little tidbits at a time and hit publish. Platforms like Medium then make it pretty simple to attract an audience.
Books are much different. A writer has to capture a person’s attention from the beginning and hold it for a significant duration. This takes a slightly different skill set, don’t you think?
Plus, then the book has to be marketed and all that jazz.
Fiction vs non-fiction
Although I loved reading fiction when I was younger, I haven’t been into it for a long time. Truth is indeed stranger, and crazier, than fiction, so reading non-fiction has become my thing.
Still, I do have some ideas for some great fiction book projects.
Dedication and stamina
Writing a book is a huge endeavor. Like, for real! I worked on a few book projects when I was younger, but I’m much older now and it just seems daunting.
My greatest hurdle at this point is just getting started, and that indeed takes dedication and stamina for the long haul. Honestly, not sure if I’m quite there yet, I’m too hooked on online content writing at the moment to stop and dedicate at least part of that time to writing a book.
But, I’m thinking seriously about it!
Your turn
So, I’m interested in hearing about you and your project(s) as I’m sure there are many people here who are working on writing a book at this very minute… or at least are thinking about writing a book.
- Have you started yet? Or like me are you just thinking about it?
- If you have started, what strategies are you employing to help keep you going? Do you have writing habits?
- How far along are you in your project?
- Have you hit any snags? Are you keeping up the momentum or are you having trouble?
Would love to hear about it!
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