Why You Should Write Your Book

It’s time to stop procrastinating and just do it

I believe many of us long to share our stories with the world. Yet often procrastination and self-doubt prevent us from taking that first step.

Do you dream of writing a book?

Writing a novel was a lifelong dream of mine. I wrote my first story of significant length when I was 14 years old. It was 104 pages of A4, handwritten in fountain pen, about siblings who went away to boarding school in southern England when their parents had to move abroad for work. I still have it, tucked away in a file in my drawer of random keepsakes.

To be honest it cracks me up now. I knew nothing at 14 and that’s reflected in almost every word and definitely in every trope that I had picked up from books such as “The Chalet School” (Elinor M. Brent-Dyer), “Malory Towers” and “St Clare’s” (Enid Blyton ). That said, I love that I wrote it and that I still have it. It’s a really fun part of my evolution as a writer.

Do you tell yourself it‘s a bit of a ‘pipe dream’?

I always said I wanted to write novels and publish a book one day. But I kind of tucked it away in my dreamy ‘maybe one-day’ box. In the meantime, I got on with my life and my “real job” — teaching.

After my kids were born, I wrote fanfic for a while. I didn’t take it all that seriously. It didn’t occur to me to question the fact I was writing multiple stories with thousands and thousands of words, much less imagine that I could make something more out of it.

Writing was purely for fun. I loved the real-time feedback from my readers. There’s nothing better than knowing someone else is enjoying what you write and that you can brighten another person’s day. I also loved connecting with fellow fanfic writers and sharing ideas and thoughts about our stories.

Do you hide your writing?

I didn’t have much confidence in myself. I told myself that my writing was only liked in my fanfic genre because people liked the character pairing I was into, not because I was particularly any good as a writer.

I wrote under a pseudonym and haven’t told any of my real-life friends what that was. In fact, I doubt I ever will. I took the opportunity within fanfic to try things I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. Not that it was weird or anything, just immature, I guess. It was more character-driven than plot-driven. I didn’t plan anything out. I just wrote what came into my head. I think it was a brilliant way to practice and grow as a writer though.

Does the thought of sharing terrify you?

I didn’t believe I was good enough that anyone would actually want to pay money to read what I was writing. So I was too afraid to even try to write with the aim of publishing. I worried that rejection would devastate my self-esteem even further and possibly put me off writing for life. I didn’t want to lose a hobby I loved. So I kept to fanfic.

Except, there was one story I wrote that I loved. So I shared it with my parents and sister. I thought they’d hate it or think it was silly. But they didn’t. They told me they enjoyed it. Do you know what I told myself then? Yep, I told myself that they were only saying that because they were my family and trying to be supportive. My inner critic was truly unrelenting back then.

Do you find yourself wondering what if?

A couple of years ago I randomly read that story I had shared with my family several years before. I had forgotten a lot of what I had written, so it felt like I was reading it for the first time. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. In fact, I couldn't put it down. I was blown away that it was I who had actually written it. It didn’t seem possible.

In the years since I had written that story, I had done a lot of work on myself. It involved diving deep and looking at my childhood trauma and unearthing a lot of things that were affecting my self-confidence and holding me back in life. Coming to my book from a new perspective where I no longer tied my self-worth to a futile attempt to try to please the whole world, I started to wonder… Since I had enjoyed it so much, maybe it meant that others might too.

Are you afraid of criticism?

Art and creativity are so subjective. We all have our own unique tastes and preferences. If I had remained focused on the fear of people not liking my book and harshly criticizing it, I think I would have kept it hidden forever.

It’s impossible to please everyone, but what you have to say through your writing will resonate with someone, somewhere.

I think as writers the only thing we can do is be as authentic as we can. What happens after that is dependent on the individual reader. Some will like it, some will not. If you don’t believe me, take a few moments to go and read some of the negative reviews of the most revered authors out there. Even the ones who’ve made millions and have received numerous awards have people who dislike their work.

Who are you really writing for?

Someone who hates your writing probably won’t read it anyway, so why even worry about them? Isn’t it better to focus on the readers who do enjoy your stories?

You can never know the extent of the impact your writing might have on a reader. A character or an event in your book might inspire someone in a way you never imagined. Or maybe, for a moment, it will help someone feel less alone, or seen in their own struggles. You know this is true. Just think of all the times you’ve read something that someone else has written that has impacted you.

What are you waiting for?

If writing a book is something you dream of, but you find yourself hesitating, I think you should go ahead and do it. You will tell yourself any number of things to convince yourself that your time could be better spent doing something else. But I don’t think you’d regret spending the time on writing a book. I definitely don’t regret that first book I scrawled by hand at the age of 14, even though it will always remain for my eyes only.

I think it’s important to just write and not think too far beyond that. You can always decide what to do with your book later. Writing is a process and you learn so much about yourself from going through it. When you start, you have no idea where it might lead. The only thing you do know is that you might regret it if you don’t give it a try.