How do I write a book?

This was the question I continuously asked myself. Where do I start in terms of writing? I thought there was a certain way you needed to have things in order to write a compelling story. I'm here to tell you that there is no right or wrong way when it comes to writing a book.

Personally, for me, it all started with a scene. Just one simple scene and a whole book stemmed from there. I know that sounds crazy, but that is how it happened to me. I didn't write out each character and their background stories, and I didn't plan out each chapter. I just wrote what came to me, then when I was finished, I made sure everything was cohesive. I'm not saying this will work for you, but it is one way to start.

I started my first book at the beginning of 2022 but put it aside to start a different idea. My heart was getting pulled in a different direction, so I followed it. I ended up writing One More Race in three weeks and published it shortly after. They say the first book is special and I have to agree, not because it was the first but because it was part of me. I put personal experiences in my book and it brought me back to a time I love, race season. I think that is why it came together so fast for me. I needed that feeling of being on the track and I brought that to myself with my story.

After I finished that story, I went back to The Reason. I had already 30,000 words written, but I didn't know where I wanted to take the story. I knew I wanted the message to be that it's never too late to start over. I want all my books to have meaning and show people that it's okay to do things differently. I had trouble writing this when I got to the middle. I knew whom I wanted the main character to end up with and I had to fight the urge to jump right to that part every time I sat down to write.

Getting through the character development and getting into the end game is the best feeling you can have when creating a story. After I finished The Reason I was so excited but then came editing. I absolutely hate editing. I know I could have hired someone to edit for me but I wanted to do everything myself because I didn't have the funds to hire anyone. That was one of the main reasons why I self-published. I wanted my stories out there for others to read, but I needed to do it as close to free as possible.

I'll get into editing in another post because that is its own entire subject that needs to be talked about. My whole writing experience has been to go with the flow and write what I want to write, don't force it. I know some writers are very organized in making a story and that makes sense. There is a lot that goes into a story, but I wanted to share my experience to show writers that any way of writing can result in a book. Some days, I didn't write at all because nothing was coming to me and that's okay.

If you have an idea for a story, let your mind bring you to it. Start small and build on it when things come to you. This is cliche but as the saying goes, Rome wasn't built overnight. Great things take time and you don't need to rush, writing should always be enjoyable. When it becomes not enjoyable is when you need to step back and think about why you're writing.