How I write a book

 As soon as an idea pops into my head a write a few notes about it. That idea may not be followed up on for weeks, months, or even years. When I do follow up on an idea I build up as much information as I can about my 'story' line; whether it is a fiction or non-fiction book. Then I research to make sure that what I am writing about is feasible.

This is when the interesting bit takes place, you would surprised at some of the ideas you get from research, stuff you find by accident. The next job is to build a framework. In the case of non-fiction I decide what I am going to address in each separate section or chapter. At this stage I don't worry about where the sections are going to be placed in the book. In the case of fiction I begin to build an idea of the plot. Once the plot is established I decide who is going to take part; a brief outline of the main characters. When I decide who my main character is going to be I work on their background, where they came from, what they work at, their likes and dislikes, who they live with, etc.; their history.

It is not until I have covered everything I need to know about my 'story' line and the 'facts' that I start to write. Believe when I say write, I mean write. I just allow everything to go on paper, conversations, what people eat and when, thoughts, fears; in fact everything that enters my head. I just write until I think I have finished. Sometimes I end up with enough words to make War and Peace look like a short story.

Then the hard work begins. I do a first edit. Swopping things around, adding stuff, taking stuff out. I always keep the original draught, just in case. At this stage I don't worry how the book reads to anyone else. By the twentieth edit I usually have something that reads as it should. Then I check spelling, grammar, etc. I may even get someone else to double check.; this is a slow process usually one or two chapters a day to make sure I don't miss anything.

Only when I feel reasonably comfortable with my work do I think about publishing. By this time I have probably ditched about three quarters of the original draught and added about fifty percent of new stuff.