Most well-known and accomplished authors stick to a particular genre for their books. For exa2mple, Agatha Christie preferred writing a murder mystery, detective story, and crime fiction genre. Enid Blyton and Ruskin Bond are associated with children’s fiction and stories. J K Rowling writes fantasy drama and young adult fiction. Jane Austen and Nora Robers have won the hearts of their readers with their romance literature. Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Perrault are dub you are a blogger, content creator, journalist or even an avid reader, it is highly unlikely that you haven’t read the work of either of these famous authors or genres at least once in your life. Tell us how many of you haven’t secretly wished to walk in their footsteps and publish your book?
Well, if you are thinking of writing a book and need some powerful writing tips, here is all the help you need.
- Live the Storyline and Characters
What will be the storyline? How will the main plot and subplots unfold? What do my characters look like? How do they behave?
You have to breathe life into your story and characters. You have to know your characters and feel their emotions so well that readers feel as if they are living those characters. This can happen only when you give wings to your imagination and fantasize about them in your mind.
You can even sketch or draw the storyline or characters like J K Rowling of Harry Potter series fame did while imagining her characters. The idea is to get creative and find a way to bring your story and characters alive.
- Prepare an Outline
You just can’t write about characters, scenes, or sub-plots randomly and then join the dots. You need to have a proper and well-thought structure for your book. When you have an outline, you can be more focused and finish the book faster. An outline is like a storyboard – it gives you a layout as to what you want to write and how you want to sequence the chapters.
Before creating an outline, you need to determine why you are writing this book and who will be your target audience. This will help you to start the book on the right foot.
An outline comprises the following elements:
- Chapter hook
- Introduction
- Main idea or topic
- Supporting content
- Chapter takeaway if any
- Tie back and transition
- Chapter by chapter structure
- Character profiles
- Climax
You might need to tweak the outline at regular intervals depending on how your plot is developing.
- Write Emotional Hooks
Why do some books go on to become bestsellers while others gather dust on the shelves? It is the emotional content that makes all the difference. Readers will turn the pages of your book only when they find it gripping and relatable with their emotions. Emotions make the characters real and make readers experience their feelings.
Emotional hooks are a powerful weapon in every author’s arsenal. They tease the emotions out of the readers. Hence, check every scene or chapter you write for emotion analysis. Evoke the emotions through the words, expressions, body language, and actions of the characters.
You should portray emotions in such a way that the readers feel all the feelings for weeks or months, and remember them with emotions every time they recollect them. They should feel the romance, thrill, horror, surprise, amusement, joy, or whatever emotion you are trying to convey. They should be transported into the world of your story.
If you need some help incorporating the right emotions in your book, you can leverage AI content creation tool called Instoried. It can conduct the sentiment analysis of your story, and make smart recommendations in real-time to boost emotional engagement.
- Use Concrete Imagery
Concrete imagery refers to graphic descriptions in terms of objects, colors, sounds and textures to communicate scenes to the readers. It also refers to the use of similes and metaphors. The description is so strong and elaborate that it paints a picture in the mind of readers. It appeals to all senses of the readers. It is as if they can see, feel, touch, or hear every scene in the book. It connects words to strong associations.
Let’s explain with an example.
“The room was filled with flowers. Aisha saw in the clock that it was midnight and it was her birthday already.” (lack of imagery)
“The palatial room, dimly lit with expensive chandeliers, was decorated with red roses and white lilies, blooming in their full glory. Aisha looked at the grandfather’s clock, standing tall and proud in the corner of the room, chime 12:00 midnight to welcome her 30th birthday. (use of imagery)
Dan Brown, one of the popular authors, uses concrete imagery in his smash hit ‘The Da Vinci Code’. The way he described the city of Paris along with each riddle and clue hid in the works of Leonardo da Vinci to unravel the murder mystery in his book is simply mind-blowing.
- Separate Narration and Dialogues
Dialogue is a conversation – it is about what is being said. Narration fills the space and time gap and non-verbally conveys what is left unsaid.
If your book contains both narrative and dialogues, it is advisable to separate them via paragraphs. A mix of both in the same paragraph will make them ineffective. At times, powerful and hard-hitting dialogues can get lost in narration.
Example of Narration and Dialogues Separation:
“I see that you haven’t got a car to commute. Can I drop you somewhere?” Alex said to Nora. (dialogue)
Nora who was engrossed in hailing a cab from the pavement outside their plush office in New York suburbs suddenly jumped at Alex’s voice. Not willing to engage in conversation with him, she ignored him and sat inside the cab that had stopped by her side. (narrative)
- Stick to Chronological Storyline
Some authors write stories that move to and fro between different periods and flashbacks. However, it can confuse the readers if the transition is not smooth. Hence, it is advisable to follow a chronological order for the storyline unless you are very sure about writing the transitions seamlessly.
Conclusion
Writing a book is a no mean feat. It calls for months and years of patience as an author. At times, it can get frustrating when you face writer’s block or the story is not developing to your liking. However, irrespective of the challenges, you need to maintain discipline and perseverance to get going. Treat your book like a baby and nurture it with your love.
