An authors guide to writing

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An authors guide to writing By Phoebe M.C.

An author's guide to writing is my book on all the things I wish I knew before starting to write my first book from how to world build, the pros and cons of self-publishing and so much more.

I started to write this book back in 2020 when I published my first four books and have been slowly writing it ever since. This book is literally everything I have learned about writing, self publishing, editing  and marketing over the past three years

Starting A New Book: What You Need To Know

I am no stranger to starting new books and while I am no expert in writing and all of that I would say I know a fair bit about the drafting process and getting those first 500 words on the page.

starting a new book for me depends on two key factors, is it a solo book or a series? I will be getting into how I do both.

solo book: 

now solo books are the easiest for me because I have less preparation to do. typically I start out with my idea and do the quickest brainstorm ever literally all I have for a new book is this
project name
blurb
main characters
key info

an actual example from one of my plans

and then I just start writing.

series:

Now for me when it comes to series I have to be on the ball with it. I typically start with a
book idea,
then I make a book bible,
write out a small book plan,
project name
do what I do for solo books
then I start writing. 

things to know before starting a new book are:

• what you want the book to be about
• who your main characters are and there relationships to one another
• a ballpoint of how many words you want it to be  
• what the genre is 

that's really all there is to it, everyone has there own way of writing and that's okay you just have to find out how you do it and you'll be set

Things to know about your characters

Having started a Pinterest board filled with pins around writing. I have slowly begun to realize while I am a good writer (maybe biased, but I have faith in myself and my abilities) I could have more planning done to make my job that bit easier. 

I have been a panster for as long as I can remember which is why I love book bibles because I can pants my way through the book but remember vital information that I may forget in the long run like the colours of the characters eyes, birthdays and more.

However, because I am starting more series of books, I need to plan ahead in a sense which I find planning some things to be useful, and they could also be helpful in my solo books like full character outlines.

So I have made an extensive list of things both big and small I have found very useful to know from the start, and while your characters will change and grow throughout your the story, it can be a good idea to start with an outline and change it as you go.

characters full name:

reason or meaning of name: 

characters nickname:

reason for the nickname:

gender:

birthday:

age:

mothers name:

fathers name:

siblings:

friends:

how old does he/she look:

height:

body build:

eye colour:

skin tone:

distinguishing features or marks (scars, glasses, tattoos etc.):

hair colour:

type of hair:

hairstyle:

does your character have any disabilities or disorders and what:

family situation:

friend situation:

home town:

type of childhood:

pets:

dream job:

actual job:

education:

religion:

finances:

current location:

currently living with:

bad experiences in life:

good experiences in life:

good traits:

bad traits:

mood character is often in:

sense of humour:

characters greatest joy in life:

characters fear:

nervous tics:

flaws:

hobbies:

does your character smoke:

drink:

do any drugs:

favourite colour:

least favourite colour:

logical or emotional:

daredevil or cautious:

introvert or extrovert:

there you have it my list of things I find useful to know about my characters. let me know what you find useful in the comments if it isn't already on the list