This is not a book about the nuts and bolts of sentence structure, grammar, and the like, but one that focuses specifically on what you need to do to successfully begin a writing project and bring it to completion. Anyone who is a writer or who aspires to become a writer will benefit from its advice. Part I of the book discusses how to plan your writing. Matters such as identifying your purpose, considering your target audience, and addressing your anxieties about writing are covered. Part II is about gathering ideas and creating your outline. Useful suggestions include keeping an idea book, maintaining a journal, and holding brainstorming writing sessions. The third part of the book covers the actual writing of the book itself, starting with the first draft and continuing on until you have your final copy. One of the most useful suggestions in this part involves doing freewriting, that is, writing whatever comes to mind and doing it quickly (as a way of stimulating the creative juices).
Part IV is on systematizing the writing process. Perhaps the best piece of advice from this section involves overcoming perfectionism and negative self-talk. This section also talks about the importance of making time for writing, developing your writing routine, and getting rid of distractions.
The last part of the book is titled Getting Your Writing Done. Like the other parts, Part V contains many useful suggestions. One of the best is this: Start very small and build on it. As someone who has written his entire adult life, I have found that the hardest part of writing a book or article is getting into the swing of things. Like training to run a marathon, a writing project takes discipline and conditioning. Beginning with writing small chunks at a time and building one’s writing stamina over time is sound advice.
At the end of the book is a helpful recap that provides a quick summary of all the points and is useful in reinforcing the points made throughout the book.
This is a must read for any aspiring writer.
-Dr. Doug Erlandson, Amazon Top 50 Reviewer
