Let's Talk About How You Write a Book
I am seeing a ton of people I vaguely know posting that they are starting to write a memoir or a novel and that makes me super excited for them.
And a tiny bit worried.
Why worried?
Well:
I worry about everyone. It is who I am.
I know it’s hard for some of us to get that first book out.
We sometimes don’t make it. I want everyone to make it.
So, I’m starting a quickie three-part series on how you actually write a damn book.
This is not guru-level stuff. And I will give some contradicting advice.
Why?
I’m anti guru, honestly.
I think that our very human brains often process things differently and instead of acting like a jerk face who says “this is the only way to write—my way,” I’m going to leave the space for those differences.
I’m also not going to say self-promoting things like “write a NYT bestselling book like me” or “I’ve taught soooo many writers.” That’s just gross to me.
Sorry! Sorry! I know! I am totally ruining it without the guru vibe.
Let’s get started.
This is really bare bones, by the way. We’re going to split it into three groupings just like the three acts of a play.
The first is fittingly called THE STARTING. This is where you begin. I know! I know! So obvious.
The second will be SURVIVING THE MUCKY MIDDLE. This is where you try not to stop or get bogged down by doubt.
The third will be called HOLY CRAP IS IT ALMOST DONE? IT IS! IT IS FINISHED! These are the finishing up steps.
THE STARTING!
I’m vaguely afraid of headers now because they remind me of AI writing, but let’s go with them anyway.
YOUR FIRST BIG DECISION: WHAT ARE YOU WRITING ABOUT
This is honestly a big deal. You have to decide what you’re writing about.
Some of us have a general idea. One of my books was inspired by a random guy at a fair who had a fabric tail and smelled like rotting vegetation. All I had for an idea was him, pixie apocalypse and tweak some tropes. And then I just wrote.
Some people are a bit more of a planner and less of an improviser type brain.
So, some of us use log lines to create our idea.
Some of us create outlines.
Some of us go to a website like Story Planner to help us figure it out.
And some of us just think “beginning, middle, end.”
There is no one right way, just find a way.
YOUR SECOND BIG ACTION: ACTUALLY START
So the next big step is to actually put words on the page. You laugh, but a lot of us just talk about our ideas and never actually start writing.
For many of us, we need accountability. So, we set word count goals or we say, “I’ll write a page a day.” Or we say, I will write for 30 minutes, one hour, whatever time, with no distractions.
There are authors out there who write once every three months and in a mad, wild, glorious rush. That’s okay if it’s you. There is no one right way to write. You just want to pick your way.
YOUR SECOND BIG DECISION: FIGURING OUT WHEN AND WHERE TO WRITE
For a lot of us need to have a consistent time to write every day or else we don’t write at all.
If you find yourself not writing, this might be you. You might be one of those writers who needs to be consistent, to have a set space and place and time to write every day or every other day.
If you are this kind of writer, a deadline can be a great tool. So can a schedule and a timer.
You also might be the type of writer who needs a set place to write (at a desk with a cup of ginger mint tea in your favorite rainbow manatee mug with Metallica in the background maybe?). That’s cool.
Or you might be the type of writer who ends up in a rut when they always write in the same place.
Either is totally fine. You just want to not dwell on it too much and procrastinate or delay writing because you need a perfect space.
STRUCTURE OF A STORY
I also want to take a quick moment in this post to talk very briefly about the structure of a story.
That’s because the structure of a story is sort of a pain in the butt for a lot of writers.
In a story (in our culture in general right now), the structure sort of goes like this:
Something happens.
Which causes something else to happen.
Which makes something else happen.
And the evil part of being a writer is that you have to hack out all the things that aren't part of those steps. You have to keep that something happens-makes something else happen-causes something else to happen movement in all the scenes in your story.
What are the scenes? They are the places where things happen.
Some writers use a magical tool called a Step Outline to figure all this out.
What's a Step Outline?
It's something I just made into a proper noun. A step outline (no longer a proper noun) is where you show the way your story develops by outlining the scenes.
So, for an example, the story I'm working on right now goes:
A girl and her friend sends in the girl's DNA test to figure out who her father is.
She freaks out about this and her friend comforts her by the ocean but she has a horrible feeling.
At work that horrible feeling continues and she gets an ambulance call that a girl's been hit by a car.
She rushes to the scene and is the first one there. The area is crowded with tourists and the little girl dies. Something magical is emitted from our hero's hands and the little girl comes back to life.
The video of the rescue goes viral and two strangers come to her work, discussing her healing the girl and the lack of a man's name on her birth certificate.
As I write that down, I realize it isn't perfect. How does scene two truly bleed into scene three in the manuscript? Now, I know that I have to go back and make that connection a bit stronger. Step outlines are magic that way. By breaking the scenes down, we see the connections but also the gaps, the places where we need to make it stronger.
You can also break down those steps and bigger scenes into smaller scenes. Every beat of action doesn't deserve a step, but every little scene does.
Step outlines are a pretty basic tool, but they are pretty brilliant ways of understanding the cause and effect and pacing of our stories. Try it out and tell me what you think.
And good luck. Next time, we’ll be talking about that murky middle phase of writing your book, but get started okay? You’ve got this.
A QUICK EXERCISE TO HELP YOU WITH THAT VERY FIRST STEP: YOUR IDEA.
Describe your idea.
What genre do you like? Is this the genre your idea fits in?
What do you believe in? Really believe in? Can this relate to the theme of your book?
What sort of people or zombie hamsters appeal to you? Who fascinates you? Can they be a character?
Is there a place or setting that feels meaningful to you? Can that be in your story?
Do you have an idea for a symbol or image that can repeat throughout your story?
PLACE TO SUBMIT - RALEIGH REVIEW
ENTRY FEE: $7 USD.
The Raleigh Review Fiction Team will serve as the judges.
PRIZES
First Prize includes $300 USD and publication in the Spring 2026 issue.
Finalists will receive our standard $15 payment along with publication.
All Finalists will receive a 2-year subscription to Raleigh Review.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Opens via Duosuma for the month of June - fee free (tip jar optional).
Opens via Submittable for a small fee on July 1.
Deadline is October 31.
Submit up to two unpublished works of flash per entry.
Flash works should be no longer than 1000 words each, combine both stories
in one file.Entries are only accepted via Submittable.
Attached files should be free of personal identifiers such as name, address, phone and email, social media handles, etc.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable. If one or more flash work is selected for publication by another magazine, please leave a note on your submission via Submittable.
Multiple entries are acceptable.
Failure to meet guidelines may result in disqualification.
Current students of Raleigh Review editorial staff and Raleigh Review board members are not eligible to enter.
This contest is open to writers who reside in the US (regardless of immigration status).
Those outside the USA are most welcome to submit to this prize though the payment for any winners who happen to be based outside the USA will be in copies of Raleigh Review since we are not permitted to mail checks outside our own country.
There are no additional waivers or fee free opportunities for our fiction prizes outside the June fee free period.
QUICK NOTE FROM ME
If you think all the content I write over the year is worth $6 a month and you can afford to send that along? That is super awesome and kind. Thank you. If not, no worries! Just stay around and read the free posts, okay? And try not to resent me for the paid ones.
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That’s me trying to sell. I am terrible at it, I know.
Here’s an old post with a ton of resources.
