From Big Idea to Book
Create a Writing Practice That Brings You Joy
Erschienen am 12. April 2022
187 Seiten
978-1-64841-068-0 (ISBN)
Beschreibung
Want to write a book? Half the battle is finding a practice that works for you. Successful author and creativity expert Jessie Kwak is here to help you do just that-and have fun doing it. In her view, every part of the process is important: idea generation, development, research, planning, drafting, revising, and publication and are all covered here in friendly, accessible detail. As in her previous book, From Chaos to Creativity, Kwak helps you set up a system that makes the most of your creative ideas and helps them find their best form-and their audience. Fiction and nonfiction writers alike can use this book as a muse, a checklist, and a resource for getting your ideas out of your head and into the world. With a foreword by Charlie Gilkey, author of Start Finishing.
Weitere Details
Inhalt
- Intro
- From Big Idea to Book
- FOREWORD
- INTRODUCTION: Learning to Love the Process
- Who Is This Book For?
- About This Book
- Take Action
- PART ONE: PLANNING
- Planning Is Writing
- A Couple of Notes
- Take Action
- COMING UP WITH IDEAS
- Get Inspired
- Get Bored
- Get Distracted
- Scratch Out Small Ideas
- Start Brainstorming
- List What Thrills You
- Keeping Track of Your Ideas
- Take Action
- DEVELOPING YOUR IDEA
- Step 1: Find the Spark and Improvise on It
- Step 2: Define the Core and Feel Out the Edges
- Step 3: Write Out Your Idea Succinctly
- Take Action
- UNDERSTANDING YOUR AUDIENCE
- Defining Your Audience
- Take Action
- RESEARCHING YOUR BOOK
- Nonfiction
- Fiction
- Knowing When to Stop Research
- Take Action
- OUTLINING
- Outlining Nonfiction
- Break Down Your Idea to Find the Story
- Take Action
- Outlining Fiction
- Pantsing
- Plotting
- Story Structure
- Take Action
- Understanding the Size of Your Idea
- PART TWO: DRAFTING
- WORKING THE WORD MINES
- Create the Brain Space
- Mine Those First-Draft Words
- Commit to Making Time
- Where Should You Start Writing?
- Take Action
- SILENCE YOUR CRITICAL VOICE
- Remember That No One Writes Amazing First Drafts
- Visualize-and Neutralize-Your Critical Voice
- Get a Change of Scenery
- Practice Low-Stakes Writing
- Just Get Going
- Keeping Your Critical Voice from Silencing You
- Take Action
- GETTING UNSTUCK
- Figure Out Why You're Stuck
- Leave Yourself a Crumb Trail
- Refill the Creative Well
- Reconnect with Your Why
- Take Action
- FINISHING THE DRAFT
- Take Action
- PART THREE: REVISING
- FOUR STEPS TO REVISION
- Rediscovering the Core Idea
- Take Action
- Fixing the Major Problems
- Read Through Your Draft and Catalog Problems
- Start Big and Go Small
- Take Action
- Fixing Section-Level Problems
- Fiction
- Nonfiction
- Take Action
- Polishing Your Prose
- Take Action
- WORKING WITH EARLY READERS
- Critique Partners
- Beta Readers
- Alpha Readers
- Tips for Working with Early Readers
- Take Action
- Working with an Editor
- A Field Guide to Editors
- Drafting Stage
- Polishing Stage
- Hiring the Right Editor
- Working with Editors
- The Editorial Letter
- Line Edits and Copy Edits
- PART FOUR: WHAT'S NEXT?
- PUT IT OUT THERE
- Traditional Route
- Self-Publishing Route
- Which Should You Choose?
- Find Community
- And Finally . . .
- RESOURCES
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- FOOTNOTES
