Right in the middle of my desktop.
The folder called “Book Ideas” to write my novel.
This folder devoured every idea that came into my head. I once typed three words on a blank sheet of paper. Months later, even a few lines.
And further?
At some point I began to fear the blank page. Shrugging my shoulders, I concluded: writer's block .
But why? If a surgeon never has a costa rica telegram screening blockage during surgery, a cook never has a blockage during spaghetti, and a construction worker never has a blockage during construction?
Because it's their job.
And because they follow a proven process that always gets them to their goal.
“A story is not like a road to be followed,” wrote Alice Munro, “it is more like a house.”
So to create a finished book you don't need a long roadmap, but rather a simple set of instructions.
I will give this to you today.
Here are the 8 steps that will take your novel from the foundation stone to the finished living room:
Step 1: Lay the foundation for your novel
Now it gets unpleasant:
Lower your expectations.
Yes, you read that right.
Accept that your first book will not be a masterpiece. It might even be terrible. The main thing is that you finish it. Because then you know that you can write a book and that the next book will bring you closer to the masterpiece.