Writing a book

The first thing a writer needs to do is to read a lot, and write more.

Then, begin by organizing your thoughts. I write my blog (there are guidelines here) to help focus and give me structure! I am mindful of plagiarism and copyright laws, too.

Oprah offers some advice on writing a memoir. The important thing is to write every day. The use of autobiography is a well-documented means by which a person can find healing. After my gr. 6/7/8 students lived through Ice Storm '98, we wrote about it. I have read several good books about writing, but Natalie Goldberg's work continues to be my favourite.

I learned a lot about teaching writing to my gr. 7/8 students from her work. It is hobby or work that requires discipline and it is simply a craft one must practice. For me it has been a hobby. One that has provided much in the way of personal reflection and healing. Once you have created a story, you need to read it, leave it for a time, and reread it. Have a friend read it. Find a creative writing group with which to share it. Mostly, however, read other authors who have written in a similar genre.

The trick to writing a book is to find a story to tell. Most writers begin with what they know. They draw from people they know and create characters from this repertoire. In my case I wrote a memoir. I read all the books I could find that were autobiographies, especially related to cancer. Then, I simply began writing and wrote every day.

It is important to write often. Oprah has a few ideas and writing prompts. The key is to keep on writing. Putting words to paper calls up a need to align various brain cells. We were not a reading/writing animal in the past. In humans this is a fairly recent development. We know that the brain is plastic (Doidge, 2007) and can learn new things at all ages. Writing improves your mind in cortical stimulation and calling up cognitive resources that allow us to go from concrete to abstract thought and concrete thought in a process that changes our thoughts (Wolf, 2007).

Brain research (Jilks, 2007) shows that the more we use our brains to think, write and reflect, the more facile it becomes. The more we talk about our work, better able we are to articulate it. This is why both book clubs and writer's clubs benefit the novice writer.

There is a difference, too, between writing a book and publishing a book. I found the former much easier than the latter!
I was once teaching writing to students in a Sp. Ed. gr. 3 -7 class. I was trying to have them use more adjectives. One little guy in gr. 3 said he could define the difference between a noun and an adjective. Nouns you can 'hold in your hand', but adjectives just 'fly off your pen'!

Since beginning to write my book I have been listening faithfully to Writers & Company (CBC.ca). I have learned much and listened to podcasts on shows about writers and writing quite faithfully. Ms.Wachtel asks great questions on Writers & Company, and I have had my eyes opened up to new books. The best was discovering Beauvoir's A Very Easy Death. Who knew someone else wrote about her mother's death?

The benefits of writing are deep and profound. Autobiography has been shown to assist those in coming to terms with events, with understanding their thoughts, and resolving conflicts. I urge you to sit down every day and put pen to paper. You will find it will help you.