One of the main questions I get asked is “how do you get time to write a book?” Well, don’t forget The Luke Bright Series took over ten years to write. These things don’t happen instantly. But how do you actually go about writing one? That’s what I’m discussing this week. How, in my opinion, you write a book.

It may seem daunting, as books are traditionally quite long. You can look at a giant paperback and wonder how on earth did an author do all that? I look at mine and wonder that too at times. But if that had always been the goal from the start, it probably wouldn’t have happened. I always wrote from a young age, even if they were just short stories, and eventually they just began to grow. From a couple of sides of pages, to ten, twenty, thirty, to a hundred and then a couple hundred more. As a story progresses and you find more to say, you just do write more. However, you have to plan enough meaningful content to write a book that size, and that means giving your book a structure. And a storyline.

A lot of books follow the three act structure, but I was recently told that my books are unusual as they don’t follow that. The series itself does but the individual books don’t. With each book I want there to be little missions and an overarching mission which all tie into the series mission. So, when I plan, I start with the backbone of the overall book – what I want to achieve between beginning to end, and then the little missions on the way and then how they can be bulked up. I try to mix the calmer scenes with the right pace of action and tension, so I know roughly what sorts of scenes should follow which. But, having that structure does help. Knowing what has to happen and when.

In The Luke Bright Series, the books generally flow between each other in terms of time, which is may seem like one continuous long story but each book is really split up into about three sections (four for book four) which could each be its own part. These are the big three or four main events that occur in the books and whilst each are generally separate, they all build up into the main story. Have a look back at Atlantic Split and At Liberty To Live and see where the divides are.

But what about the ideas themselves? Sometimes (and I think this is the best reason to try writing a book) you just get an idea that just won’t shift. It won’t go away until you develop it and I think if the urge to do that is far stronger than ignoring it, that’s when you know you have to write it. But then what next? Next you have to work out how to form the plot and make it interesting. You need the brain of an author. Believe it or not it’s not just about thinking creatively but logically too. A lot of it is about getting from A to B but firstly in a logical way, secondly in a creative way and thirdly in an original way. Sometimes these solutions just come to you but sometimes it takes time and research. That’s how you progress a plot and those mini missions get made up by those points. Obviously you can’t just fill a book with constant struggle but balance that with character development and your themes, and you get yourself a story.

Finally, though I’m sure I could go on about writing books for hours, I’ll move onto my final point. The characters. It takes a long time to develop good characters and I think that’s the hardest part. However, you can use a number of techniques such as research, looking at real people you know, finding common characteristics or stereotypes to fill to build a real person. Or you can take inspiration from other types of characters. If you do a personality quiz like this, you can get a good insight into how people work. But I think it’s really getting into the head of a character that matters and there are exercises all over the internet and masterclasses that can help you do that. For me, I just know Luke inside out after spending over ten years with him in my head (which sounds odd) but also because I took a lot of inspiration from myself to develop who he is. That’s how I know him and can develop him so well, and it’s become very easy to do so. However, with new characters, it’s a lot harder. But, it’s a challenge I’m willing to take on as I write more books following The Luke Bright Series.

That’s the thing with being a writer – it’s something you just can’t switch off.

Atlantic Split and At Liberty To Live, the first and second books in The Luke Bright Series are available to purchase NOW! An Undercover Dream – the third book in the series will be released in SUMMER 2019! 

Please follow me on my blog and social media links below, and use the links on my website to purchase a copy of each if you have not done so. Don’t forget to leave a review! Thank you once again for taking the time to read this blog post.

N.A.K.