“Writing a book will almost kill you”, says Thorin Klosowski in a Life Hacker article “Six things I learnt while writing my first book“. Here are the six things learned in the process…
1. Pick your tools and organise before your start: Thorin used Ulysses and also mentions Scrivener and Evernote.
Of course, it doesn’t really matter what tool you use, but pick something before you start and stick with it. Be prepared for your notes, outlines and everything else to become a cluttered, unreadable mess if you don’t create a system for dealing with them ahead of time.
2. Give yourself a schedule and stick to it.
3. Expect everything to take longer that you think it will.
4. Don’t get attached to anything.
5. A group of friends will make everything easier.
You can’t exactly go out and make good friends just because you want to write a book, but it’s worth knowing just how much you’ll be leaning on them. I’m not saying you should go and ask everyone you know to make you dinner. Talk with your close friends about how you won’t be available as often, but you still want to hang out. Make plans. They will understand, and if they’re good enough friends, you’ll probably get a few meals out the deal anyway.
6. It’s addictive. Take a break between projects, but make sure you capture your ideas for the next venture.
When I finish a big project, my brain’s usually packed with so many ideas that I can’t keep track of everything. I don’t need to execute on those ideas, but I do need to write them out so I can come back later.
Writers in the Mist 