Helpful Tips for Writing

It was after seventeen years of studying and practicing spirituality that I decided to write my first book, a short spiritual guide for the road of life. In my head, I had clear sets of thoughts and ideas I wanted to share. However, the first attempt to put them into a book created a stack of papers resembling anything but a well organized book anyone would be interested in reading. It was then that I realized there is much more to writing a book than few good ideas.

Let more than one person edit your book:
You need an editor for grammar and such, but it’s a good idea to let someone with knowledge on the subject matter read it too. When a reviewer would ask me what I meant when I wrote this or that sentence, I would knew I had to do a better job conveying the message because others would ask the same questions. This give and take with people I trusted greatly improved the clarity and quality of my writing.

Know who you are writing for:
Life Is Not a Candy Store started as a spiritual guide for all ages. However, as the project moved forward, reaching teens became the main purpose of the book. It meant I had to go back and change some of the writing. I had to think in terms of what issues teens deal with or are bothered by. I also had to change the examples I used in the book to fit their environment and talk about things such as peer pressure and challenges teens faced in school. Changing the target audience during the writing was the right decision, but a time consuming one too.

Always talk notes when you have new ideas:
Over the years you may have had many inspiring ideas crossing your mind, but for different reasons you let them go. You will do yourself a big favor by starting to write them down as they come to you. Those are the seeds of your writing and the gifts the universe sent you. Always have something you can write with. Later on you will have time to develop it further.

You are the most original part of your book, so show it!
Whatever subject you write on, and whatever story you tell, most likely it was told before in one way or another. What makes your book unique is your prospective, your personality. Be passionate; let the readers see your version of something they heard about before. For example, when you read Life Is Not a Candy Store: It’s the Way to the Candy Store, you will feel that the book was written as a personal journey coming from the heart. It is so because I decided to connect with the readers on that level.

Finally, have fun writing!!!
It takes time and money to publish a book, and it’s not always easy to remember, but going through the process means you are realizing a dream. Look around you, how many people you know are actually doing that? Very few, if any at all. It is of no use at all to be sitting there twenty years from now telling anyone who is willing to listing that once you wrote a book. Live in the present and enjoy the moment!

In a nutshell, one of the main topics in Life Is Not a Candy Store is learning to enjoy life without causing pain to ourselves and others. The book explores the idea of living a joyful life by connecting to a higher power and finding a more meaningful purpose for life. By changing one’s prospective of life; one can walk on the road leading to an emotional and spiritual freedom. Realizing that, you will see that living even a small dream is a step in the right direction.