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Writing Your Book in 30 Days: From Idea to Rough Draft

This is part two of our Write your book in 30 Days blog post. 

  • Day 1:
    • Organize your outline on your app or program of choice. If a great way for you to write is in the MARGINS, create a new folder in your notes app that’s accessible across your devices. Then make 12 -15 notes with the chapter ideas as titles that flow with your outline. Or you can make as many notes as you want that cover specific topics or scenes. 
    • If you are writing non-fiction, you may already have a ton of content from your own blog posts (not submitted to anyone else) to scribbles in your journal. If you are a speaker or podcaster, you may have a lot of messages and programs that fit what you want to write. This is where you can fill in your outline with content you already have to give you more areas to expand on. It’s also always encouraging to see what God has been writing on your heart all along. 
    • The process of filling in your outline with descriptions and/or scene ideas should help you meet your first 1500 word goal.
  • Days 2-15:
    • Write. Seriously, now it’s time to buckle down and do the work. Some may have an easier time writing out 1500 words at one time, for others, those words may come in fifteen minute spurts throughout the day. Whatever that looks like for you, push through and get it done. 
    • You don’t have to wait for inspiration, and actually don’t. Inspiration will come, which is part of the reason why you have that rough outline down. That way when inspiration hits, you know where to plug it in. But between that, you need to be disciplined enough to write no matter what.
    • Your words don’t have to be perfect. This may be hard to get over, but it’s important to keep in mind that this draft will not be your best or final work. If you keep waiting to write perfect words, you may never write. A book really begins to take shape in the 3rd and 4th pass. That should not discourage you but actually free you to write, with your outline/skeleton/structure as a good foundation.
  • Day 16: 
    • Do some inventory of where you are so far. How did you do for the first 15 days? Did you meet your word count goals? If not, what do you need to shift to make it happen? What can you put as an incentive to reward yourself with when you finish. Besides the overwhelming sense of accomplishment, it’s great to reward yourself with something fun at the end of this process. 
  • Day 17-29: 
    • Write! Get those words in—catch up if you need to.
  • Day 30: 
    • You did it. Maybe it didn’t go like you wanted to. Maybe your word count goal had to be adjusted because life happened like it always does. But consider this: even if you only got to part 1 of this process, you are farther along than you were. And even if your words were 500 a day instead of 1500, you have something significant to work with. Congrats! Enjoy that reward. You earned it.
    • If you were able to churn out 45,000 words or so, you now have a first draft that you can move forward with.
  • After Day 30:
    • Take a few days break and then read through it. You can take another 30 days if you wish or sooner to work on a second draft. Are your chapters/scenes ordered like you want them to? Are the concepts and ideas clear? Are there places you can expand to add to the overall needed word count? Do you have verses and illustrations you need to put in? Are there characters and settings that you need to flesh out more?
    • On the 3rd pass is where you can tighten things up better, check for repeating words, grammar issues, and areas that need to be resolved. 
    • On the 4th pass, give your work to someone else to read over. Preferably not a relative but also, go with whoever you have that will give you good, honest and encouraging feedback. 

We hope these steps gave you a good game plan as you work towards your writing goals. At Called Creatives our desire is to help women like you write and speak with influence and impact. Join us for access to additional topics, exclusive training and connection opportunities. Our content is specifically cultivated to help you succeed in whatever form your calling takes.  



We hope these tips help you make the best decisions for your career! 

At Called Creatives our desire is to help women like you write and speak with influence and impact. Join us for access to additional topics, exclusive training and connection opportunities. Our content is specifically cultivated to help you succeed in whatever form your calling takes. 

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