Anna Bendewald
Hudson-Ivy Press

Who Is Your Ideal Reader? A big part of how to write a book is knowing your reader. Before you get too far into your writing process, do yourself a favor and spend some time thinking about the person who will enjoy your book the most. The person who'll would "get" your humor, be thrilled by the thrilling parts of your plot, and read your book cover to cover. Give your ideal reader a name and make them as fully-fledged as possible. If they aren't fully developed in your mind, you can't keep them in mind while writing and you will get lost.  For example, for my Venice Trilogy, I called my ideal reader Jennifer. She is 26, lives in Chicago, commutes via the "L" to her job as a project manager. She went to Europe on a school trip and now longs to travel to glamorous destinations and stay in palaces she's never glimpsed. She's had a few relationships and likes a bit of saucy seduction in books, but she doesn't like romance novels. She devours ever...

  What Is Your Genre? When people ask me how to write a book I immediately ask that question. So you've got a story in your head and possibly filling up notebooks and idea boards. What genre does your book fit into? On what shelf will it fit?    Deciding your genre will focus your writing and can be a North Star to navigate by if you get lost during the writing process. Picking a genre clarifies your vision and the experience you want the reader to have. It's also the first thing people will ask about your book and can get confusing if you have to explain why you don't have a specific genre.  It's usually best to write within the genre you love. Your readers will feel that love and have a far more pleasant experience than reading a story that was wrestled onto the page through a tortured process. You want to enjoy the process. When writing is a punishing chore, we see people grinding away for years; the cliché of the book that is never written. Don't make money part...

  What Do You Use to Write A Book? There are a lot of software programs* out there for writers wondering how to write a book--some are useful and some useless, but I have a basic question whose answer will help you make your selection: Which One Will You Actually  Use ?   Getting a story out of your head, through your fingers, and into a manuscript has its own challenges. The last thing you need is to have to learn a new system, lose your content [shudder], or have the process of getting the words out cause frustration and potentially interrupt your flow.    Pick the software or program that encourages or facilitates your work. Typically the one you are most comfortable with. I have always used MS Word in my work and can effortlessly write, track changes, cut/paste, or anything else I need to do when creating without thought, and so I used Word to write my books. My advice is to get it down and you can transfer your manuscript if needed into another format AFTER...

How To Write a Book:  How Do You Write A Book? I believe the ancient Greeks had it right about the arts. The Muses come upon the lucky mortal, and inspiration flows through the person in the form of writing, painting, dance, you get it.  We, mortals, are not helpless muse targets. There are things we can do to call a muse to ourselves. My recommendation is to immerse yourself in the art you love, so if you want to write, READ, READ, READ! I hope this is a particular joy for you, or you have another way of immersing yourself in the written word. YES, the  written  word. I'm an enthusiastic fan of audiobooks, but listening and reading are two different things, and you'll need the benefits of gobbling up the written word. Okay, so you're reading? Next, let your imagination run free. Sit back in a park. Watch the clouds drift past. Think about your characters, their motivations, and what they're doing. Habitually indulge in this and keep some notes as bread crumbs back ...