Building a Book

​Writing a non-fiction book is very similar to building a house. You begin with the brief, and the inspiration, and you then construct a piece of writing from the foundations upwards.

The Brief (Proposal/Commission):

• The writing process begins with a proposal
• The writer proposes an idea for book/article, etc.
• The publisher (teacher) ‘commissions’ a piece of writing
• The form of the writing is usually decided at this stage (a letter, an article, a diary entry, a book, a pamphlet, a poster, etc.)

Audience/Voice:

• Vital question: who is this piece of writing aimed at?
• ‘Style’ what is the appropriate ‘style’ for the writing, based on the audience
• ‘Voice’ comes out of this – it’s the unique ‘sound’ of the writer

Ideas Generation:

• Find inspiration: props, quotes, phrases, images, ideas as a starting point
• Do research and make notes

Plan/Structure:

• Set out ‘bare bones’ of writing – for a book, chapter and section headings, for an article, key points to include
• For ‘technical’ pieces (essays/books) this is about creating the structure on which to hang writing
• For ‘creative’ pieces writers often use more of a splatter gun effect – basically chuck lots of ideas at the page and then try to find the underlying theme/thread

First Draft
Edit, edit, edit (adapt ideas, change structure, check for good technique) 

Second Draft
Edit, edit, edit (refine structure and ideas, hone in on technical aspects, get down to word count as appropriate)

Note: it can be very useful to leave some time between the various drafts – to go and do something else because you can then take a ‘fresh’ look at what you have written.

Final Draft
Proof Reading – correct all errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Cut extraneous words (‘had’ is often unnecessary), ensure you have stuck to word count.