How to Write a Book: 10 Tips
If you dream of writing a book, remember: it's best to learn from masters of the word. We selected tips from ten books on the craft of writing. You’ll learn how to start the first page and how to write dialogues. Why drafts are helpful and what word charge is. Why read books and how to find metaphors. These tips are useful for future authors and those who simply love great texts.
Creating a book is not a miracle but a process. And it can be built step by step: from the idea to a deliciously scented edition in a beautiful cover. With your name at the top. We talk about all the subtleties of working on a book in the “TSEKH” course.
1. Write a Synopsis
Before starting work on a book, write a synopsis — a brief, few-sentence description of the work, somewhat like a mini-pitch from entrepreneurs who briefly describe their business.
Preparation is very important, since everything you write at this stage will later serve as invaluable prompts for you.
Here are some questions that will help you create a synopsis:
Non-fiction:
— What common problems do people face in this field?
— What gaps exist in this market?
— What important issues are ignored in other books on this topic?
— What useful step-by-step advice can you give to readers of this genre?
Fiction:
— What figures of speech appeal to readers of your genre?
— From whose point of view is the story told? (Most often from first or third person)
— Where does the action take place?
— Which characters are involved?
Here’s a well-known example of a synopsis for The Wizard of Oz: “A little girl from a small town is swept by a tornado into a magical land; she sets off in search of a Wizard who can help her return home.”
Based on the book The Miracle Morning for Writers
2. Create a Strong Opening
There are different ways to start a book. Some work great in one text but look weak in another. That’s why it’s important to analyze and choose wisely.
Let’s illustrate with the “False Prologue” technique. Here, the climactic scene is taken from the middle or end of the book and placed at the beginning. This way, the reader immediately “tastes” the main and dramatic event of the story. This strategy can be effective, but it can also kill the dramatic tension.
Before choosing such an opening, ask yourself: why is it needed?
If the false prologue only masks a weak opening, it’s better to work on the opening. But if it truly teases the reader’s appetite, it can be a very successful start.
Examples of books with a “false prologue”: Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga (Book 1), Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
Based on the book Living Text
3. Use a Corkboard and Cards
A technique used by screenwriter Blake Snyder — a corkboard and cards. Hang a large corkboard on the wall, take cards with episodes, blocks, or fragments of your future text, and pin them wherever you like.
You might not part with the cards at all. Stick a pack in your pocket, go to a nearby café, and spend hours shuffling your deck, arranging episodes, thinking about sequence, spotting strong and weak moments.
The board allows you to “see” the complete picture before you even start writing.
The technique helps you test different plot twists, ideas, dialogues, and the rhythm of the story; to see how well they fit together. It's also a way to visualize a text with good structure.
Based on the book Save the Cat!
4. Write a Draft
The first draft is a window in the stuffy world of writer’s block. Because it’s from this breath of fresh air that your Great Writing Journey begins. It’s hard to be a writer who hasn’t written anything. It’s fairly easy to be one who isn’t afraid of drafts.
A draft isn’t about “how bad it turned out,” but “let me try and fail, then make something great out of that failure.”
There’s a danger here: the inner critic might emerge. It steals the awareness that this is only an unfinished draft — still to be worked on. But not now. Yet you stop and start digging into details, rewriting and editing.
No matter how itchy your inner critic is, don’t let them out until the draft is finished. Seriously. This rule will one day save you from a sleepless night: you’ll just finish the draft and go to sleep instead of suffering over what isn’t working.
Based on the book Write, Lazy Ass
5. Write in Small Portions
Often it happens: you plan an autobiographical novel about your childhood or a treatise, say, on the role of women in history. And you realize: diving in all at once feels like climbing a glacier. Feet slip, fingers freeze, nothing to hold onto. Then from the subconscious come fears and doubts. And the page becomes not white paper but a dark forest.
“I breathe slowly and deeply — and finally notice the five-by-eight-centimeter photo frame I placed on my desk to remind me about small doses. The frame reminds me: write a small piece. Small like a five-by-eight photo. That’s all for today. Right now, for example, I’ll write just one paragraph about the time and place of the action,” — writer Anne Lamott.
Tell yourself gently: “Friend, we’ll just write about the river at sunset or the first date. That’s it.”
Allow yourself to take small steps. One a day. Step by step. And in time you’ll look back and see — you’ve traveled the whole path.
Based on the book Bird by Bird
6. Watch the Connotation
Without diving into terminology, connotation is the charge of a word. Yes, just like subatomic particles. But while particles can only be neutral, positive, or negative, here we have a much broader spectrum. There are affectionate, derogatory, aggressive, formal, aristocratic, old-fashioned words. Many objects and phenomena have a whole range of terms with different charges.
Compare “maiden” in old tales and “maiden” today. “Gray” and “gray-haired”; “hopes” and “aspirations”; “darkness” and “gloom”; “cry” and “sob” — all are words with different connotations, fitting in different contexts.
Which word you choose tells the reader a lot about the character, their relationships, and the atmosphere you want to create. Choose carefully.
How to remember the nuances? Read texts from different times and fields — from fiction to news and advertising — and listen to how people speak. As a safety net, consult dictionaries. They sometimes include small hints, like whether a word is expressive or outdated.
Based on the book Comb Me. Your Text
7. Consider Rhythm in Dialogues
Flat, never-ending dialogues are a common authorial problem.
There are two traps writers fall into. First — everyone talks like you. Every person has a unique speech style. But in books, often all characters speak like the author. Second — everyone talks the same. Even if the dialogue is good, if all characters use the same phrases and rhythms, the lines become dull.
The secret of dialogue is rhythm. Everyone has their own: we repeat certain phrases and filler words, structure sentences similarly, use familiar idioms.
To make characters’ lines sound natural, try copying real people’s speech. For example, mimic a famous actor’s style (remember William Shatner as Captain Kirk — that was rhythm!) or a friend’s mannerisms.
The goal isn’t to steal someone’s external life, but to borrow a solid framework to build something of your own.
Based on the book We Liked Your Manuscript!
8. Collect Ideas
Try to observe the world and note everything. Practice this: collect small things and invent a story for each — from a crumpled receipt in your pocket to a piece of driftwood on the beach. Ask:
Where did this come from?
Who might be looking for it?
What could it be used for?
Think of your favorite genres (e.g., melodrama or horror). How can this object be used in stories of different genres? A valentine from a secret admirer can be the start of a lovely romance or a creepy stalker story.
Any small thing can give life to a plot.
As Neil Gaiman wrote: “Ideas come from daydreaming. They come from boredom. Ideas happen all the time. The only thing that separates writers from other people is that we notice them.”
Based on the book Your First Bestseller
9. Search for Metaphors
The power of an image lies in its freshness. So develop your creative streak: look for unexpected connections and intersections; try thinking broadly rather than deeply. Here are some practice tips.
Jot down several comparisons — any that come to mind. Write them all down, even the ones you likely won’t use. They may later lead you to a good idea.
Let your mind work on the topic while you do other things. A good metaphor might pop up on its own. Psychologists call this the incubation effect: our brain solves creative problems in the background.
To find fresh, surprising metaphors, try turning to other fields of knowledge.
Pay attention to all thoughts and associations you get, write down each idea. Remember: if you don’t write it down now — you’ll forget it later.
Based on the book How to Write Nonfiction
10. Read Like a Writer
Many future authors are book lovers. But the thought of examining a book under a microscope, reading it solely for style or structure analysis, often repels them. However, once you learn critical reading, you’ll gain a much deeper pleasure than regular readers. You’ll read like a writer.
Learn to go through a text at least twice. First casually, then with a pencil. Note the rhythm, episodes, and scenes; pay attention to words, phrases, and stylistic devices used by the author.
If you’re interested in the craft of writing, read books not just for fun, but for learning — as curious examples.
Don’t worry: you won’t lose your love for books. Quite the opposite. The benefits of analytical reading cannot be overstated.
Based on the book How to Become a Writer
“Working on my first book left me with the best impressions, which gave me the idea for the next one,” — wrote Natalia Kostikova, an author with MIF. If you want to learn about working with a publisher, read about the manuscript criteria and reviews from other MIF authors.
Take the first step toward your book — fill out the form.
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