How to Finish (or Start) Writing Your Book? The Secret to Getting It Done Is Action

One of the top questions authors get from their live audiences centers around process. “What does your writing practice look like?” they ask wistfully. Under that question is a burning desire to figure out the secret formula for writing in the way that the movies portray it. You know the scene, the airy attic office with a light breeze billowing gauzy curtains while said writer tippety-taps their way through page after page.

The real secret . . . is that there isn’t one. I’m sorry.

It’s not brick laying, but writing can feel every bit as hard as building a wall. It’s hard to sit there in your seat and wind around inside your brain, chasing thoughts that maybe connect, or may be gibberish.

The anticipation of writing time like that definitely feels daunting. So, you have to make it more fun. When the destination is unclear and working on a project feels sort of scary, I rely on a truism I found while scrolling instead of writing: Action Precedes Motivation. Literally, I start writing before I can talk myself out of it.

Here’s how it works:

If you’re at the very beginning of a project, start with lists of ideas. Brainstorm up a whole bunch of topics or points you might like to make. If it’s your memoir, think about all the different versions of you and write them out. If you’re writing an essay, what are the arguments you mutter to yourself in the shower? It’s okay if your brainstormed ideas don’t relate to each other; you can refine and cut out the nonsense later. Right now, just get the fingers moving across the keyboard or paper. Let some ideas flow. That movement puts your brain in action mode, which—because you like getting some writing done—will spur you to keep going. Now you have momentum on your side.

When I leave my desk, I try to make a list of the ideas I was noodling on in that session so I can sit and start immediately the next time. If the project is underway, that’s even better! Ideally, I stop writing in the middle of a paragraph, so I can pick up that thread and keep going upon my return.

You don’t have to have the whole opus in your head before beginning. Writing is a way to organize your thoughts. It’s the reason we all had to write essays in high school. So, why not start tapping out your next page and find out what you think? When you get a big enough pile of pieces, you can look at them as a whole and put them together like a puzzle.

As always, I’m here to help you finish writing your book. If your pile of life stories starts to feel a little hard to wrangle, please reach out.

And keep on writing!