How To Write Your First Book by William Garner

How To Write Your First Book A Simple & Practical Method For Anyone Who Can Tell A Story

William Garner

adagio

adagio AN INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING CRUISE est. January 1, 2001

William Dean A. Garner Publisher / Senior Editor

Copyright Š 2014 William Dean A. Garner All rights reserved The author asserts his moral and legal rights.

Published in America by Adagio Press Adagio and colophon are Trademarks of William Dean A. Garner, Adagio Press Library of Congress Control Number: 2013955167 ISBN: 978-0-9855362-5-1 Cover design and interior: William Garner Adagio website: AdagioPress.com Email: 69@adagiopress.com B20140102 First Print Edition

for Olga Marie My Mom, who gave me the gifts of trying a thousand different things, even if only for the experiences, enjoying storytelling and reading, and the greatest gift of all: exercising my liberty of expression. I miss you. . . .

Dr. William D. Garner (Col., USAF, ret.)

My Dad, a brilliant poet, fighter pilot and businessman who always ensured I had plenty of books to read. I hope you’ll write your first book someday soon. . . .

Ms. Antonia Tinti

My English teacher at Bitburg Elementary School, Bitburg Air Base, Germany, 1969-1971.

You taught me how to love language and paint with words.

Thank you. . . . and for You, dear Reader

Contents Advance Praise for How To Write Your First Book . . . vi Introduction . . . 1 The Purpose Of This Book . . . 10 What This Book Is Not About . . . 13 How To Learn All You Can From This Book . . . 15 Dear Dean, What If I Do Not Subscribe To Your Inner CHILD Beliefs? . . . 17 I Want To Write My First Book Because. . . . 19 Characteristics Of A Good Writer . . . 22 Writing Takes Time . . . 28 Your Personal Space And Time To Write . . . 32 Your Conscious Self Will Take Dictation . . . 37 Your Warehouse Of Words (WOW) . . . 40 “Writer’s Block” . . . 43 Your Subconscious = Inner CHILD Will Write Your Entire Book . . . 46 Warm-Up Exercises For Writing Your First Book . . . 57 Hollywood Shorthand: Pitch Your Story To Yourself First . . . 65 One Word . . . 67 Five Bullets . . . 70 25 Descriptive Sentences . . . 73 Synopsis . . . 77 Outline . . . 81 Write Your First Book . . . 88 An Introduction To Editing Your First Book . . . 93 Summary . . . 99 Okay, Dean, I’m Done . . . Now What? . . . 102 Useful References . . . 106 About The Author . . . 109 Testimonials For William Garner’s Work . . . 111 Acknowledgements . . . 115 Excerpt From Bloodsmoke, A Novel By Rio Ramirez . . . 116 Purchase Our Books . . . 128

Advance Praise For How To Write Your First Book “The Best approach to writing a book I’ve ever read. If you have ever heard that little voice in your head, saying that would make a great story. Or I need to tell someone about this. Or even just, I wonder if I could.

“Dean Garner’s book on how to write your first book is a must read.

It illustrates in detail the exquisite, sometimes painful, but mostly joyous effort of putting your thoughts on paper. Mr. Garner’s passion for words and the art of storytelling is wonderfully illustrated in how anyone with the tenacity to do so, can write.

“This book is a must read. Thanks Mr. Garner for the inspiration and the direction.”

—Marilyn White

“This is a five-star review, more because the book offers a new idea on getting started on a book, be it fiction or non-fiction. An idea that seems rather simplistic, but could actually work.

“I have been using a similar approach with my students but I have never thought about getting started on a book this way. I am not going to get into many details. That after all is the author’s job.

However, it is worth the quick read and why not try out the system and see if it gets your creative juices flowing.

“Another reason I believe it is worth the 5 stars, is the fact that there actually are examples in this how-to book! Good work!”

—RainbowEU

Introduction

“This makes me want to do my best work.”

—Alvin Sargent

W

elcome to How to Write Your First Book. My wish for you is that this little gem makes you want to do your own best work.

Here, I introduce you to my process of designing and building your first book. It’s not biophysics, which I did for years, and it’s not celestiophysics, which I study to this day. And it’s not a silly gimmick. This method of writing your first book is tried and true and it works effectively for many different types and styles of new and upcoming writers. I’ve used it to teach students individually and in groups, both privately and in university settings.

This method details the art of sharing a story from your heart and soul, and designing and shaping it into what will become your first book.

Trust me: if a regular guy like me can do it, so can you.

I’m no genius, so it’s not about having a high IQ or EQ or [Fill In The Blank]Q to understand my method or implement the exercises in this book. You don’t need a degree in English or Literature or Creative Writing to do it. You don’t need a literary agent or manager or a publisher who has heard your great idea about your book and has decided to invest in it. You don’t need to be financially wealthy or have countless hours of time on your hands.

How To Write Your First Book

And you don’t have to be a Conan Doyle or Hemingway or Kipling.

You need one secret ingredient: YOU. Here’s another secret: you need a burning passion inside you and dayto-day discipline to complete a rough draft of your first book.

Sounds simplistic, huh?

It’s not. In fact, it is far from simplistic or even simple: it will take a continuous input of strong, positive energy on your part to do this book project. Hard work isn’t hard unless you make it a drudgery. Hard comes into play when you procrastinate or think negative thoughts or dread the process of writing your first book, leading to little or no work done. There are enough excellent resources here in this energy-packed book to assist you in writing your first book.

Are you up to it? Do you have what it takes to dream a story or take one you’ve already thought about for years, perhaps, put it into a logical and telling and gripping format for intended readers, and get it out there so people can enjoy the fruits of your artful labor?

This book is for those of you have or are interested in acquiring these necessary tools and who are willing to use them to design and build a beautiful story . . . your first book.

Every year, thousands of new books are published by many different traditional New York and international trade publishing companies, some small independent publishing companies, and also self-published authors.

According to the latest statistics on publishing, there are now more books published independently by authors themselves than by all the traditional trade-publishing companies combined, and only now are the big trade publishing companies discovering this fact. They have instituted their own “self-publishing” offshoots to attract people just like you. Face it: they know you have the power to do it all on your own, but they prefer you do it with them so they can earn the lion’s share of the profit. Your profit.

Oops, I don’t want to discourage you from getting into business with the big publishing companies, as they may very well be the ones that buy your first book and make you a million bucks.

This is a significant metric, the one described above, and you should take note of what it really says: more and more writers out there are doing 2

Introduction

whatever it takes to write their book(s) and getting them out into the mainstream or to a select audience. And they’re willing to do it on their own. At least at first, with some of them later allowing the big firms to publish their artwork and take over all the marketing, advertising and PR work, which is a whole different beast, especially for a writer/author.

The majority of authors I’ve talked with tell me they started with an idea and then simply got right to it, writing the first draft, editing it until it had a high shine, then polishing it to a gleaming brightness. These authors are in the minority, though. If you’re not one of them, please do not despair or fret. Not everyone is the same. Be patient; with persistence you’ll get there.

Just so you know: I wasn’t one of those authors, either. I had to work my buns off, pull out all my hair, lose the shirt off my back, spin my wheels and go batty before I could write my first book, and that was back in 1992.

It paid off, though, and I ended up producing an international bestselling coffee-table book, TOPGUN Miramar, printed in English, French and German and sold in dozens of countries worldwide. It still sells for up to $1,500 in some circles. Yes, it was worth all the effort.

My aim with How To Write Your First Book is to reach people who already know how to tell a great story, whether among family and friends in small settings or in front of a large audience doing stand-up comedy.

With one hitch: they have not yet tried to write it or have failed in first attempts, because of stumbling blocks along the way, personal insecurities, whatever. I wrote How To Write Your First Book as simple and as short as I could, leaving out all the fluff that typically accompanies other writing books because a publisher wants 300 or 400 pages and the author is compelled to fill every one of them. I will not apologize for the repetition here, though, because that’s how we learn things best of all. Hopefully, I’ll not drive you nuts trying to hammer home the most important points of this whole process. If I do and you need money for your visit to the insane asylum, I’ll refund your money 100%.

My aim also is to pack as much high-density information and intel into one small volume that is friendly, conversational, readable and accessible. Oh, and I use repetition to hammer home my points. Didn’t I mention this somewhere above? Same method as our teachers used on us 3

How To Write Your First Book

in kindergarten and grade school. Why? Because it works so well. Okay, enough repetition on repetition.

Typical books on the subject of writing a book are often superfluous.

A textbook or self-help book should contain only the minimum amount of information and material necessary to get the message across. Nothing more.

Except repetition of key points!

I wrote this book in the spirit of another book I rewrote (edited heavily), Sun Tzu The Art of War. Academicians and historians have their own 300page versions of The Art of War, all filled with superfluous “insights” and “interpretations” of what Sun Tzu originally wrote 2,500 years ago. I used the best possible translation from one of the original scrolls, and stripped it down to its essence in only 50 pages. That’s what Sun Tzu preached: less is more; the simpler, the better; anything beyond what is necessary is merely a distraction.

How To Write Your First Book is The Art of War for aspiring writers and authors.

If you can tell a story verbally, then you have the unique power to write one or speak it into a voice or video recorder for later transcription. It doesn’t matter how you get the story onto paper, as long as you pull it out of your head and get it into a computer or onto a ream of paper. Just get it out and into the form of a rough first draft, something beautiful you will edit and polish in good time.

Something to keep in mind, too: writing a book isn’t about writing, it’s about sharing your story and getting it down on paper, real or virtual.

When you actually write your first book, your conscious self is just the typist, or as I like to say, the executive assistant to a six-year-old CHILD, your Inner CHILD or subconscious. CHILD is an acronym I’ll describe in an upcoming chapter. For now, know that you are embarking on a journey of self-discovery here, and diving into a whole new universe of possibilities and probabilities that will take you further than you ever thought, dreamed or fantasized. And it will be your subconscious that leads the way. Be patient, because there’s more to follow on this unique and mysterious entity.

4

Introduction

Allow me to bring you back to earth for a moment: if your conscious self has bones about becoming a great author someday, it is flat wrong. There’s a whole different entity inside you that will become this great author, and you will have the distinction of having assisted this other entity (Inner CHILD). Again, more to follow on this subject, your subconscious.

First and foremost, this book you are reading right now was written by me: I have used the methods described here for decades in my own writing/editing, and have directly produced (as a ghostwriter) or assisted in producing (as an editor) some excellent results: multiple New York Times bestsellers for other people, plus some really good books that didn’t earn status on a bestseller list but made a lot of people happy.

I’ve also taught formal classes and seminars on how to write your first book, plus mentored other bestselling authors in their professional careers.

In short, I know my art and I know how to show others how to tap into it, plus I have a unique method that gets strong, positive results.

There are dozens of good books out there on how to write a book, and they sell well. Most people, especially beginning writers, don’t actually implement them because the techniques do not consider something we have used all our lives: a simple building-block approach to writing. Not one single book espouses this basic method, although some discuss it using large brush strokes.

Those books currently on the market also show you all the ins and outs of design and layout of a book, advertising, marketing, getting PR, contacting agents and book publishers. In short, they seem to hand you the whole enchilada in one little microwavable package. Quite overwhelming, you ask me. It’s all slick and it looks appetizing and it sells books and makes authors a lot of cash. But does it really taste good?

Does it, in fact, work for beginning writers?

Not for me. I tried some of those methods a long time ago and none worked for me, so I designed and built my own, based on what I knew about how human beings learned things and gained knowledge about a novel concept or subject—from the ground up, using small steps and lots of repetition. Lots of repetition. Repetition. As an aside, when I was in the US Army (Airborne Ranger) with the 1st Ranger Battalion, we used to 5

How To Write Your First Book

train endlessly, doing the same things over and over again. Repetition. So when we finally got to the live-fire exercises, all our actions and behaviors were automatic. Plus they were smooth and fast. Very efficient.

So if I offend you with my repetition, please ask for a full refund. If Amazon or Barnes & Noble doesn’t give you one, I will because I believe in my approach to writing a book.

More about those other types of books: those authors already assume you know how to start your book, that you understand how to write it, or they just don’t care at all. They make a lot of assumptions and, in the end, first-time writers eventually give up before they actually start writing their first book. I’ve seen this countless times, read it in forums, feedback from my classes and seminars, emails and other correspondence from my students and from other instructors’ students. And people share with me directly all the time when they learn I’m a successful writer/author and editor of many books.

By the way, the difference between a writer and author is simple: an author is published. This is not meant to disparage the term writer at all.

We all start somewhere and, in this business of writing, we start out as students, proceed to becoming writers, then go on to publish books as authors.

Most beginning writers are frustrated at the fact that no one shows them how to actually write their first book, how to start with a single building block, add a few more in time, then build things up until they have a completed first draft of their first book.

The greatest failure of all the other writing books out there is the same failure of all the other philosophies out there: no one has considered the human subconscious and the fact it is in direct contact with the Universe.

It is the subconscious that guides us and helps us make the right decisions in life, and it is the entity that will write your first book. No, I’m not kidding so please do not dismiss me outright. Hear me out, please.

My philosophy of Subism is all about connecting and communicating directly with the greatest entity in the, well, Universe and beyond via celestiophysics, which is the physics of the Universal bodies and how they 6

Introduction

mediate and modulate all geophysical and biophysical events, actions, behaviors on Mother Earth.

Don’t worry, this book is not about my new philosophy or celestiophysics.

It is about how to write your first book, using the building-block approach to writing and also encouraging your subconscious to assist in writing the book for you.

We are taught that we use only a small percentage of our brain. That’s a big pile of poo. While our conscious self, the “bus driver” in each of us, may use a small part of different regions of its physical brain, our subconscious uses 99.999% of our brain all the time, gathering valuable information from the world immediately external to our physical bodies, processing this intel, making sense of it, and ultimately using it to help us personally in our daily lives.

Life does not produce things that are wasteful. There’s no such thing as appendages that aren’t used for anything, like a third arm or leg, nor are there biophysical systems within our bodies that are ignored, dormant or, again, not used. There are some dormant enzymes and so-called “junk” DNA that appear to be dormant, but these two items are the exception.

Besides, junk DNA isn’t junk at all. It has a definite purpose and that purpose is to support the human subconscious and its connections with the Universe.

We’ve been taught a pack of lies about the above subjects, but this book is not about rebutting those lies. I will tell you this: our brain is the most wonderful, beautiful and complex unit in our known Universe, and we’re almost completely clueless about it.

You don’t have to know how to build characters or a story to write your first book. You will learn these steps as you go along, especially if you’re writing a novel. Other books, teachers, classes, etc. try to scare people with the notion that writing a book is hard. It’s not hard unless you make it hard. Writing a good book is a challenge, though, especially if you’ve not done it before. But writing your first book isn’t like going to the moon, so please see it as I and other successful writers and authors have: with the right tools, it is doable.

7

How To Write Your First Book

All you need do is to get the story out of your head first and onto paper, real or virtual. Everyone can tell a story of some kind, and if you can tell a story that keeps people’s attention, you can learn how to write it down in a reasonably coherent fashion so people will want to read it. Hearing something is easy, because it takes less energy. All you do is open your ears to a sound, a displacement of air molecules, and your ears receive and channel the vibrations down to your eardrum, which is attached to a few little bones that further the transmission that eventually gets transduced into an electrical signal that goes to the brain for further processing.

Reading is a whole different beast: it takes energy unlike simply listening to a story.

Here’s another secret: writing isn’t about writing.

Writing is about expressing yourself, whether it’s some deep, hidden secret about something inside you or maybe some cool recipes for things you love to cook. Writing is only a tool of communication to do what you love or wish to do: share your unique information with others.

How To Write Your First Book is only one method of many out there. If you are the type of person who likes to design things from the ground up, first building a firm foundation then using sturdy building blocks to create the remaining structure, then this book is for you. Letters first, then words, then sentences, then conversation. We learn starting out small and then building on the small, creating something larger and meaningful.

How To Write Your First Book uses just this type of approach.

If you’ve tried other methods and they didn’t work for you, please try this one, cover to cover, taking advantage of all the information and diligently performing all the exercises. After all, you paid good hard-earned money for it! Please see it as a sound investment.

If you quit halfway through, you’ll never know if it could’ve worked for you. Once you start How To Write Your First Book, please finish it. But also please indulge yourself 100%, knowing you may just learn something very important about how to write your first book . . . that you are, in fact, capable of doing it, from first page to last and, eventually, from cover to cover.

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Introduction

How To Write Your First Book is for anyone and everyone, regardless of age, gender, race, etc. but it must be read, understood, assimilated and implemented to get the benefits. If you’re not a reader, then please make an exception here and read this book to gain the full benefits, or have someone special read it to you. Think of this book as a short set of directions for building something special to you, maybe a bookcase or, for the truly adventurous ones, a new home.

Everyone has at least one book in them, probably many, and anyone who can tell a good story can write a good, if not great, book.

For the moment, let me leave you with this thought, something that sums up the entire process of storytelling and writing your first book: writing is a million-dollar experience, shoved up your hiney bumper a nickel at a time.

I’m showing you how to write your first book, to bring you closer to that analogy above—a million dollars. But it’s only there in concept. You must do the work to earn it. It’s not simply handed to you. I also like to demonstrate this by showing the difference between freedom and liberty.

Freedom is like having a million dollars and never spending it. Liberty is actually going out there, exercising your freedom, and spending that million dollars. Liberty is freedom in motion. So is writing. Writing is like having a chance at a million dollars. Authoring, becoming a published writer, is actively using your power to make it happen.

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The Purpose Of This Book

I

designed and built How To Write Your First Book as simple as possible to reach as wide an audience as I could. This audience includes those of you who do not normally read much, if at all. Everyone has at least one book in them, and each of you should take the time to put story to paper. You owe it to yourself, not to mention many others who surely will want to read your story.

You really want to write that first book? Then you must make an effort to read my book in its entirety, and take the time to do the exercises and implement the lessons learned there. Writing your first book takes a firm and complete commitment. You must promise yourself that you will do whatever it takes to learn this method and to implement it until you’re done. In the end, if it’s not for you, then be proud of yourself for giving it a good try. If you need to “edit” my method, please do so to fit your personality and chemistry, keeping in mind that your subconscious needs time to work on your behalf so please do not short-circuit this process.

Writing your first book is a cool and rewarding job. It is also some of the most fun you will have sitting down, because the process will take you on a grand journey that you had previously only dreamed of.

The Purpose Of This Book

I have built my method on the building-block approach, starting with a single word and building on it to achieve an entire story, your first book.

You must work at your own pace. If this means you take a year to complete your first book, then go with it. Do not force yourself to complete your story if your subconscious isn’t prepared do it right away. You must find your own pace and rhythm, and stick to those each day, week or month.

There’s one special book of mine I have been working on for eight years, rewritten it completely six times, and I’m still not satisfied with it. That’s how it goes sometimes. In this case, the cake bakes itself so let your subconscious do all the work.

If you cannot work each day, then please find a comfortable time each week to work on your first book. You cannot normally work only once a month, because your subconscious will probably get bored meantime and may not cooperate with you. You must put in the effort each day, at best, and several times a week, in the least.

First, you must allow me to show you how to structure your first book so it meets your needs and goals. By structuring, I mean starting with One Word that defines your story, then moving on to Five Bullets, 25 Descriptive Sentences, the Synopsis, the Outline and ultimately the First Draft of your book.

The word “structure” in literary terms actually means something a bit different and is not my focus in this book. It has to do with laying out your story in a particular way or using a certain formula to produce, say, a mystery or thriller or even children’s story.

In one of the final chapters, I will introduce how to edit your first book.

If your goal is to produce a good book, then editing is absolutely essential, either by you or someone else, hopefully a seasoned professional. Please do not see this as a chore. Editing is nothing more than reading your own work, then carefully adding and subtracting words, sentences, paragraphs until your first book takes the shape you like. For some, the task of editing may be more involved, sort of like my own work on that book I’ve been working and reworking for the past eight years, off and on. Like I said, I’ve completely rewritten it six times, done dozens of edits. Hey, some great things just take time.

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How To Write Your First Book

The purpose of How To Write Your First Book is to provide you all the necessary tools to write your first book. Duh. All you need do is provide the 100% commitment, the time and the energy. Sound like a lot? It is.

Like I said earlier, it’s not simple. But it’s not hard, either. As soon as you get started, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start writing your first book years ago. Something that looks daunting in the beginning, especially if you look at the whole thing all at once, soon becomes quite doable when you start from scratch and build on your project, little by little, until it is complete.

While it’s great to dream about the end product, your first book, I suggest you simply dream about that First Word. . . .

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What This Book Is Not About

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hile I’d love to take your hand and guide you the entire journey, I cannot. You must come up with your story. I cannot dictate or suggest to you what to write about. I’m here to help you pull your story out of your head and get it onto paper. But you must first have your story in your beautiful mind.

This book is not about showing you how to produce a final, polished draft of your book. This book shows you how to write a first draft, then introduces how to edit your own work.

If you choose not to edit your own work, then you must find an external editor experienced in editing your type of book, e.g. narrative nonfiction, historical fiction, children’s story or comic book. This book is not about helping you find an editor. You can find a suitable editor on the worldwide web by searching for “book editor” or “story editor,” going to the library and asking a research librarian how to find a book editor, or going on forums for book writing and asking people to refer you to book editors.

There are many other ways to find a suitable editor for your book, and the chapter near the end of this book, Useful References, lists helpful sources to find a good editor.

How To Write Your First Book

This book is not about showing you how to submit your book to a literary agent for representation. Doing a search on the worldwide web will yield dozens of suitable literary agents. There’re also several good books that list literary agents. Again, the chapter Useful References offers some help here, especially Literary Marketplace and Jeff Herman’s book.

I do not show you how to submit your book to a book publisher. There’re other good books out there that show you how to do this. Please see the chapter, Useful References.

While my book is not about many aspects of writing, editing, polishing and submitting your first book, this book does provide the groundwork and foundation for you to create something from scratch, a first book you will be very proud of when it’s done.

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How To Learn All You Can From This Book

T

he first item to focus on when writing your first book is that this is your project, not someone else’s. No one is watching you, so please relax. You’re free to dive into your project whenever you wish, because you’re not on anyone else’s timetable.

Feel comfortable knowing you’re with a large group of people whose goals are largely your goals: to write that first book and get it out in the mainstream reading audience. If you choose, talk with other like-minded people who will support your endeavor. Some people need the support of others when taking on such a big task. It’s fine to share your work with others, but it’s not necessary. If you’re someone who likes to work in the dark, without anyone knowing about your work, then that’s cool too.

Whatever makes you most comfortable, please do it.

If you need to write external notes and scribbles based on what you’re reading in this book, please do. Writing by hand is another way to get your ideas and thoughts inside your subconscious. If you’re someone who talks into a voice recorder, then use that method. Please use whatever methods work for you while you’re engaging in this project.

When reading this book, please write down questions. Chances are, you’ll find the answers as you read further, as I have introduced some

How To Write Your First Book

concepts early on, and then explained them further in later chapters. It’s important not to allow questions that pop into your mind to go unanswered, so please address them as they come up. Hey, you can always ring me via email, if you do not find the answers you’re looking for.

If you need friends and supporters to assist you along the way but don’t have any, then start a network on your own. Every other network and support group out there started with one person’s idea, which was then implemented to create the network or group. By doing it on your own and your personalized way, you ensure you’re getting what you need. One of the most important items in work and business is having an excellent network of friends, colleagues, advisors and mentors. If you examine the traits of successful business people, you’ll see they have several characteristics in common, not the least of which is having an excellent and extensive network of the right people in all the right places. No one can do it all on her own. You need assistance from good experienced people. But you must ask for it or create it on your own.

That’s an important point I cannot belabor: when you need help, find it or ask for it.

The best way to learn all you can from this book is to read it several times before you even begin writing the One Word that launches you into your book-writing project. Understand what I’ve written in each chapter, and let it digest over days or weeks. When you’re ready to begin, then you can use all the tools I suggest here and produce a finished first draft of your first book.

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Dear Dean, What If I Do Not Subscribe To Your Inner CHILD Beliefs?

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ou do not have to believe anything I say about your Inner CHILD or your subconscious to write your first book. There are no penalties if you are incredulous and think my hypotheses about the subconscious are silly.

I introduce the Inner CHILD and the subconscious because I feel it’s important to share my views about how I see the whole process working.

It is my hypothesis. For me personally and others I’ve taught and worked with, it is absolute fact. What’s more, those of us who have adopted the concepts of the Inner CHILD use them in everyday life. The Inner CHILD will write your first book for you, but it also does so much more.

So when doing the exercises and actually writing your One Word, Five Bullets, 25 Descriptive Sentences, Synopsis, Outline, you don’t have to consider your Inner CHILD or subconscious. Just know that you will need to allow your artwork to sit alone inside your computer or a notebook for a period of time before you can revisit it and expand it.

It doesn’t matter what you believe helps you write your first book. What does matter here is that you actually do the exercises and, of course, write your book.

How To Write Your First Book

The only thing you must be religious about is being passionate about what you do and then going out and doing it . . . writing your first book!

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I Want To Write My First Book Because. . . .

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hen I have asked people over the years why they want to write their first book, everyone has told me something slightly different, but the main reason is because they feel they have something important to say. Some extend this reason to include they think others will want to read what they write about, that it will somehow be important to a reader and will help them in some way.

Some folks write a book because they want to make a million bucks.

Some write a book to gain fame.

Others write a book for professional recognition or career enhancement.

To share old family recipes . . . memorable stories they were told when they were children . . . preserving family history . . . sharing new and innovative ways of doing something we all take for granted in our daily lives . . . getting something bothersome out of their head . . . sending a message to someone important in their lives. . . .

The list is endless.

Why do you want to write a book?

There’s always a reason, perhaps many. Please sit down and write all the reasons you can think of why you wish to write your first book. This is a great starting point that will launch you into the process I will share

How To Write Your First Book

with you in this book. It’s a simple exercise I would like you to do over a week, allowing each day or night’s iteration to sit untouched for a day or so before examining it again. At the end of a week, the results may surprise you.

Since this book takes an age-old, building-block approach to writing your first book, it’s important to know your personal motives and motivation for writing your first book. This first exercise, writing down all your reasons for writing your book, will be your first attempt to tap into your subconscious, that mysterious space inside your mind where everything is stored and most of which is seemingly inaccessible.

I’m a strong believer in knowing all the underlying reasons why I want to do something. I’m not some hopeless romantic who buys into the untouchable mystery of things. I want to know stuff, and what makes things tick and function the way they do. The more I tap into the source of things, the better I understand them and the more I can manipulate them to my advantage. It’s a great tool to have, this kind of curiosity and understanding. It allows for implementation of new-found secrets. Who wouldn’t want that kind of personal power?

There’s always this little itch in the back of my mind that tells me to do things. And when it’s a book, I ask my subconscious, “Why do I want to write this particular book?” And so I write down those reasons, let them sit for a week, then come back to them and add more reasons. I do this until I feel I have all the answers, at least the important ones. With each pass of writing things down, I uncover hidden motivations and reasons that tell me more about myself.

I analyze each reason and try to break it down further, forever asking why? My insatiable need to know stuff and figure out everything I do in life drives me to do this with each book. When I did my first book, TOPGUN Miramar, which was a coffee-table book, I had lots of pretty airplane pictures of US military jets splashed over the pages. But I also wrote a narrative for each chapter that introduced readers how the US Navy Fighter Weapons School functioned, how the pilots and support personnel worked together to produce some of the finest fighter pilots in the world.

20

I Want To Write My First Book Because. . . .

Thinking back on it, I also wanted to show these people and those magnificent fighter and attack aircraft in a new light, an artistic one. I also wanted to fly in all these cool jets and shoot beautiful photographs from the back seat or from the bays of cargo aircraft or helicopters. And I wanted the world to see them, to appreciate them as I had when I lived among the men and women of TOPGUN. It was such a rush to re-live the movie, TOP GUN (spelled differently from the school). I wanted to be a fighter pilot and live the life . . . if only for a few weeks. It was the kind of vacation from my reality that any man on the planet would’ve killed for.

And all I did was dream it up . . . figure out how to do it . . . then implement my ideas.

Being a kid all my life has pushed me into projects like that one, where I actually became one of the players in the story. Sometimes my part in the story was very short, sometimes quite long and involved. But my inner motivation came from a deep-seated need to be a part of it all. It wasn’t for the glory or fame. More for the romance, experiential experience and knowledge.

I’ve always been a romantic at heart, wishing to experience everything in life, make some sense of it, then share those experiences with others.

That first book allowed me to do that. My reasons for writing other books are simple: I love to write and share my artwork with others. Oh, and the money isn’t bad, either.

Your reasons for writing your first book may not be important to others, but I’ll betcha people will care about your story. And they’ll pay money for it if it’s well written and presented.

My job here is to help you figure out how to get your story out of your head and onto paper, real or virtual. To begin, though, please do that exercise I mentioned above and discover for yourself why you want to write your first book. It should begin like this: “I want to write my first book because. . . .”

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Characteristics Of A Good Writer

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riters write. And they write every day they can. Period. No argument there. Good writers know it takes years to become a good writer, so they are patient, master the basics, and ply their trade as often as they possibly can. For me, I write every day, even if it’s one chapter, say, 10 pages. I write because I have something to say and so I go out of way to get it down on paper. I’ve also been doing this for decades and have done well at it, so I’ve seen in myself what works and doesn’t, plus I’ve talked with other good writers about their habits.

They tell me that they write each day, as well, and it’s because they have something to say each day. One of the rewards is that we good writers also get paid well for what we do.

Please do not allow the promise of good pay to become your primary motive for writing your first book. It should only be a side effect, at best.

Love what you do, and the money will follow.

I’m lucky: I get to earn a living as a writer and editor, and I take advantage of it each and every day, unless of course, I’m on vacation. Truth? Even then I have a laptop and I’m writing. It may be an idea for a novel, or maybe an actual chapter for a book, but I am definitely writing. It’s as if I can’t get away from it, even though I’ve tried to let it go sometimes. Writing is in

Characteristics Of A Good Writer

my blood and DNA and when I don’t pay careful and sufficient attention to this fact, my subconscious lets me know.

I am cursed: I have to write. I wish this wonderful curse on you, too, because if you love it like I do, then you’ll always be a writer and eventually will get published and do well. Maybe we should call it a spell, not a curse.

Once again, I wish the spell that affects me every single day to come over you and bless you in a very special way.

Not everyone has the time to write every day, but good writers make it happen somehow and they maintain a good consistency, a ritual of writing and honing their skills. The only way to become a good writer is to implement the lessons and tools that make all writers good at what they do.

A good writer reads voraciously. She reads the works of other good writers, both entertainingly and critically. Other writers and authors provide us new ways of thinking, new ideas and tools that we use in our own writing. To say we “steal” the work of others is probably accurate, although there is a fine line between using devices of other writers and plagiarizing their work. If you come across a clever word or phrase written by someone else, it’s okay to use it in your own work, and that’s what good writers do, explaining that they were “influenced” by someone else’s good writing. If a good author shares her influences with her audience, I ask you to study the works of those “influences” and then re-read that particular author’s works. I’ll bet you will find some gems in her writing that were “stolen” from the works of those who influenced her. You’ll also discover how her work evolved from the combined works of others. It takes time to study this, but if you do you’ll find it.

It’s amazing to see how we are influenced by the beautiful artwork of other people. People just like you. Hey, there’s another good reason for you to write your first book: it will become influential in the lives and artwork of other good writers and authors someday.

I’ve been influenced and inspired by dozens of writers, even those whose work I didn’t care for. I’ve always taken away a little something from everyone’s work and, even though I may not have actually used it in some small way in my own work, I keep those little gifts for the future.

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How To Write Your First Book

I write down and store these words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs I like from the works of others, and sometimes I’ll just read them, one by one, letting the brilliance of someone’s artwork seep into my subconscious where it somehow becomes my own work and paints new vistas for me.

That’s how the work of other artists influences us: it moves us enough for us to record it and keep it someplace safe so we can enjoy it over and over . . . and even use it in our own work.

When someone else’s artwork makes you tingle inside, they’ve inspired you and have given you a booster shot of usable energy. Take that energy and channel it into your own artwork. Someday you will pass it on to someone else.

When we write, we do not necessarily reinvent the wheel, we capitalize on the lessons and tools we learned from other people, those who have been successful. In many cases, too, we use the work of writers who have not been successful, because they have a unique voice or choice of wording sentences and phrases, developing and expressing characters, using clever dialogue to advance a particular character and, in the end, the overall storyline.

Good writers feed their subconscious daily with many powerful active ingredients: art, conversation, face-to-face human interaction, traveling, eating great food, watching great films, storytelling with friends and colleagues. Since our subconscious is the entity that writes our story, it’s most important to nurture it. This is the topic of a future chapter on the subconscious.

Since I don’t punch a time clock or work for anyone else, I get to set my own schedule. I rise each morning when it feels right, have breakfast and lunch when my body says it’s time, go for long walks and hikes, take long drives along the coast where I live, or visit some cool shop, museum, bookstore or . . . anyplace that suits me in that moment. Sometimes, too, I just hang out under the duvet and watch movies all day. It’s part of my work, part of the whole process of creating something special, so I never feel guilty about it. Neither should you, if this becomes your way of life.

A special sidebar note about this process: you must be surrounded by people who support and respect you, those who know what it takes for you 24

Characteristics Of A Good Writer

to succeed. For them to fully understand the process and what you wish to accomplish, you absolutely must share with them what your dreams, wishes, desires and needs are. Please do not keep them in the dark as you go through the process of writing your first book. Why? Let’s consider the passage below. It tells a great story.

“All disappointments are due to either unexpressed communications or unfulfilled expectations.”

—Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Well said. Interestingly, the Maharishi studied physics in the early 1940s before founding the practice of transcendental meditation. I think he understood the power of the Universe and celestiophysics, and founded quite a movement based on this universal power.

So, using the Maharishi’s quote to support my assertion, I feel you should express your desires to your family and supporters, so they fully understand and appreciate and respect what you’re doing. The more they know and understand, the better they can support you. Also ensure you express your personal expectations and goals as you further your artwork.

Look at it this way: if both you and all your family members knew exactly why you want to write your first book, and they knew all your and their own expectations for your success, then everyone would be on the same page, the same frequency. There’s a certain power and symmetry when many people’s dreams, wishes and desires are on the same page. The power isn’t just additive, it’s exponential. That, my dear Reader, is another unique power of celestiophysics. Makes me want to write a book about it right now, but my immediate obligation is to you. . . .

Ahhh! Where were we? The subject of communicating what we desire and then communicating our expectations to those important to us. To those of you who have families and significant others, this could be the most powerful tool you learn from this book.

I treat myself to good food, and find it so inspiring sometimes that I have to write about it, describing in great detail how it looked, smelled, tasted, the whole time wondering if I’d use it in some future story. Good entertainment is just as important. As I’ve said previously, I may spend all 25

How To Write Your First Book

day watching some cool films and tv shows, entertainment that fills me with sizzling inspiration, or just observing animals and insects in the wild, or maybe the clouds drifting over from Antarctica. I’m sooo inspired by everything around me, I want to study it, make sense of it, write about it and then share it with everyone.

That, in itself, is a powerful feeling. And it gives me incentive and otherworldly energy to write write write!

It’s as if I can’t stop writing until that energy is spent and my body stops tingling and then goes into a relaxing detumescence. It’s very much like making wild passionate love, having an unforgettable orgasm, then coming down slowly and deliciously. Wow! Point is, I get out and enjoy the world, because this is where stories are designed and built, from experiential experience and from being inspired by the artwork of exceptional and innovative people who aren’t much different from you, darlin’. I also get out there and practice my social skills of interacting and conversing with humans and engaging the environment.

Without these skills, I am a slug.

Good writers are also good editors. Once done with a draft, they let it sit for a certain period of time, then go back and change, or edit, whatever is necessary to make the story better. Editing takes time. The easy part is to get your story out of your head and onto paper. Then the real fun begins.

Reminds me of a quote from a Louis L’Amour novel, to the effect: “Just when you think you’ve reached the end, that will be the beginning.” It’s the same with writing that first draft: just when you think you’re done, you then get to have even more fun editing your first book. Editing is the subject of a future chapter.

Good writers take breaks and vacations when needed. Sometimes it’s necessary to step away from your work, allowing your subconscious to distill and analyze what you’re written. At a later time, you then go back and let your subconscious edit your work for you. When I need a real break from writing, I go somewhere where my laptop doesn’t want to be, like the side of a mountain or under water. Taking a break means just that: a break from the typical pace of everyday life. It’s good to get away from doing just one thing. Variety is necessary. Plus, it’s an excuse to let your 26

Characteristics Of A Good Writer

subconscious take a break from you, something that can be as important as your going walkabout in the wilderness for a few days.

I used to be a first-draft writer, never getting beyond that first draft, until I realized that to be a good writer I would need to keep working on my story until I got it just right. I couldn’t just let my cake bake itself, after I’d only added the mix and an egg. I needed to continue working on that cake until it was a masterpiece. To me, at least.

Good writers never stop learning. They are always on the lookout for a new lesson or tool that will enhance their work. They continually practice their skills just like athletes do. If you’re a sprinter and don’t sprint and do supplemental exercises, eat well, stay away from harmful things, then your muscles atrophy, they go slack. A sprinter cannot perform at top level without daily workouts and treating herself well. Like a seasoned sprinter, a good writer hones her skills and stretches beyond her boundaries without fear or trepidation.

How do I treat myself? First, I let my imagination run wild, like that six-year-old child who sees the world with wide curious eyes, soaking up everything around him. I absorb all I can from every possible source, asking questions along the way, meeting new people who teach me new things and introduce me to new concepts and ideas. I fill my mind, heart, soul with all life has to offer, then channel what I learn into my work.

When you master the good habits of good writers, you will be well on your way to becoming a good writer. You owe it yourself to do whatever it takes. Use this building-block approach, stay on track, do the exercises, follow through to the last word of your first book. Then go back and read it all again.

Repeat as necessary.

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Writing Takes Time

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ome people can pick up a guitar and play Clapton and Hendrix from day one. It’s in their DNA. They didn’t study it. They didn’t learn it from someone or in a class. They just did it; it was gifted to them. And the rest of us stand around watching and listening, admiring them, wondering how they do it. Again, some people just have it from day one, built into their genetic code. And they make it look so easy. Mostly because it is easy. For them.

But here’s a problem with naturals: they have no idea how they got their gift and they didn’t actually earn it. It was given to them, written into their DNA. They didn’t acquire it through years of pain and failure and hard work. I’m not slamming naturals, because some of them go on to great careers in all fields. What I’ve seen in my life, though, is that the people who earn their success are far better people than those who acquired via some genetic gift.

I’ve yet to come across anyone who can write from day one. Babies, toddlers, teens do not have a program inside them that immediately makes them a writer. That’s the strange thing about writing: it takes time to do it. And to do it well. You’d be hard pressed to find a child prodigy who can crank out good stories. Again, writing takes time and, of course,

Writing Takes Time

a certain maturity. This is what I love about authors and writers: they earn their success through years of persistence and hard work, and they don’t give up, regardless of how badly things get in their life. The best authors and writers out there know they have earned their gift and they could lose it at any time, maybe through blindness or some other physical disability.

Or death.

When I was in kindergarten, I told these lofty stories in front of the class, but I didn’t know how to write them all down. I had to learn the alphabet first. Then they taught me penmanship, which I flunked in a big way. Next came putting those letters into meaningful combinations to form words. When I’d learned how to write down the words I knew, they taught me how to write simple complete sentences. In time, using this building-block approach to learning, I learned grammar and syntax. And I read voraciously. Even as a precocious child, I read the newspaper. No, I didn’t understand politics or economics or science then, but I did read each article as a story and I picked up words, phrases and sentences that helped form my skills as a young writer.

Most people have to work at writing, so work at it and don’t envy those who are talented right out the gate; you’ll get there. I did, and I’m no genius. I simply started at the beginning, used the tools good teachers and my parents taught me, and started writing. I was fortunate, too: my father is a brilliant closet poet. His poems moved me in deep, spiritual ways and I retained his lovely words, phrases, sentiments. His words became my atoms and molecules. And my mom always read to me, showing me the importance of taking the time to pick up a good book and get lost in it.

Good writers love what they do. Some have told me it’s cathartic, getting those stories out of their head and splashing it onto paper. Others have said it’s the whole process of creating something beautiful from scratch that makes them love the process of writing. You must see writing not as a chore but as a self-fulfilling action you perform each time you write that eventually produces a finished story.

Writing takes time, so you must be patient. If you’re looking for a quick buck and are doing it without passion, writing may not be the right area to place your energy and time. This is not something you do in a weekend, 29

How To Write Your First Book

like flying an RC model aircraft at a park. It takes time to form just the right words into captivating sentences, and those into paragraphs and chapters that grab a reader and hold her from page one to the end.

Now that you understand that writing takes time, please take the time to do what is necessary to become a good writer. Apply your passion to the art of writing. I believe you will not be disappointed with the results.

You must be motivated to share your story with other people, so they in turn will have the pleasure of experiencing your passion, feed off it and take away something memorable. You have the power to influence people with your writing, but it must come from your heart and soul. I’ve read hundreds of textbooks that bored me to tears. I’ve also read novels and narrative nonfiction that made me go back to the bookstore and demand my dollar back. It’s because the authors of those works didn’t inspire me.

It’s as if they wrote perfunctorily, maybe just for a paycheck. I guess that’s okay for them but it didn’t do anything positive for me. Still doesn’t. In the least, they showed how not to write and express myself. Plus—and this is huge—those commercial New York trade publishing senior editors often take the passion out of an author’s story, forming it into a rather stiff and lifeless mannequin. Yes, it’s commercial acceptable and salable, but it lacks the punch and passion I so crave in great artwork.

When you share your inner motivation and passion with others, you stimulate them in unaccountable ways, you move them and inspire them.

Please note that stimulating and influencing another human being should not be a goal, it should be a side effect of what you love doing: sharing your art with other people. And doing it selflessly.

Writing takes time: and I’m talking years of time, effort, energy and money. When you embark on your career as a writer, if this is your passion, it’s fine to see the end result—a printed book that is commercially viable— but I suggest you concentrate on taking your new project and career a day at a time. Nothing needs to be rushed when you’re learning the art of writing. Each story you design and build should have a life of its own and grow slowly, like a child, until it becomes an adult, a polished product from your heart and soul.

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Writing Takes Time

Writing anything worth someone else’s hard-earned money takes time to produce and get out there to a big audience, so please do not immediately strive for commercial success, as I mentioned previously (more than once, for effect). If you write from your heart and soul, people will find you and your book, and will want more. Yes, of course, there is the small matter of marketing and advertising, but this is after you’ve completed your artwork.

Writing your first book takes considerable time so please be patient.

Take small steps, maybe only a few each day, and learn to walk, then move to jogging, and finally when you find your balance, start running.

Remember: babies don’t run right out of the womb. Even Superwoman had to learn to crawl before she could fly faster than the speed of sound and kick major butt.

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Your Personal Space And Time To Write

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riters are like bus drivers and fighter pilots: they do their job sitting on their tush all the time. A bus driver doesn’t get to choose his seat. It’s provided by the company that owns the bus. A fighter pilot doesn’t have much choice, either. The US Department of Defense decides what he sits on and it’s usually the one from the lowestbidder defense contractor. At least he has a rocket under his butt to eject him from his office when things go really wrong up there in the rarified air, wild blue yonder and heavenly pillow-clouds.

A writer has many choices: she can sit on an old wooden chair with no padding, or on a $2,500 ergonomic highback office chair, done up in topof-the-line memory foam and ultrasoft upholstery.

My choice wasn’t really my choice at all, because my happy bottom told me what to buy and that was the $2,500 variety from Relax The Back.

Sometimes it’s good to listen to your fanny. If you’re from South Africa and are reading this, please excuse my use of the term fanny. For you folks, I meant derriere. And if you’re from the US and are wondering what I’m talking about, all this fanny business, please talk to the nearest South African girl you can find . . . and watch her blush.

Your Personal Space And Time To Write

Location, location, location. Having your writing office at a busy street intersection may get you noticed, not to mention possibly run over by a distracted bus driver, but you’ll be challenged to get any work done. A good writer needs a quiet, peaceful setting that allows and encourages free thought, reflection, studying and, of course, writing. If you live in a houseful of high-energy children who play at 120 dB just outside your door, even a good pair of aviation-quality earplugs and over-the-ear headphones won’t bring you peace. The music of children, played on high, seems to slip around the earpieces of noise-cancelling headphones, so I’d nix those, too, and just find a comfortable and quiet space, put a sign outside your door that reads: DO NOT DISTURB UNLESS YOUR ARM OR LEG FALLS OFF AND YOU’RE NOT SURE HOW TO PUT IT BACK ON If you love libraries, coffee houses or dive bars to do your work, then cool. Atmosphere, other than a traditional office, can enhance the mood of your artwork, so take advantage of it. Thing is, you’ll need a good laptop with at least one external backup hard drive to accompany you. I sometimes write in restaurants while I’m munching, and always bring an extension cord and backup hard drive. The owners and managers always accommodate me. Hint: tip well, especially after you sell something you may have written in a particular venue. It’s also a good idea to make the owner or manager one of your characters, even if you kill him off in the end.

Music is everything. If you can listen to heavy metal and write your first book, then go! If I had head-crasher acid rock blasting through my headphones, I’d be, well, dripping acid and picking up the pieces of my fractured peach. Nope, I need soft, smooth, soothing music for most work.

Sometimes I drop hours of reiki music on iTunes and let it massage my mind for the day while I type away. If I’m writing an action sequence, I may invite a cool Hollywood soundtrack into the room, something written especially for a film, no vocals, just kick-ass mood music.

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How To Write Your First Book

The tone of the sounds must fit the sequence I’m writing, otherwise I’ll wind up cranking out an action-adventure comic book. How you listen to your music makes all the difference, too: full surround-sound speakers that fill the room with as much mood as air; over-the-ear headphones that send just the right tones through your skull; or in-the-ear phones that shoot the juice directly to your eardrums.

Whatever you use, please experiment with all the above until you find just the right fit for you. Music changes your chemistry like a pill, shot, snort or injection of a drug, and it also had side effects, so try to avoid bringing on a hangover from the wrong music riding into your brain on a hundred-foot rogue wave.

Like music, lighting can make all the difference, too. Light creates a certain mood that affects you when you write. I love to have a darkened room when writing novels, because I need to channel the characters directly into my room and give them sufficient space to tell their story.

If I have beautiful paintings and pictures of the love of my life all around me, causing unnecessary distractions, it adversely affects my writing. With just the glow of the computer monitor, I can focus directly on the words that need to flow from my mind to paper. Again, your subject matter will determine the type of lighting to immerse yourself in. In writing this current book for you, I could go from bright daylight to pitch-blackness and not be bothered by it, but my best writing days were under bright natural light.

When I wrote the book Who Really Owns Your Gold, which has a lot of historical information in it, I listened to some Peter Kater and R. Carlos Nakai’s How The West Was Lost, which took me back 150 years, or Peter Kater’s Essence album. Wow, all the moody notes in that beautiful piece!

Also tuned into some classical music, mostly adagios, when writing about periods even further back. I love adagios because they’re slow and glorious, very tranquil. Mozart is my fave composer of adagios. My music library has every type of mood music to suit the scene I’m writing, and I plan the music carefully to match the scene. Sometimes, too, I put on a rainstorm or ocean waves, both of which are very soothing to me. When it’s raining

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Your Personal Space And Time To Write

every cat and dog in South Africa, I turn everything off inside and open all the windows and doors to let nature’s own symphony fill my senses.

Now that your lovely hiney-bumper is sitting comfortably in the perfect chair, in just the right office setting, with soothing or head-bangin’ tunes, and great mood lighting, it’s time to consider what kind of computer to use. I’ve used both desktops and laptops, depending on where I was writing, but I prefer being in my office using a desktop. My machine is a late-model Mac Pro with a killer engine, maxed-out memory, lots of internal and external data storage, plus two 30-inch monitors that provide me plenty of landscape to do whatever comes up. I also have two other computers as backup, because it’s not a matter of if your computer will crash, but when. They all do. Even my beloved Apple Macs.

I back up my data as I write, storing manuscripts, notes, research materials and books on six different hard drives, four internally, two externally. It sounds like overkill and I like the “over” because it ensures I never lose anything, even when a hard drives crashes. There were times in the waaay distant past when I wrote something that flowed like delish creamy fudge onto paper and then the system crashed without my saving it. Thank goodness, that was way back in the days when I was dumber than I am now. Nowadays, I also do DVD backups each month, and archive those in a storage unit off site. If your artwork is important to you, then please protect it, especially with DVD backups because hard drives will fail. Newer solid-state drives haven’t been tested over tens of years, so I can’t advise on those yet. My rule is, if it’s electronic in nature, then it will fail at some point, usually when you least expect it, so save your work to some hard device like paper, CD-ROM and/or DVD and place it in a safe and secure storage area or off-site facility.

Yes, I still use pens and real paper. Great for fast notes, flashes of inspiration on Post-Its, or just doodling while my WOW (Warehouse of Words; I explain this in an upcoming chapter) charges up to full capacity again.

Timing is everything, just like music and lighting. Do you love to write in the morning because your rhythm is optimal? Or maybe you’re a vampire who prefers the darkness of the evening? Do you write on a 35

How To Write Your First Book

long commute to work? A car, if you’re fortunate to have a driver? Or the train? Write whenever you feel like writing and when you can do your best work. If you have a primary job, and most of you will, then you must take advantage of the time whenever you can conjure it up.

The more time you can devote to writing your first book, the better. If all you need is an hour, and you can get that anywhere, then great. If you need four hours a night, then find it when everyone else is asleep or out partying. While they’re getting toasted, you’ll be writing your first book.

If everything is just right and you still can’t write, then your problem lies elsewhere. This will not be the subject of a subsequent chapter, unfortunately, as I am not a qualified physician who can diagnose writer’s ailments, let alone perform any manner of deep-brain stimulation.

However, I do discuss “Writer’s Block” in a later chapter.

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Your Conscious Self Will Take Dictation

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he human brain is divided into two distinct parts, the conscious and the subconscious, with the latter occupying the majority of all things neuronal. The conscious works on the surface, while the subconscious does its work deep inside your mind as the ultimate controller, the head chef who designs your meals and serves them up to your conscious at the surface.

This chapter discusses what these entities really are and defines each in some detail, and shows that each entity plays a very important and distinct role in your everyday life.

Remember, the things you will learn about these two entities within you can be applied not only to writing your first book but also to everything else in your life. This is indeed a powerful concept. And if you choose not to subscribe to it, you may be missing out on something important to you.

When I use the term bus driver, I do not mean it in a derogatory sense.

I simply use it because it is the best example of how your conscious self works. Let’s look at it another way: your conscious self is an executive assistant to a six year old, the subconscious or your Inner CHILD. More on that one later. No, lots more.

How To Write Your First Book

For the purpose of writing your first book, the bus driver is an obedient typist: he just takes dictation while your subconscious is designing, building and writing your first book.

You know how you see someone special for the first time and you try to talk to them? And you fumble with the words and what to say and do? Well, some of us do. I get tongue-tied sometimes and I look quite foolish. It’s the bus driver trying to do what the Inner CHILD should be doing: expressing your deepest feelings, but there’s a wall between the two that is sometimes difficult, if not impossible, to cross or somehow diffuse through.

Your conscious self has a limited Warehouse of Words (or WOW; I’ll discuss this in the next chapter) and has to “think” about what to say most of the time, especially in times of stress. When the stress subsides, that’s usually when he comes up with the right thing to say, and it comes from the subconscious, the Inner CHILD. People who speak fast and furiously, and do so with wit and passion, accuracy and intelligence are in touch with their Inner CHILD, even if they don’t know it and even if they’re not actively trying to communicate with their Inner CHILD. It just comes naturally to them.

Our bus driver gets us from point A to point B in life. He doesn’t ask questions about the time or the route, he just follows directions from the subconscious. You don’t have to subscribe to this line of thinking, although I am gently nudging you in this direction, just know that there are parts of your mind that work independently all the time to get you through life.

And one of those things is writing your first book. The bus driver will take dictation while your subconscious does all the hard work: designing and building your story. This is not to say that the bus driver is not important; he is. But he has his place and that place is driving the bus and taking dictation from a higher power (your subconscious).

It’s important to keep your bus driver in good shape, so he can ferry you about each minute, hour and day. If the bus driver is drunk or high, or otherwise incapacitated, you’ll not get too much work done that day.

Or week, if you’re on a lengthy binge. Daily exercise is important, even if it’s a long walk outside your house. Variety of surroundings is important 38

Your Conscious Self Will Take Dictation

because the bus driver can get bored easily and so needs breaks once in a while. And he needs time off, giving the subconscious time to digest the day’s events and plan for the next day.

I could easily have labeled your conscious a valet or executive assistant, but bus driver was just too good to pass up. I’ve driven a bus and so I know what it takes. There’s a huge responsibility, all those passengers who are relying on the driver to get them to their destination safely. Your bus driver has the most important job in the world: to take excellent care of your Inner CHILD. You should celebrate this distinction.

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Your Warehouse Of Words (WOW)

E

ach time you sit down and write something, there’s a finite number of words that will spill onto the paper during a session. It’s not always the same amount, because you may be more inspired one day than on other days. The fact that this fluid number exists is proof that there is some invisible barrier between your conscious and subconscious selves that prevents further continuous flow of words onto paper.

The maximum number of words your conscious self, the typist, can put to paper at any one time is called your Warehouse of Words, or WOW. And even though this is a fluid number that can fluctuate day to day or week to week, it can be nurtured and, with practice, greatly improved.

The first exercise you should do to test the volume of your WOW is to sit down in your comfortable office, in your optimum atmosphere, and pick a subject. Any subject will do, but it should be something that interests you. Set a timer nearby and start writing. Write for as long as you can without stopping. When done, count the number of words you wrote. That will be your WOW. For that subject, at least. If you already are working on your story, this is better because it will give you a good idea about the maximum number of words you will write in a day. As you progress through your project, your WOW may very well increase, and if

Your Warehouse Of Words (WOW)

you make a diligent effort to tap into your Inner CHILD, your WOW will increase significantly.

I used to write short pieces like articles for journals and magazines, and my WOW was about 3,000 words a day. When I got into writing novels and nonfiction, my WOW expanded with practice, and I wrote up to 10,000 words in a day. But then I felt drained after spending all that time on a single subject each day, so I defined an end point each day—I stopped cold turkey and went on to something else, even if it were taking a long drive along the coast or having dinner out with friends.

After years of writing, I trained myself to write no more than six hours each day on any one subject or project, sometimes breaking this rule when I felt especially inspired or had some self-imposed deadline. Normally, this came toward the end of a book when things flowed so well that I couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop. It was like having a grand adventure, riding in a futuristic aircraft that took me through the story, and I didn’t want to get off or stop it in any way. I was dying to see as many sites and experience as much as I could in that short period. It can be addictive after you do it a lot, so be careful not to overdose or get burned out. Remember, too much of one thing, even a really good thing, can be hazardous to your health and detrimental to your writing. Let’s hope you don’t experience this unusual phenomenon of overindulgence.

So, as I said before, my general rule is not to write for more than six hours a day, allowing me time to do other supplementary exercises and actions that feed my subconscious, that nourish my Inner CHILD with great food and drink. It’s very important to have a wide variety of things to do each day and week, so you don’t get bored or tired doing just one thing all the time. By taking necessary breaks and vacations, you expand your subconscious in unaccountable ways. While I’ve studied the subconscious in me for many years, I have not detailed all the inner machinations of it.

Some, but not all. I just know how it works well for me and I know how to nurture it to my advantage, and not just in writing stories.

The more you get in touch with your subconscious, the larger your WOW becomes. And the more you write, the more you will be able to write at any one time. And with more time and practice, you will get in 41

How To Write Your First Book

better touch with your subconscious and further expand your WOW. It’s a strong, positive feedback cycle that reinforces itself.

Just knowing this should blow your mind and serve as incentive to carry on with your work. I’m excited just explaining it to you!

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“Writer’s Block”

I

n all my years of writing, I’ve suffered from several different maladies and conditions but never the one we all fear and loathe: “Writer’s Block.” This doesn’t mean I don’t understand it, though, because I do.

And I’ve studied it in other people over the decades and have formulated my hypothesis about it and what causes it.

I’ve done experiments on myself to artificially induce “Writer’s Block,” and have been overwhelmingly successful. Those results were a dubious success, of course, because no one wishes to suffer from this dreadful disease of the subconscious, let alone for any extended period of time.

But at least I saw it first hand. When I stated above that I’ve never suffered from “Writer’s Block,” I meant it while I was actively writing, not experimentally inducing it for the purpose of intensive study.

What are some of the probable causes of “Writer’s Block?”

There is no one cause, because “Writer’s Block” may surface slowly or all at once at any point in the writing process. If you’re at the very beginning, with not even a storyline in mind, and you can’t write even that One Word, then the cause may be lack of passion, direction or drive. Of course, one of the worst causes is wanting desperately to write but not having anything

How To Write Your First Book

to write about. The next is having too many distractions that cloud the whole dreaming, designing, building and writing process.

If you’re not passionate about what you do, then the art of writing becomes a chore, a drudgery. And you’ll likely not write much, or even finish your first book. You must love what you wish to write about, be absolutely passionate about it, because this is a story that you will share with other people. Writing becomes a chore when you’re simply writing for money or a reason other than for passion.

I’ve read published books by authors who seemed to be doing it for the money, and it’s reflected in their work. I’ve also talked with authors who’ve told me their prime motivation was to earn lots of money. Some did it well, but their work wasn’t as good as others’ whose artwork was based on a deep-seated passion that underlies and fuels it.

Passion is a deep, often hidden desire to express yourself and what you have to say, what you believe in so fiercely that it must come out in some artistic form. And when it surfaces, it’s in the form of a book, your first book.

If you’re in the middle of actually writing your first book, and “Writer’s Block” creeps up on you and your work grinds to a halt, then the cause is more likely your not being in sufficient contact with your subconscious, such that when your Inner CHILD needs to connect with your typist and it cannot, the Inner CHILD gets pouty or just plain angry and closes down for a period of time.

This is the time you need to take a step back from your work and ask yourself, “How am I not in good contact with my Inner CHILD now?

What happened such that I lost contact? And how do I get back on track?”

You could be stressed out at work and this is impinging on your writing at night or on weekends. Your family may be undergoing a crisis, something that takes you away from your work and your Inner CHILD’s working for you on your book project. You must notice what the cause is and do whatever it takes to assuage the negative effects so you can get back to the fun business of writing your first book.

Another important question to ask: “Am I still passionate about writing this book?” Could be that you initially started your first book because 44

“Writer’s Block”

you were inspired by a lover who came into your life, turned it upside down, and you fell in love so deeply that you got lost in all that passion.

You began writing about it and then, out of the blue, your lover suddenly disappeared . . . along with the fiery passion that had driven you to embark on the journey to begin with. This happens sometimes. It’s not the end of the world, although the pain is often unbearable, not just the loss of a loved one but also the loss of your passion for writing a book you thought you would finish and get out there for all to read and appreciate.

Again, if you succumb to “Writer’s Block,” start asking yourself the questions above and listen carefully to the answers that bubble up from your subconscious. It may be a good idea, too, to write down the questions, say them aloud before you go to sleep, so your Inner CHILD will hear you and come up with some sort of answer. If your CHILD isn’t paying you much mind for whatever reason, you may consider taking a long break from your project, say, a month, then returning to it with a fresh look.

If you still suffer from “Writer’s Block,” even though you’ve tried all the suggestions above, go back to your One Word, Five Bullets, 25 Descriptive Sentences, Synopsis and Outline (if you’ve gotten this far in the writing process) and see if each step still conjures up strong, positive thoughts and passions in your mind, heart and soul. If you have somehow lost interest, or if your passion has waned even a little, then you might want to consider trying another approach to writing this particular book, or choose another idea altogether. This doesn’t mean you should quit your current project. It may need to ferment a bit more, so put it aside and try something else, another story idea.

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Your Subconscious = Inner CHILD Will Write Your Entire Book

O

ne of the greatest creations in the Universe, besides majestic planets like Earth and powerful energy sources like our sun, is the human subconscious. It is in direct communication with the Universe, which suggests it also communicates collectively with the subconscious of others. You do not have to believe in this line of thought to write your first book, even though I have injected small hints that you should consider it. Whatever you choose to believe, the plain fact is that you must give your first book sufficient time to develop. Time comes in days, weeks and months.

I’ve studied the human subconscious, mostly in myself, since I was a child, wondering what inner engine drove me to do the things I did. I didn’t have to think about doing certain things, I just did them. Sometimes they were rational and positive; other times, not so.

One item I discovered over the years was that there was a clear line between what I did consciously and how my mind functioned subconsciously. There was no argument on that point, not from me. And when I went to sleep each night, I knew there was a whole different creature that came alive and took me on endless journeys through space and time,

Your Subconscious = Inner CHILD Will Write Your Entire Book

introducing me to new thoughts, ideas, beliefs and ways of doing things in my life.

More than 10 years ago, I woke up one morning and scrambled out of bed to write something down. Whatever was in my head at that moment had to come out and it wasn’t going to wait for my bus driver, my typist, to take dictation. It was coming in a flood and that was that. When I got to my notepad, my hand started scribbling things down. I wasn’t paying attention to what I was writing, I just took it on faith that I had to do this.

After I was done autowriting, I looked at what had emerged: a single word, along with details about each letter of the word. It was an acronym, CHILD: C: the little Child in you, the curious wide-eyed being that looks at the world without filters and preconceived notions about anything. A little sponge that senses things with wonder and awe.

H: the true Heart in you, the purely subjective part, filled with every conceivable emotion known.

I: your Intuition or information-gathering system, the sensory apparatus that receives every possible stimulus in the Universe, much like a radio receives radio signals to produce spoken word and songs.

L: the cold, stainless-steel Logic that sees the world purely objectively, like a robotic computer that takes in and analyzes things in a totally impartial and neutral way, without emotion of any kind.

D: the little Demon in you, that mischievous entity that plays pranks and does impish things. Can sometimes be very destructive and hurtful.

These entities all comprise the human subconscious, which is the true engine that drives each and every one of us in our daily lives. They all work together and, depending on how one’s DNA is wired, sometimes for good and sometimes for evil. I will not get into the moral implications of good and evil, only stating that they exist in all of us to some extent and, in others, they comprise their whole being. Sociopaths and psychopaths are an example.

Okay, so we have this subconscious being inside us. Now what? Well, we can make an effort to communicate with what I term our Inner CHILD, or we can sort of ignore it and just float through life, going wherever it 47

How To Write Your First Book

takes us. I contend that we do have a destiny. Each of us, when we are conceived (not born), have a certain imprint from those celestial bodies that mediate and modulate our behaviors; in fact, everything we do in life. This imprint is kind of zapped onto our DNA when it first forms chemically in that single cell that will later become an individual being.

When we are first zapped by the Universe, using celestiophysics, we are then given a map of destiny that propels us through life. Some of us follow this map without much thought. Others, like me, question it each day and consciously make a choice whether to follow that map or go “off-map” and do something that we were not initially programmed to do. Again, most people do not pay much if any attention to their map of destiny. They simply live life and go with the flow.

There is nothing wrong with this approach, but wouldn’t it be cool if you actually knew how it worked so you could use this invaluable tool to your advantage?

These thoughts bring me to my personal philosophy, Subism. It holds that the human subconscious is direct communication with the Universe, and that celestial bodies (planets, stars, whatever) directly and indirectly influence all life on earth. The philosophers of old weren’t familiar with celestiophysics, so they formulated their own ideas about how humans operate and function, and what makes us do the things we do. I suggest that we do all the things we do because of the strong, inexorable influences of celestiophysics.

This book is not about my hypotheses on the Inner CHILD, getting zapped celestiophysically at or around the time of conception, our map of destiny, or Subism. I will write another book about all these phenomena.

Relax, if you don’t subscribe to my hypotheses, you can still write your first book. I simply wanted to share with you another reason how I came to do what I do and how I formulated the thoughts that went into writing How To Write Your First Book.

I have often wondered why we spend so much time trying to read the minds of other people when we should be learning how to read our own and get in touch with our own Inner CHILD. Ever thought about this?

Again, that’s the subject of another book.

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Your Subconscious = Inner CHILD Will Write Your Entire Book

How do you use your Inner CHILD to help you write your first book?

We can start with something we all agree on: we dream a lot. Sometimes you may not recall each or any dream, but your subconscious is actively dreaming, sending little (and giant) messages up to your conscious self to do certain things, avoid other things. Dreams are one method the Inner CHILD uses to communicate with your conscious self.

Interestingly, when your Inner CHILD presents a dream to you, it does so in very rudimentary language, in the language of a child. Duh. We dream in metaphors and symbols and motifs, not in complete film-like visions.

Our Inner CHILD only knows one method of talking to our conscious self, and that is in the language of a child, a small voice that expresses itself using little vignettes that represent small words and actions. I’ve never heard of anyone dreaming in the language of an adult. Never. If someone tells you that they do in fact dream this way, it’s not a deep-sleep dream but a lucid dream, one you actually control because you’re partly conscious.

During a very difficult time in my life some years back, I had a recurring dream: a was sitting in a bus filled with other people. I wasn’t talking or interacting with those people, just sitting alone and minding my own business. Then the bus suddenly filled with water, as if we’d just plunged into the middle of an ocean. No one around me moved an inch or spoke anything to me or to each other. They all just sat there as the bus filled with water. I looked around, saw stone-cold faces on my fellow passengers, and tried frantically to get out.

And then the dream went lucid, where I could actually manipulate the dream in a semi-conscious state. I changed the dream so I got out of that sinking bus.

Since I had already known that my Inner CHILD was responsible for communicating with me, I then figured out a way to interpret what my CHILD was trying to tell me. I didn’t get it at first, so the dream stayed with me each night for a week or so, until I woke up and listened to my Inner CHILD. To interpret my dream, which was in the language of a child, I used the thoughts, ideas and words of a child, say, of about four years old.

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How To Write Your First Book

When I used this method, interpreting the dream in a child’s voice, the dream became clear: “I can’t get out and no one will help me.”

Simple.

The very day I made this discovery, my life at that time changed dramatically. Allow me to share with you what actually happened to bring on the dream: I had just gotten divorced and was destitute on all levels.

The friends we had together when we were married all became only her friends and I was left with no one to talk and share my thoughts with. To grieve with, let alone get some help from.

The dream told me that I was in a world of hurt and no one was coming to my aid, even when I actively asked for help. In the real world, I was on my own. I have a term for that: yoyo, which means you’re on your own when things get really tough for you. I was yoyo for a long time, until I realized what was actually happening, then when I figured out my temporary predicament, I was able to change how I thought, how I acted, and consequently the actions I took to climb out of that dark hole, from inside that sinking bus.

My Inner CHILD knew what was going on all along and it tried to tell me, using the only language it knew—the small, yet significant, language of a child. I’m happy report that I’m doing very well now, having listened to my subconscious and followed through with it’s suggestions.

So, now that we know we have this unusual and special gift inside us, what do we do with it? How do we use it?

The first thing I recommend is to learn how to feed it properly, to nurture it. You would do this with a human child, wouldn’t you? Your Inner CHILD is even more important. It’s the entity within yourself that guides you through every moment of your entire life. How could you not want to nurture such a being? Really?

Your Inner CHILD is energetic and rambunctious, has a voracious appetite for new adventures and actions, so get out in the world and do stuff. Travel to new places, meet new people, eat new foods, explore new vistas. If you cannot afford to go to Europe or Africa, then explore your own town or city, or maybe drive to the next state and see what’s up there.

If those things are not in your current budget, then find a way to make it 50

Your Subconscious = Inner CHILD Will Write Your Entire Book

happen, now that you know your Inner CHILD needs these things. You need these things, too, dear Writer.

Your Inner CHILD loves to run and jump and play around, so get out and exercise your body, even if it’s a long walk or hike. If you’re going to be a sedentary writer, then your Inner CHILD will eventually rebel. Yes, I do know some overweight writers who do well, but they don’t last too long.

Unfortunately, they die young and the being that dies first is their Inner CHILD. This explains how people sometimes grow cold and distant, and they lose their humanity. In reality, they’re losing the most important part of them—their subconscious.

The CHILD inside you needs stimulation, and the world around you provides just that, so please take full advantage of your atmosphere and make it a daily routine to get out of your office and home and see different and stimulating sites, absorb what you sense all around you, roll in the grass, get dirty and make mud pies . . . something. There’s a new movement out there that is telling all of us to “ground” ourself with the earth. Actually get down on the bare ground and let it touch your skin. The earth is one giant healing mechanism, so find out more about grounding and then implement your new-found knowledge.

What else? Take trips to local stores, shops, museums, businesses that produce something interesting to see designed or in the process of being built. Feed your imagination ‘til its cup runneth over. There are no penalties for overfilling that cup. When your Inner CHILD has had enough, it will tell you.

Go to shows, films, performances and watch the beautiful artwork of people who are just like you: they have a dream, they design and build it, then they do whatever it takes to implement it. Seeing the art of others is inspiring on all levels, especially when they’re actually creating it. Go to the local hardware store and look at all the tools and items that are used to build things. Visit a restaurant and see how they prepare their meals. I feel it a grand experience to observe artists designing and building things, because it’s not unlike what I do when I create my own stories. In fact, watching other artists may be the most inspiring thing you can witness for yourself when you go out on these little excursions. I love watching glass51

How To Write Your First Book

blowers! Especially the truly great ones who produce the world’s finest artisan glasswork, those Murano artists in Italy! Wow, they’re amazing to watch. When I’m done witnessing world-class art in motion, I leave with an all-body tingle that’s right up there with the best orgasms ever. Now that is a powerful thought, huh? What an inspiration!

The point is to experience how people outside you and your world of friends and acquaintances conduct their lives and do what they do. When you do, you become a part of their work, too, and you fuel their own desires and passions. You become a part of their artistic process. Let these artists do the same for you.

If your story is set in a beachside resort, go find one and write from there. If you can’t afford to be there, then find a nice area at a beach where you can write and be inspired. Maybe your story takes place in a cool dive bar. Find one and soak up the atmosphere for a few hours. Try not to drink too much or you may not get as much work done. Oh, and please remember: beer all over a keyboard is major notgoodness.

Considering all the nourishment I suggest above, one item is very clear: it all feeds your Inner CHILD with new stimuli that will aid you in your writing your first book. Grounding yourself to the earth also will stimulate you in ways you never imagined. Like the other subjects I mentioned, grounding will be a future book of its own.

People make the world go round. And round. When I sometimes forget to get out of my office, which I love, I find that I miss the company of good people. So I jump out of my chair and go find someone to say hello to, ask questions about them, take an interest in another human being, share my own thoughts and experiences with them. Connecting with another human being is one of the most important acts we should perform on a regular basis. When we don’t, we get lonely and grumpy. Your Inner CHILD does not make a good companion when it’s idle, lonely, cranky and without proper stimulation from the outside world. Use is or you lose it.

Eat something different each day. It doesn’t take much to break up your diet, so try a new cuisine on Friday night, share it with friends, savor every

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Your Subconscious = Inner CHILD Will Write Your Entire Book

bite. Your Inner CHILD will be as joyful as your conscious self, I promise you.

How do you listen to your Inner CHILD when it speaks to you?

First, let’s consider when your CHILD is actually trying to tell you something. An example: you’re sitting in a chair, writing away and you get this nagging voice inside your head that says you need a small pillow at your lower back. Don’t ignore it. This is your Inner CHILD telling you something: I want to feel comfortable when I tell you this cool story to write. That’s like a message from the highest power in the Universe. No, I’m not kidding. Listen to it! Please and thank you.

Those little voices that creep up at all times of the day and night are your Inner CHILD trying to tell you something. You should listen to those voices. Now, if they tell you to go out and run over the first pedestrian you come across, I would think really hard before carrying out that command.

If you listen to voices like that, someone will probably have you committed or take you out back and tie you to a tree. How’s that for grounding?

When you hear the calling of your Inner CHILD, please take a listen, pay attention to what it is trying to say, then, provided the command is a reasonable one, please act on it. Once you start listening to your Inner CHILD, it will say, “Aha, she’s finally listening to me! Way to go, girl! Let’s give her some more information to use.” And, from that point forward, if you continue to listen to your CHILD, it will give you more and more great knowledge and information that will not only enhance your life, but also write your first book.

Communicating with your Inner CHILD is not that challenging.

Again, if it tells you to do something and you do it, then you’re effectively communicating with your CHILD. Keep doing it. And when you go to bed at night (or during the day, depending on your lifestyle and schedule), ask out loud and write down some questions or topics that you want your CHILD to mull over while your typist and bus driver are passed out for eight hours. When those guys are comatose, your Inner CHILD is hard at play on its own eight-hour vacation.

The more you listen to your Inner CHILD, the more it will talk back and provide the information you need. You can train it to give you more 53

How To Write Your First Book

and more information by asking questions, writing them down, then sleeping on them. Keep asking the same questions over and over until you get what you want. When asking questions or asking for help, please be kind to your CHILD. Remember: it is a child and understands when you are being impatient or downright tedious. You know how people say to treat yourself kindly and gently? They’re really saying you should be kind and gentle to your Inner CHILD. The reason I suggest you say what you want out loud is because when you speak it and hear your own words, your brain stores and processes that information in different areas, which work in unison to come to your aid.

When you physically write it down, that too is stored and processed in another part of your brain. When you read your own words, that is also stored and processed in yet a different part of your brain. These working areas are also complex computing centers that help to enhance what you desire and wish for, and they help your Inner CHILD make those wishes and dreams come true.

Training your Inner CHILD involves all the above steps, plus actively talking to it, and not just before you go to sleep. You can have meaningful conversations with your CHILD, not only asking questions but also asking for guidance and assistance. The more you communicate with it, the more it responds and with better and more relevant information that will help and guide you accurately.

Friends have told me that I talk to myself. Well, not exactly. I’m communicating with my Inner CHILD, and we have fascinating conversations that aid in my daily living. Please note: this is not the same thing as a schizophrenic talking to himself, although it may appear so to the naïve observer.

The only time my Inner CHILD has failed me is when I have ignored it. That fact, in itself, I find fascinating and compelling. My CHILD has never steered me in the wrong or in a negative direction. Ever. When I’ve chosen to go off-map, then sometimes I’ve gotten into trouble. Yes, I’ve learned a lot from those experiential experiences, especially when off-map, but I’ve also paid a steep price for venturing off my Universal path.

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Your Subconscious = Inner CHILD Will Write Your Entire Book

You also can talk to the individual components of your CHILD. It takes time and effort, but you can do it. I’ve often consulted my Logic element to get an objective view on a particular subject. And when I’ve needed to discuss something about my love life, I’ve talked to my Heart.

Having five separate ultra-complex computer modules inside your head is like having a team of experts of the Universe at your beck and call. Thing is, you must treat that team nicely and with great respect or it will ignore you and your queries. Your Inner CHILD will never be vengeful and send you down a wrong path; only your conscious self does that. The worst you can expect from your CHILD is silence, and that is the most crushing thing that could happen to your beautiful mind, not having the backing of one of the mightiest beings in the Universe.

When your Inner CHILD fails to talk to you or communicate with you, something is very wrong. Remember that your CHILD is just that, a child, so it needs special attention. Like I said, it will never steer you wrong, but it may ignore you. If it does, ask what’s up. Really. When you go to bed, write down that question, plus a few others: Are you okay? Have I done something really dumb to make you ignore me? What am I doing wrong here? How can I get back on track? Will you please help me?

The times I’ve had my Inner CHILD go silent, they were when I was not treating myself well. I’ve had some challenging jobs in my life— scientist, Army Ranger, corporate security specialist—and each one has brought on a host of problems and challenges that drove me bananas at times. Sometimes after very difficult days, I would drink one too many beers, which is a great way to shut down one’s Inner CHILD. Duh. Point is, I abused myself and I paid for it, not only externally but also internally.

Be kind and gentle to yourself, and your Inner CHILD will thank you for it in ways you cannot even imagine now.

Your Inner CHILD will write your first book. All you need to do is nurture it and treat it like it’s the most precious thing in the Universe. It will help you design your story, build it up from One Word to completed Outline, then guide your typist to get it all down on paper, virtual or real. You must first master the inner workings and machinations of your CHILD before you can begin. Even if you do not believe in the Inner 55

How To Write Your First Book

CHILD, you still must somehow feed your mind with all the ingredients I have discussed previously. If you wish to call the part of your mind that writes your first book something else, fine with me.

Again, regardless of your belief system, my approach to writing your first book still can be accomplished. I am simply sharing with you what I have seen and discovered to be 100% true and accurate in decades of writing and living a grand life.

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Warm-Up Exercises For Writing Your First Book

S

ome of the information here in this chapter is redundant but necessary. Repetition is good, long as it’s not a klaxon ringing at 130 dB in your good ear. I don’t do anything at 130 dB, so nothing in this book could possibly be bad for you.

You’ve now been introduced to your Inner CHILD and my general philosophy about how it communicates with your conscious self and the Universe. Again, you don’t need to subscribe to my line of thought, although I’d appreciate your considering it carefully, see if you see what I have seen all my life, perhaps even use it to your advantage. I’ve learned in my travels out and about that everyone is searching for some spiritual connection with a higher power, those entities that seem to control and encourage our behaviors. I have found that having some kind of accurate and benevolent belief system helps you in your writing and maintains focus. It encourages you to follow your path.

Tapping into your Inner CHILD is much like waking a sleeping giant: sometimes you never know what’s going to happen. And that’s cool, especially if you dig surprises. Personally, I have a blast with my Inner CHILD. It shares with me intimate details about myself, other people, places, things and the Universe. I just sit back and listen a lot, asking

How To Write Your First Book

questions when they pop up. And I am richly rewarded each time my CHILD responds. After all, I do not have the capacity to store and process all the valuable and fascinating information I encounter every day of my life. Without my Inner CHILD to take it all in and make sense of it, I would miss out on a lot.

Listen to that “little voice” in your head when it tells you something, e.g. put a pillow behind you to feel more comfortable, go out and take a walk in the rain, or make yourself a new dish instead of cheeseburgers all the time. When you listen to your Inner CHILD, that child will say, “Aha, she hears me! Let’s take her on a wild, charged-up ride to the ionosphere!”

The more you listen to your CHILD, the more you’ll hear back from it.

I’ve found that I can best communicate with my CHILD during sleep, because my conscious dude is knocked out and can’t interfere with the grand adventure my CHILD sometimes takes me on. Before I sleep I write down and say aloud a question or two. I focus on it for a few minutes, kind of like tamping down a big bag of black powder, a blasting charge into the business end of a cannon. When I fall asleep and my bus driver drops into lala land, the charge fires off and rockets me into a whole different world, a world where anything can happen.

There are other ways to tap into your Inner CHILD, but they’re often difficult if not impossible to find and use. One time, I went to a special ceremony where ayahuasca was served. If you’re not familiar with it, look it up sometime. The active ingredient in ayahuasca is the “spirit molecule” or dimethyltryptamine, DMT. It allows you to tap directly into your subconscious while awake, although the ayahuasca itself has some undesirable side effects. Once was enough for me. I found that the side effects weren’t worth the overall result. In the end, I felt that summoning my Inner CHILD was best done during sleep, which is the natural state for communication with my subconscious.

When you talk to your Inner CHILD, remember it’s a kid you’re talking to, so don’t complicate things. Keep the questions simple and to the point.

An example: “How can I quit my current job and just write full time?”

So Your CHILD will mull it over during the night and come up with some kind of answer by morning, depending on how well you’ve talked to 58

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it in the preceding days, weeks or months. As I’ve said before, it takes time to tap into your Inner CHILD, so please be patient. It may take weeks or even months to get an answer, so don’t give up. If stress is a big part of your life, it may take you longer to tap into your subconscious. Again, be patient and persevere.

Soon as you awaken, write down or voice-record the first things that pop into your head. Usually I’ve found that I forget these answers if I do not write them down or record them. These precious gifts are evanescent, like a faint puff of aerosolic scent that wafts up from a flower, so please treat them gingerly and respectfully. There’s a reason why we’re given this small window of opportunity to record them: our Inner CHILD wants to communicate with us and wants us to understand what its trying to tell us, so it gives us a short period of time to write or say the results of dreams or thoughts after a night’s slumber.

Other exercises you can do: take a nap during the day when you normally would not. Before you siesta, seed in your Inner CHILD with whatever issue, thought, idea or topic you wish for your Inner CHILD to consider and give you feedback on. Have a pen and paper or voice recorder ready when you awaken or are in lucid dreaming, so you can record everything that pops out of your mind. Again, these answers you will receive are short-lived so take full advantage of them while they’re still in some tangible form to “see.”

This is a bit off the wall, but what they hey. Oh, and it’s strictly for grown-ups and adults: have a few drinks (or “something else”) to put your conscious self, your bus driver, to rest or to numb him up for the evening. This state of mind will allow your Inner CHILD to surface and not be bothered by the pesky bus driver. I don’t recommend this approach every day as it may lead to some kind of alcohol addiction (or addiction to “something else”). Also, please do not drink and drive or be obnoxious or harmful to others. The point here is to numb the conscious self so it doesn’t muddy up your communicating with your Inner CHILD. If you do not naturally use alcohol, then disregard this suggestion.

Anyway, just a thought.

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Carry a voice recorder and/or notebook and pen with you wherever you go and record whatever pops into your head about your first book. If anything floats from your subconscious into your conscious, write it down or speak it into the recorder. Make sense of it later. Just get it out of your head.

More on dreams: the human mind lives a good portion of its life in a subconscious realm, where dreams come and go at regular intervals, providing us with much-needed information about us, our lives, our surroundings, and even our future. And to think that most people completely ignore all those hours, all that great knowledge that’s dying to get to the surface and share with them in a conscious state where the lessons learned become lessons implemented. Having a beautiful Inner CHILD and not using it like having a million bucks and never spending it. Worse, folks don’t even know all that money is in the bank for them to play with.

One of my fave authors is Dr. Michael Newton, who wrote the books Journey of Souls and Destiny of Souls. Fascinating man! His are must-reads, period. He’s a certified therapist and hypnotherapist who has worked with hundreds of clients, especially in afterlife work and past-life regressions.

The results of some of this work suggests that our spirit guides come to us in our dreams, and help us figure things out when we’re stuck.

This is similiar to what I believe, in that our dreamstate is in direct contact with the Universe and its entities, and so we’re able to communicate directly with these entities via our subconscious self. I encourage you to explore more about this by reading Dr. Newton’s books and practicing the exercises I suggest in this chapter.

If you’re new to the process of tapping into your own dreams, then let’s try this: keep a diary of dreams for 30 days, writing down everything you can remember when you awaken. Don’t necessarily analyze what’s going on in these daily exchanges between your conscious and subconscious selves, just record them. Your Inner CHILD will see what you’re doing and start to give you more and more information. It first needs to know you’re actively listening. When it discovers this revelation, it then will send you little gifts. For now, please write it all down.

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After 30 days, start seeding into your Inner CHILD what you wish to accomplish or think about each night. Write it down, say it aloud, read it again five times, say it again five times, then go to sleep.

When you awaken, record everything you can remember. If necessary, use a voice recorder. Just remember to store your recordings in a safe place.

The iPhone is great for this, because you can then download the mp3 files directly to your desktop computer or laptop, and listen to them in iTunes or VLA. I love it this way, as I can listen to my thoughts while I read or write.

As you get fluent in conversing in a new language with your Inner CHILD, you will learn more about yourself and your behaviors, thoughts, wishes, dreams. All these new tools will help you write your first book.

I wish this book focused only on dreams, because I find them fascinating and captivating and they hold so much valuable information about me and my life. My dreams are vivid and focused, examining those details that my Inner CHILD tells me are important. And I am a better person for listening to it and talking with it.

But there’re so many other exercises we must explore here, so onward.

We channel the great authors and artists of the past and present, provided we have allowed our subconscious to train us to listen to its gifts. You can do this easily enough right now: take your favorite book and type it verbatim, word for word, into a whole new manuscript that you call your own. This will take many hours and will be well worth the time and effort. The artwork of your fave author will flood you with new energy, enthusiasm and purpose, showing you that writing your first book is doable. It can and will be done, and you will be the one to do it. It’s similar to watching one of those super-talented Murano glass-blowers in Venice. Mindblowing! And when you get home, you’re filled with a new level of energy and enthusiasm for your own artwork.

Back to your fave book: as you type each word, sentence, paragraph and chapter, you actually see the entire process of designing and building and sharing a great story, as if you were standing over the shoulder of that great author and watched her write it, one chapter at a time, from beginning to end. You see how she uses little turns of phrase, just the right words to 61

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describe character and place, and how she weaves subplots among each other intricately right up to the denouement.

I feel this is one of the most helpful exercises you will ever do. Ever.

When I did it, it was well after I had begun my writing career and had published articles and books. I took one of Doug Preston and Lincoln Child’s books, The Ice Limit, and typed it out as I suggested above. It was a grand journey that helped me become an even better writer and author than I already was. I never could’ve predicted how much it helped until I just sat down for a week and did it.

When you do this exercise, you will absorb the brilliance of someone whose work you admire, and have made it your own. Sort of. You will feel like you’re the one who created it, and you’ll admire it for days, pat yourself on the back for having produced a bestseller. It’s a great feeling and I strongly encourage you to do it. I only did it once in its entirety, but I have done it in small chunks with other great authors’ works, especially those whose books I didn’t normally read for fun. I simply wanted to channel them and see how they went about what they did for a passionate living. I felt like they were mentoring me through their process of writing a great story, sharing with me all their little singing details and nuances, their tricks and tools, and it didn’t cost me a dime. Only my time, energy, enthusiasm, passion and effort.

How can you beat that arrangement? You couldn’t pay an author any amount of cash to take that kind of time to teach you like this, sharing what makes them tick-tick-tick and go BOOM! Okay, on to the next adventure!

Pick a book similar to your planned first book and read it. Really read the thing. Not fast, but for fun and enjoyment. Don’t try to edit it or make it better in any way. Just read it for the sheer pleasure and enjoyment. This will immediately tell you that some other writer, a published author who shares your interest, took the time to write that book. This exercise does not require a whole lot of explaining, so I’ll keep this one light and breezy.

If they can do it, so can you. Now go out and prove it, Miss WriterSoon-To-Be-Published-Author.

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Warm-Up Exercises For Writing Your First Book

Now for the challenging exercise, as if the ones above weren’t exciting, stimulating and inspiring enough: take a book by an author you admire and like, and edit it. I know, we haven’t discussed editing as a valuable tool you will need and use after you produce your first draft, so this will be an introduction. A trial by fire. But it’s not a fire that will burn you. Rather, it will inspire and motivate you, plus teach you the beginnings of how to edit your own artwork. I love this exercise, because I do it every single time I read another author’s book. I read for fun, yes, and I also read critically, always making little notes in margins or on pieces of paper that I feel would make this book much better.

Interestingly, I have done this so many times and actually shared my edits with some authors, which earned me editing credits in their novels and books, or perhaps a spot on their Acknowledgments page. It also got me some great subsequent business with some authors.

Fun story: I did this with one of Dan Brown’s novels, back when he was a no-name author who sold maybe a total of 2,500 copies of his previous books, including Angels & Demons. He then rang me out of the blue one day and invited me to read his latest book and do a critique of it, especially his character Silas, a Jesuit assassin. He sent me an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) of the book in late 2001, as I recall, and I went through the entire book and made a lot of suggestions. It was a great story and went on to become the greatest-selling novel of all time: The Da Vinci Code. Did the same with Angels & Demons.

That exercise wasn’t planned by my conscious self; my Inner CHILD encouraged me to do it, and it has paid off in a huge way. What a fantastic surprise!

As you type your edits, say them out loud so your own artwork seeds your Inner CHILD with your contributions. Tear it apart and make it the best it can be, and please do not be meek here. You need to be brutal but accurate in what you suggest as edits. Make it a much better story than the one you started with.

If you’re feeling really bold (or stupid), organize your edits well and send them, along with a cover letter, to the author of that book you just

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made a whole lot better. In your follow-up letter, ask the author of the book you ripped apart if you can be the editor of her next book.

I was teasing when I said stupid above. It’s not a stupid thing to do. It’s cool and it not only will teach you a lot about you and your own artwork, but it will also show others that you are good at what you do. If they like your work, as Dan Brown did mine, they may even hire you for future work or ask for further input on their work.

Strange things happen every day in our beautiful world. Make it happen for you, dear Writer.

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Hollywood Shorthand: Pitch Your Story To Yourself First

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efore you begin the process of writing your first book, get yourself excited about it. Think about it all the time. Take it to bed with you, like a delicious lover you savor for hours, days, weeks. Go slowly and let it make love to you. No, I’m not kidding. Your first book is like your first passionate love and lover: sizzles and sparks and mindblowing dynamite-sex that seemingly last forever. And then some.

Again, no kidding. Remember that reckless abandon? When you just devoured your lover, suspending that demon we know as time and all in it?

Getting lost inside their mind and body and soul, coming together like two warm bodies of salted and spiced water, never knowing where one ends and the other starts. A fertile miasma of rich and provocative thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and wishes and hopes and dreams. Grand fantasies, all.

That, dear Writer, will be your first book. And if you’re a great lover, it won’t be your last.

See your story in your head before you start writing anything. Maybe it’s a grand movie or film. If so, how would you describe it? Try using what movie writers and producers use all the time to pitch their work, “Hollywood shorthand.” Two different movies whose plot/characters

How To Write Your First Book

are similar to your own, so you can meld them together into one gift to yourself.

Jaws meets Star Trek: alien creatures that invade earth from space; they fly in without ships.

James Bond meets Jurassic Park: the cool guy who fights flying Jaws-like aliens.

The Da Vinci Code meets Independence Day: smart team that investigates, finds a terrible conspiracy at the highest levels of humanity, and ultimately destroys the flying aliens.

Hollywood shorthand was designed to be a 30-second elevator pitch that conjured up a vivid scene in the mind of the beholder. When fusing two cool films into one, you give the audience a simple yet powerful measure of the magnitude of your intended earthquake-of-a-story, something that will rock their socks down to their ankles, little donuts of desire, mystery, intrigue, all designed to stimulate them on deep, subliminal levels.

This, of course, works well for you, not just another person or audience.

You can influence your own emotions by doing this exercise, using many different films and movies or tv shows. Try it many times until you find just the right combination of entertaining visuals that resonate right down to your very DNA. And if you’re especially creative, you can try using this approach with songs instead of movies and tv shows. I haven’t tried it, so please ring me with your results.

These exercises are meant to be done over many days, allowing these images to seed your Inner CHILD with lush, fruitful and provocative visions that will eventually morph into a grand story. Your grand story.

You must be able to turn yourself on to your artwork first, long before you unleash it on the public. Now get out there and stimulate your beautiful mind.

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One Word

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his is another critical task, coming up with One Word that will tell your entire story. I do this to encourage you to focus on a theme that represents your entire book. Please think about what your story represents, write down in free-flow a list of many words, then go back and look at each one, asking yourself, “Does this One Word tell the essence of my story?” When you’re done editing and picking and choosing, this One Word should be the absolute distillate of all your thoughts about what you propose to write.

The reason why I ask you to start with One Word is because it compels you to reduce your entire story to its bare essence, a tiny molecule, a kernel of matter packed with enough energy to rocket you to start the writing process and then maintain it to the last page of your book.

If you were preparing a lovely dessert, say, a cappuccino mousse cheesecake, you’d have several key ingredients that, when blended together just right, baked at the perfect temp, and splashed with a delicate mousse topping, yielded the most yummy creation ever.

How would you reduce this wonderful sweet to One Word?

I mean, really, what would you call it? Think about it some, savor the whole, and come up with One Word for it to tell your family and friends.

How To Write Your First Book

SweetHeaven.

Okay, so I cheated a bit.

DelishLove.

Oops, I did it again.

Or just Love.

Point is, your One Word reflects how you see your own artwork, not what others tell you. Love says it all, especially when you’re pouring your love into this deliciously artful creation. Love. I like that one.

Doing this exercise also seeds in your subconscious this One Word, allowing your Inner CHILD to conjure ideas that you never even thought of. It’s e = mc2 here: one tiny word, when digested by your subconscious, yields a huge amount of energy, i.e. more words that are strung together meaningfully and artfully. You may have great ideas for your first book, but your subconscious will add many more that will blow you away. And your readers, too.

Write it down on one piece of paper and let it sit for a week. Don’t think about it, read it again for the whole week or even think about it. Get lost in other activities.

At end of one week, read your One Word and see how it resonates within you: Does it conjure up your story? What does it say to you? Is it representative of what your story says? Do you feel you need to find a better One Word?

If you’re satisfied with your One Word, then press on to the next step.

If you come up with a new One Word, then repeat steps above until you’re satisfied with it and what it says about your story and how it makes you feel when you read that One Word.

Examples: Gold: may be a book about the history of gold and how it’s been abused by the powers that be.

Love: could be a book about the biochemistry that underlies what we know as LOVE. Happiness: a book about what it takes to be happy, using a cool story about a couple that struggles daily and suffers many losses, but still has a 68

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happy home and each is a happy person who shares their happiness with others.

Redemption: a man gets divorced, falls into a deep depression, gets a DUI and almost kills himself. In time, he meets someone special who helps guide him back to reality and places a mirror in front of him, allowing him to see his inner beauty and worth.

Regardless of what your One Word is, take the time to think about it and do it knowing it is one of the first major building blocks that will serve as the foundation for the remainder of your first artful creation, your delish cappuccino mousse cheesecake.

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Five Bullets

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fter you settle on a suitable One Word, it’s time to think more deeply and develop and expand your theme. Start dreaming about your story in terms of a beginning, middle and end. Thinking in this way breaks down your story into its most simple parts, much like you did when distilling your entire story down to just One Word.

When considering a beginning, middle and an end to your story, write down those first three bullets, but label them 1 for the beginning, 3 for the middle, and 5 for the end of your story. Bullet 2 will serve as a transition from the beginning to the middle, and bullet 4 will be a transition from the middle to the end.

An example of a fiction piece or novel, based on our One Word, Love: 1. Boy meets girl, has a blast for two years in a blissful relationship.

2. Things start to go awry when one of girl’s friends tells her the boy is cheating on girl.

3. Girl believes her friend, confronts boy who is in a state of shock, denying the whole accusation, and so girl leaves him in a flash, goes home to parents.

4. Boy is distraught, falls into a depression, then suddenly comes out of it when the girl’s friend visits him and spills the beans about what she did

Five Bullets

and why. She has been in love with him the whole time, and even tells him so, hoping the boy will be with her.

5. Boy rejects girl’s friend and runs to the girl at her parents’ home, begs for an audience, shares with her the evidence, and all is forgiven. Life is blissful once again for the couple.

Remind of you those ninth-grade romances? Painful, huh? Sorry to bring up the storyline; it popped into my head. Besides, it reminded me of ninth grade and made me smile the whole time I was writing this.

Nonetheless, only you can determine what the elements of your story are, so please think carefully about how you wish to structure your story.

If you’re not sure about structure, it is the mechanical and physical way you lay out the entire story. For a novel, it may be as described above, with a beginning, middle and end, plus the two transitions. For a narrative nonfiction book that tells a tale of a disaster at sea, like The Perfect Storm, you may follow Sebastian Junger’s work and tell it chronologically, weaving various scenarios into the storyline that describe what may have occurred during the entire ordeal aboard the Andrea Gail. No one survived the disaster, so Junger had to make good sound guesses about how it all unfolded. He structured it as a chronological story, peppered with many hypotheses about how the men acted during various parts of the fateful journey, how they reacted to the vessel overturning, and what they went through in their last minutes of life.

My book here is not showing you how to structure your story; you must do this on your own, after careful research and reading other people’s work that is similar to your proposed book.

The five elements, your Five Bullets, are the foundation of everything else you write, so take two weeks to design these Five Bullets, set them aside periodically, and allow your Inner CHILD to stew over them, consider them from all possible angles.

When done, set these aside for two more weeks. Do not consciously think about your Five Bullets. I know, don’t think about pink elephants: you’ll likely think about them every day unless you get lost in other activities important to you. It’s critical to allow your subconscious to carefully consider these Five Bullets. Your Inner CHILD needs time because it’s a 71

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child, and children sometimes don’t take in a lot of meaningful information all at once; they must consider things slowly and methodically.

That statement isn’t entirely accurate, because your Inner CHILD does, in fact, absorb a large amount of complex information in a short period of time, especially during a crisis situation, but please allow me this seemingly contradictory point for the purpose of asking you to set things aside so your Inner CHILD can stew on them.

At the end of those two weeks, read your Five Bullets carefully. Read them over and over again, picturing your entire story based on what you read. Do these Five Bullets adequately tell the story you wish to convey?

If they do, then move on to the next step.

If they do not, then start over and repeat the steps above until you are satisfied with your Five Bullets.

While I’ve kept this chapter short and simple, the process itself, formulating Five Bullets, is quite involved, though, because you must think carefully and logically about each bullet point, from the beginning to the middle to the end. The success of what you do next, writing 25 Descriptive Sentences, will depend entirely upon the quality of your Five Bullets, so make them the best they can be. And if you need more time, please take it and make the absolute best of it.

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25 Descriptive Sentences

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y now, you’ve stewed over your Five Bullets for a few weeks, allowing your Inner CHILD to digest, analyze and break them down into discrete units that have their own unique characteristics, and generate a distillate that will be used to construct the 25 Descriptive Sentences.

This chapter is short on narrative and long on examples, so please pay close attention to how I have taken the Five Bullets from the preceding chapter and expanded them. I will take only the first bullet of the Five Bullets and expand it as a good illustration for you.

You will expand each of the Five Bullets into five longer and more descriptive elements—sentences. When you originally wrote the Five Bullets, you constructed them with a beginning to your story (bullet 1), a transition from beginning to middle (bullet 2), a middle (bullet 3), a transition from middle to end (bullet 4), and the end of your story (bullet 5). As you take each bullet, say, number 1, and expand it further, you will not necessarily have for each new set of bullets a beginning, middle and end as you did before, but rather a continuation and expansion of the preexisting bullets. The idea here is to build more detail into your ever-

How To Write Your First Book

expanding book by fleshing out each of the Five Bullets into 25 Descriptive Sentences.

This progressive and logical expansion will allow you to create more detail and depth for your story, and to examine the characters and setting more closely and accurately, drawing out each element until it is in full bloom.

Each sentence should be a complete illustrative statement that is accurate, brief and concise and yet should contain as much information and energy and passion as you can pack into it. This is not the time to hold back, to be modest. Be creative when you write these sentences. Practice the art of writing, if only in simple sentences. Remember, you are allowing yourself the liberty of expression, which is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself. It is a full release of your inner creativity.

It may sound contradictory, but try to include only the very basic information about the five new elements of the beginning, the five new elements of the middle, and five new elements of the end of your story.

The transitions should be carefully thought out, as they stem from and give rise to the other elements.

When done with your 25 Descriptive Sentences, do not go back and edit it in any way. Set it aside for about one month. As with the other elements of this method, please do not think about the 25 Descriptive Sentences during that four-week hiatus.

Get lost in other work or play.

Do not think about pink elephants!

At the end of the period, read your 25 Descriptive Sentences carefully, see how they resonate within you.

Do they make your DNA sing a pleasant melody?

Do the five new elements of the beginning describe it vividly?

Do the five new elements of the middle describe it vividly?

Do the five new elements of the end describe it vividly?

I use repetition (“vividly�) here for good reason: your words should convey a rich, colorful and fully textured vision of your story.

Are the transitional elements smooth and vivid?

Can you see the general story from reading all 25 Descriptive Sentences?

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Are you happy with the results? If so, press on. If not, start over until you’re 100% satisfied with your work.

Now let’s revisit the previous Five Bullets and show an example of how to expand the first bullet point: 1. Boy meets girl, has a blast for two years in a blissful relationship.

2. Things start to go awry when one of girl’s friends tells her the boy is cheating on girl.

3. Girl believes friend, confronts boy who is in a state of shock, denying the whole accusation, and so girl leaves him in a flash, goes home to parents.

4. Boy is distraught, falls into a depression, then suddenly comes out of it when the girl’s friend visits him and spills the beans about what she did and why. She has been in love with him the whole time, and even tells him so, hoping the boy will accept her.

5. Boy rejects girl’s friend and runs to the girl at her parents’ home, begs for an audience, shares with her the evidence, and all is forgiven. Life is blissful once again for the couple.

Let’s take the first bullet and work our magic on it.

1. Boy meets girl, has a blast for two months in a blissful relationship.

The five new sentences, your expansion of the first of those Five Bullets, may look something like this: 1a. Paul returns from a tour of duty in the Army and, as he runs through a park, spots Caitlin sitting on a bench, reading a book, meets her.

1b. The early week of their relationship are spent in each other’s arms, rarely going out of each other’s sight.

1c. Caitlin goes against her parents’ wishes, moves in with Paul.

1d. Both have now created that elusive third entity that is bigger than both of them combined, and marriage is now in the air.

1e. On a balmy May evening, as the sun sets over the Gulf of Mexico, Paul proposes to Caitlin, she accepts his offer, and they buy a home on the beach.

This short example illustrates the process of taking the Five Bullets and dilating their content so you can see your story more clearly and in greater 75

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detail. And the more you expand the content, the more you see your story unfolding right in front of you.

Since this particular step is much bigger in scope and will take longer to write, I suggest that when done, put these 25 Descriptive Sentences aside for about one month. As before, do not even think of what you’ve just done. You must tell your bus driver and typist to take a vacation or pay more attention to what’s cooking in the present, rather than consider all the hard work your subconscious put into constructing the 25 Descriptive Sentences.

At this point, your Inner CHILD will take the reins from your conscious self and start to absorb and comprehend all this new information. This step takes a lot of time, so please allow yourself that one month of time away from your writing and let your Inner CHILD do its intricate and clever thing. During that time, your subconscious will further design your story and start delving into the options and possibilities.

Oh, the possibilities.

No, the probabilities!

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Synopsis

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ow, you’ve completed the 25 Descriptive Sentences! Good for you. No, good for your Inner CHILD, who deserves much of the credit here. And good for your typist who slaved over the keyboard for hours. And good also for your bus driver for driving your typist to work each day. Woo-hoo!

It’s a team exercise and you’ve done brilliantly thus far.

Now it’s time to take those and expand them even further, this time into a form that is less short and choppy and more of a narrative, a freeflowing story that will give you a fine glimpse into what your story really looks and feels like.

The Synopsis is a mini version of your book, written as a narrative, not bullets or a sentence outline. We’ve all read in books and articles that a synopsis is the summary of your book, something you write after the book is done, a piece to send out to literary agents and publishers.

The Synopsis I speak of in this book is a summary of your first book, but you will dream it up before you actually write your first book, not after.

After you’ve actually written your first book and need to conjure up a “synopsis” for those literary agents and publishers, if you’re going this route, your new “synopsis” will likely have changed because your story will

How To Write Your First Book

now be fleshed out and contain elements that you did not have when you wrote what I term your Synopsis.

You will now take the 25 Descriptive Sentences and, perhaps just a few sentences at a time, feed those into your Inner CHILD, let it digest them overnight, then write the appropriate sections of your Synopsis the next morning. Sometimes you’ll need to have pen and paper or a voice recorder on hand as soon as you wake up, because the recently digested information will all come tumbling out upon awakening. This process is a good sign, as it tells you that your Inner CHILD is providing you a lot of great information all at once because it trusts you and wants to share.

You are probably already saying to yourself that this is very encouraging, because it also gives you a glimpse into what your WOW may be: a largevolume flood of information from your subconscious. That’s fantastic news!

Again, each night before you go to bed, feed your Inner CHILD with a few sentences you wish to expand to a part of your Synopsis. Write them down again, say them aloud, read them again a few times, then go to bed.

But, first things first: the first section of your Synopsis. . . .

Using the example from the chapter on the 25 Descriptive Sentences, I suggest you start with the first five sentences, which comprise the beginning of your story. Remember that these five sentences represent an expanded version of the first bullet of your Five Bullets.

After your Inner CHILD has provided you with new information that you’ve written down, you will then see the combined five sentences of your story’s beginning as a lengthy free-flowing narrative that takes the shape of a story.

To save time and space, I will be using only those first five sentences, the beginning of your story, to illustrate how to expand them into one coherent section, the beginning of your Synopsis. You will use the same procedure for the other sections and ultimately construct the entire Synopsis.

1a. Paul returns from a tour of duty in the Army and, as he runs through a park, spots Caitlin sitting on a bench, reading a book, meets her.

1b. The early week of their relationship are spent in each other’s arms, rarely going out of each other’s sight.

1c. Caitlin goes against her parents’ wishes, moves in with Paul.

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1d. Both have now created that elusive third entity that is bigger than both of them combined, and marriage is now in the air.

1e. On a balmy May evening, as the sun sets over the Gulf of Mexico, Paul proposes to Caitlin, she accepts his offer, and they buy a home on the beach.

Okay, this is where we’re starting, with the first five sentences of your 25 Descriptive Sentences. When writing the Synopsis, imagine your taking each sentence above and letting it run wild in a wide and expansive field.

Don’t hold back; just let things happen.

So, let’s begin by taking the first bullet (1a) and expanding it into a short narrative that has just enough description to hold your interest and further the story a bit. You can write all you want in these exercises, but I caution you to use restraint. Why? Because it’s best to start out small and short, rather than exercise your new-found legs and start sprinting.

Somewhere down the line, you may tire of writing so much all at once and then stop working altogether.

So please take it slowly and in small blocks and chunks. You’ll see how much (or little) I have written, taking each bullet point and expanding only so far and only so much. It’s not because I’m being lazy as I write this book. It’s because I am illustrating the importance of starting out small.

Example (short Synopsis): Paul’s back from his four-year tour in the US Army as an Airborne Ranger. Even though it’s only been a few years, his hometown has changed somehow, gotten much smaller. He feels too big for it, needs a lot of space, so on his first full day back in town he takes a long run through a large park and spots a presence sitting on a bench just ahead and off to his right. The path toward this inviting presence is out of his way, so he angles off and moves toward her, stopping in front of her, says hello and asks what she’s reading. Something about synchronicity and celestiophysics, she says, and how odd and mysterious the Universe is, how she wishes she could put her hand in it, stir it up and fingerpaint her future.

No one could’ve predicted it: they spend the entire week in each other’s arms, rarely going out of each other’s sight, choosing to remain in Paul’s apartment, eating crisps, drinking chardonnay, and watching 79

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downloaded movies on his little laptop. Both are smitten with each other; this is clear. Each is a young kitten, drunk on afternoon sunshine and eating and playing with shoelaces for days.

Caitlin goes against her parents’ wishes, moves in with Paul without having given it much thought. They’re in full freefall now, two beautiful bodies of water . . . where you can’t tell where one ends and the other starts. Everyone around them is concerned about Caitlin’s sudden fall from practicality and convention, but she ignores all and is oblivious to any danger that may be present.

Over the days, Caitlin shares with Paul her views on the Universe and synchronicity and celestiophysics, and how we are all influenced by the unknown entities lurking out there well beyond Planet Earth. She explains her hypothesis that when two soulmates come together, they create an elusive third entity that is bigger than both of them combined.

Marriage is now in the air, drifting effortlessly and inexorably toward them, and will soon envelope them in a blissful and intoxicating warmth.

After a long evening walk on the beach in front of Paul’s apartment, he stops her. They admire and absorb the fiery red and orange sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, he kneels down in front of her, takes her hand, places a small ring on her finger. Before he can even say anything, Caitlin takes his face in her hands, gently pulls him up, say, “Of course I’ll marry you . . .

I painted this scene the moment we met . . . it’s been in the stars for weeks . . . what took you so long?”

See? All I did was to take a single bullet, densely packed with energy, and blew it up into a lengthy narrative, the beginning of this little story.

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our final Outline is THE most important part of this whole process up to now, as it leads directly to your first book. If the Outline is off in some way, the effect will be magnified and your first book will be off even more. And when your Outline is right on in every way, your first book will be grand. . . .

It may seem funny to be starting off with a One Word, in time moving to an outline-like Five Bullets and 25 Descriptive Sentences, retreating back to a narrative-style Synopsis, and then back to the Outline. Yes, it seems strange, but there’s a method to this apparent bouncy madness and I’ll explain.

First, dreaming up your One Word encourages you to find the theme of your story. Doing the Five Bullets takes that One Word and expands it to a logical skeleton of your story: the beginning, middle and end, with transitions. So what if they’re kind of like an outline at first? Doesn’t matter. It just happens that way. Your Inner CHILD needs these elements, in their exact form I have developed, to assimilate and digest and analyze all the information you’re seeding into it. As we already know, it’s your Inner CHILD that is doing all the magical work here, so when I say you’re seeding the CHILD with all this great information, I really mean you’re

How To Write Your First Book

simply telling your Inner CHILD what it already knows, but it’s coming in a very logical, building-block shape and form from your conscious self, encouraging further communication between both entities.

Your subconscious needs the One Word to get some grand idea of what’s to come; again, it was the one that came up with it to begin with, but it still sees the One Word as a wonderful gift. Seeding it with that One Word, be it Love or Gold or Redemption, sends it on a wildly adventurous ride. When it receives the Five Bullets, it then has an even better notion about what will transpire. The 25 Descriptive Sentences then will flesh out those Five Bullets and start to paint a vivid set of images with color and texture and sound. Your CHILD will see these further gifts and run wildly with them.

The Synopsis will be the first true start of your story, mostly because it is in a narrative form that is easily read from beginning to end. It lacks the abbreviated and compressed nature of the One Word, Five Bullets and 25 Descriptive Sentences, and fills the Inner CHILD with a strong, radiant warmth that portends the future, your final first draft of your first book.

The Outline is a necessary step, seemingly a backward one to the short, choppy bullets and sentences, and by doing it in outline form, it essentially allows you to formulate all your thoughts about your first book and write your entire story in a capsule. By doing it this way, you write the story nearly in its entirety, but because you’re doing it in compressed format, you will write it faster. That’s one of the purposes of this exercise: to get to the final story as quickly as possible . . . without actually writing the first draft just yet.

Make sense? I certainly hope so. I cannot belabor the points I’ve made above, because they all have a logical, defined purpose and are in a clear, well-organized format. A building-block format that maximizes the potential and output of your conscious self and your subconscious.

Now, there are two ways you can actually write the Outline: you can directly use the 25 Descriptive Sentences and simply flesh those out much further, writing an even more expansive, narrative-style Outline. Or, you can abbreviate those sentences in a true roman-numeral outline format.

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My example below focuses only on the longer narrative-style of Outline development. While it is fine to use, I do not recommend switching to the short, choppy roman-numeral Outline style, as it means you must convert your long sentences into shorter sentences or bullet for the Outline. I mention it as a possibility, so you have the option of trying it if this is more your style.

Personally, I would take the 25 Descriptive Sentences and run with those, i.e. further expand each one and use the same style of writing.

You also can inject short, choppy bullet points when fleshing out the finer details of certain sections, like making descriptive remarks about a particular character or setting, and then return to the long descriptive sentences. These little bullets can be thought of as supplementary notes or musings. So, in effect, you would be using the longer, narrative-style Outline, peppered with little bullets of comments, notes about characters and settings, etc.

Further examples of what to add as additional Outline information: if you come up with cool quotes and passages and dialogue, add it to the relevant areas of your Outline immediately. Don’t leave that valuable information inside your head or on some pieces of paper. Your head is the most polluted and most dangerous place on the planet. Never trust valuable information to just sit there unguarded.

If your subconscious tells you something, write it down, because it will probably drop that thought in favor of the next one. Remember, you’re dealing with a child here, one that easily gets distracted, loses interest in what is going on, because the world has so much to offer in the way of prime stimulation. Get that information onto paper, real or virtual. And do it right away. If you wait, you’ll probably lose it.

A final note of encouragement before we begin: by the time you’re done with your Outline, your first book will all but have written itself. Woohoo!

So, how to start your Outline: first, take your Synopsis and read it aloud. How does it sound to you? Does it tell your story in a nutshell? Are you excited about it? Does it have any holes that need filling? If so, you’ll 83

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need to go back and work on those shortcomings before moving on to the Outline. If it reads well and tells the story in a short format, then proceed.

Before you go to bed, read the Synopsis aloud. Seed what you all (bus driver, typist, Inner CHILD) have concocted as a team, let it ferment overnight or, if necessary, for a few days. It might be a good idea to ask your subconscious which form of Outline to use. Hey, this might be a stretch for your subconscious, but please ask anyway. You never know.

When you awaken, you’ll be ready to start your Outline. If you must go to a primary job first, please write down or voice-record anything you can remember about your dream or message or . . . anything upon waking up. When you return home from work later, find a relaxing time and get crackin’.

Please and thank you.

Here’re some explanations of the different types of Outline I suggested earlier: Sentence Outline: use your 25 Descriptive Sentences and further expand the story and fill in as much information as possible for the Outline. If you do it this way, like I always do, then your first book will all but write itself.

No kidding.

I’ve written 100-page Outlines for 400-page books in this way and, when it came time to write the first draft, I was overwhelmed by how easy the writing of the actual first draft went. It felt like a roller-coaster ride that started at 6 am one morning and didn’t end until three weeks later.

Wow! Is that a wild rush or what?

Also, you may even look at the above method of constructing your Outline as a highly expanded Synopsis.

Traditional (roman numerals) or bulleted Outline: you can certainly use the valuable information in your 25 Descriptive Sentences, but in this case you’d be converting them to short, choppy bullets that may be easier for you to understand and work with. Plus, you can power through the Outline in very short order, writing very short bullets that adequately describe your entire story and all the characters and settings in it. You really must discover for yourself which works best for you, and you can only do this by experimenting with different methods.

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Over the years, I have done just that, experimented with different methods. Nowadays, since I’m working with a new author, Rio Ramirez, on his short novels (69-Minute Novels, or novels you can read in about an hour), I have him go through all the steps in his mind and dive right into writing a first draft. We’ve found this process to be excellent, but it was a very slow evolution getting there. I’m grateful that I took the time early on to study what works for me and my personality, my chemistry, then shared it with others. Had I not done it this way—slowly and methodically—I may still be sitting in the same hard wooden chair, staring at that old computer monitor and wondering when I was gonna start writing the first draft of a book.

That won’t happen to you, though. You will read this book carefully, do the exercises, find what works for you, write that first draft, and then sit back and smile.

Trust me: I see it happening just this way.

But, first things first: your Outline. Please note that I am taking only the first paragraph from the Synopsis, as there is little time and space to include them all. I pray that I am able to get my message across using only this one example.

Let’s take first paragraph of the story example from the Synopsis chapter: Paul’s back from his four-year tour in the US Army as an Airborne Ranger. Even though it’s only been a few years, his hometown has changed somehow, gotten much smaller. He feels too big for it, needs a lot of space, so on his first full day back in town he takes a long run through a large park and spots a presence sitting on a bench just ahead and off to his right. The path toward this inviting presence is out of his way, so he angles off and moves toward her, stopping in front of her, says hello and asks what she’s reading. Something about synchronicity and celestiophysics, she says, and how odd and mysterious the Universe is, how she wishes she could put her hand in it, stir it up and fingerpaint her future.

The first paragraph introduces both Paul and Caitlin. We see that Paul has grown up as a man, having served in an elite unit in the Army, and now that he’s returned home, he feels claustrophobic, maybe even lost. So 85

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Paul steps out and does what he loves: running. As he’s running through a park in town, his sensors zero in on an eerie presence and, like a good Airborne Ranger, he sets off to investigate it. And there he meets the love of his life, Caitlin, who is enjoying a great read under the warmth of the sun and sky, perhaps hugged by the trees in the park.

When expanding a paragraph like this one from the Synopsis, you do not necessarily have to use the same wording, although it is an easy trap to fall into. The words and sentences in the above paragraph are just placeholders for much bigger and more detailed ideas that will comprise your Outline.

A first step toward expanding the paragraph we’re using as an example: Take the first sentence alone, write or type it out.

Think about what it says, then imagine it getting larger in size and scope.

Start writing things that come to mind, thoughts that improve and expand the information already present.

Keep writing until you have essentially expanded that first sentence by about five times.

An example, further expanding the first sentence from the Caitlin and Paul story: Paul’s back from his four-year tour in the US Army as an Airborne Ranger, where he was a machine gunner and then team leader in a rifle squad. He saw combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and led his men on many a mission deep into enemy territory. Paul saw the ugly side of humanity and quickly learned how to adapt to it, never once losing his own humanity and descending into nastiness and depression. Missing home each day, Paul longed for the moment when he would hang up his spurs, say goodbye to his brothers-in-arms, and return to the place of his birth, the only place in the world where he truly felt safe.

I took the first sentence from our story on page 85, and painted it in many colors and textures so you could get a better and deeper feel for who Paul is. We now see Paul has seen horrors of war, yet he has not lost the boy inside his heart. He’s a good person who searches and strives for peace and tranquility.

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You can take this newly developed paragraph and expand it even further, adding Paul’s famous funny lines and quotes he was known for in the Army. Paul was the comic relief for his platoon, and often brought smiles to the faces of his fellow Rangers during the darkest of times.

My personal feeling is that, if you can and wish to expand your initial thoughts greatly, then do it. You’re not constrained by my suggestions about increasing it only five times over. No way. I suggested this because I felt it was adequate enough to use when you write your first book. And I didn’t want to discourage anyone by saying they should be expanding things by, say, 10 or more times. When you read something like that, it can appear daunting: “He wants me to take one simple sentence and blow it up to 10 times longer and more detailed? Is he crazy?”

With this said, you can and should add as much valuable detail as you feel. The more you write and share in your Outline, the easier it will be when you actually write your first book. Like I said before, I often have written 100-page Outlines. The first draft pretty much wrote itself.

There’s also something else to be said for writing extensive Outlines: you place your notes and comments and bits of dialogue within the Outline, so you can add them to the first draft or consult them when you need information about a character, the plot, a certain setting. The Outline is the place to store everything you will need to write that first draft.

Soooo, back to the Outline: for as long as it takes, you now will use each sentence from your Synopsis to construct a highly detailed Outline for your first book. I used the first sentence I created as an example for you. Please study how I did it, what elements I used and how I expanded it from a simple sentence to a long and detailed paragraph.

When you’re done, you’ll be amazed at how much information you actually had stored inside your subconscious even before you began the Outline. That’s the magic and beauty of your subconscious: it will surprise you to no end and provide you gifts you never dreamed possible.

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rum roll here: this is what you’ve been waiting for, planning to do, writing the first draft of your first book. I’m excited for you!

I’ve been here before, having written many an Outline, and have had those butterflies swimming around in my tummy, dying for a light wind to alight for points yet to be discovered.

Please believe me: I know how you feel. It’s exciting and adventurous and even a little frightening. You’re asking yourself: “Okay, I’ve gotten this far, but can I really do this? Am I capable? Will it all turn out okay?”

The answers are simple: Yes. Yes. Maybe, who knows?

The first two answers are definite, because, well, you have brought yourself this far and you can and will write your first book. As for how it all turns out, I cannot say. You must do the absolute best you can, bring in other people to assist you, and then go from there. Of course, there are many other steps you must take before you see your baby in print, real or virtual. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We have one task to do and that is to take your Outline and, being very patient, write each day until the first draft is done.

I see we’re procrastinating here, so let’s break that bond and get crackin’ on your first draft, okay?

Write Your First Book

Using your Outline, you will slowly and methodically write your first book. When you write, wear blinders: don’t worry or be concerned about other people who are writing their books in a fraction of the time you may be writing yours. You’re not like those people and they’re not like you.

Besides, it’s YOUR first book, and your first book is not their book. It’s YOURS. Write something every day, even if you feel like crap. At your regular job, you still have to show up for work and get something done, even if you’re not 100%, right? Writing is your job, too, so treat it respectfully and get the work done each day, and be happy for, and proud of, yourself for having done it.

Do not edit your work as you write it. Put everything down on paper until the entire first draft of your book is done. Remember: the first draft of your first book is just a brain dump of everything your subconscious has ordered your typist to put to paper. The next chapter will delve into editing your first book, because this is what writing is all about: editing and polishing and making your first book the best it can be.

Before writing the next day’s topic, look over the part of your Outline to seed it in your mind. Read that portion of your Outline before you go to bed, write it down by hand, say it out loud. Let your Inner CHILD know what’s coming and that what’s coming is very important to you.

Now that we have the ground rules, let’s start with another example, using the previous story about Paul and Caitlin.

Here’s the expanded Outline version of the very first sentence of the very first paragraph. It marks the beginning of your story: Paul’s back from his four-year tour in the US Army as an Airborne Ranger, where he was a machine gunner and then team leader in a rifle squad. He saw combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and led his men on many a mission deep into enemy territory. Paul saw the ugly side of humanity and quickly learned how to adapt to it, never once losing his own humanity and descending into nastiness and depression. Missing home each day, Paul longed for the moment when he would hang up his spurs, say goodbye to his brothers-in-arms, and return to the place of his birth, the only place in the world where he truly felt safe.

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Please read it over again. And over. Yes, again.

Once your subconscious has digested this little piece and made sense of its content and details, it will send the results back up to your conscious self and store it in your Warehouse of Words, your WOW. Cool?

The time has come to take these elements and turn them into a flowing story of narrative and dialogue. This book, How To Write Your First Book, is not about how to show you all the creative, artistic and literary steps in performing this particular step, but I will give you another example of how you might go about it. I hope and pray that my examples here will give you a great idea of how you will proceed when it’s time to write the first draft of your first book.

So here goes, using only the first sentence: The air was different somehow.

Soon as we touched down and I deplaned onto the jetway, I could tell it was different. What was it that stirred me so? The humidity was a thick coat of paint over my skin. The rising temps almost unbearable.

Before I’d left four years ago, I’d hated it. No, I hated the whole place.

Really.

Walking out into a typical, boring summer day in a clean and freshly pressed shirt was an ordeal for me. In less than a mad minute, I would be soaking wet, wondering why I had even bothered to put on a dress shirt, let alone anything at all. I just wanted to be all nudnik at the beach, under the waves, on top of the waves, anywhere but in the damp, hot air that was the baking-oven of south Florida.

So here I was again, tossed like a cheap, frozen burrito back into that same old roaster.

And I suddenly loved it. Trying to recall my last thoughts about being home, that is, before I signed my life away to the US Army for four long years in a combat zone, I could no longer remember feeling anything but happy and proud and just . . . well, content.

Do you see what I did with only that first sentence?

Let’s look at the sentence once again:

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Paul’s back from his four-year tour in the US Army as an Airborne Ranger, where he was a machine gunner and then team leader in a rifle squad.

I did not use the exact wording of the sentence to create the beginning of this particular book. I took the essence or theme of it and expanded it, creating a character in Paul that shows that he used to hate home and took it for granted. Then when he returned home, he found that he suddenly loved it. Wow. How dramatic a change he’d undergone in those four years away, and it was influenced by what he saw and did in combat as an Army Ranger.

You will do the same with your first story: take each sentence or bullet from the Outline and flesh it out, building up a story from scratch, using small elements of each sentence or bullet to create a whole new atmosphere that conveys much more to the reader and gives the story a starting point.

Please do not get bogged down trying to write The Great American Novel.

Concentrate on writing your own story based on what your subconscious encourages you to write. It is a long and sometimes arduous process, dear Reader, and it’s one you will endure with all your heart, mind and soul. It takes time, so please be patient. Remember how you started this whole process . . . with One Word? Then you took that One Word and expanded it to Five Bullets. And so on.

Remember how patient you were when you began? Good. Because you will employ this same level of patience and diligence when you actually sit down and write your first book.

Please forgive me if I am oversimplifying all this. I am not doing it intentionally. If you have paid careful attention throughout these pages, done the exercises, and started with your One Word and continued through to this current point of writing your first draft of your first book, then you’ve already proven to yourself that you can do this.

You may feel daunted still, so try this as well: as you read your Outline and take each sentence or bullet, one at a time, try speaking the story out into a voice recorder. This may be quite new to you, so be patient. It may be an alternative to actually writing it the first time. Who knows? It may just be the way you go.

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Just a thought.

Now let’s move on to the next step, editing your first book. . . .

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An Introduction To Editing Your First Book “Books aren’t written, they’re rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn’t quite done it.”

—Michael Crichton

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like this quote by Mr. Crichton. It echoes my sentiments about actually writing a book: when you do the first draft, it’s a fantastic feat but still only a point of departure. Your first book, and all subsequent books, will materialize as a giant block of marble that has most, if not all, the necessary ingredients and elements of your story. Now all you need do is take a bunch of hand tools and start chiseling away the stuff that doesn’t matter.

I used to be a first-draft writer. That is, I would never write a second draft, let alone take the time to edit the thing to a high shine. And I was pretty good at writing those first drafts, too. Most of my articles for magazines and journals were accepted as is, with minor exceptions. That process encouraged me to remain a first-draft writer and, in effect, kept me from growing into a great writer of many drafts, edits and polishes.

My growth had been stunted first by my own laziness and insecurity, then by the editors of those magazines and journals who saw my work as commercially acceptable and thus didn’t take the time to make my work better or encourage me to do rewrites. It wasn’t their fault, mind you. It was all mine, coupled with a certain ignorance and arrogance that took a long time to overcome. But when I finally got the message that my work

How To Write Your First Book

wasn’t really that good, I took a decidedly different approach to it: I began to scrutinize my first drafts, see them very critically and visualize all the flaws, then made a concerted effort to make my work much better.

It wasn’t until I got the idea to “edit” a bestselling author’s book I loved.

When I say “edit,” I mean I actually read the book for fun, then re-read it and made it better, using my skills as a writer and taking bits and pieces from my various experiences in other jobs and travels. When I was done, I emailed the edits to the author. And guess what? He loved them. In fact, he hired me to edit his other books, plus I got to write small sections of a few books and even created some new characters for him. I actually created one character in my own name, Dino Garner, for one book, and the main character in another book, based in no small part on my own life.

It was a rush to do this for him. His name is Mr. Steve Alten, New York Times bestselling author of Meg, Domain, The Shell Game and many other great novels. I am forever indebted to this wonderful author and human being. Thank you, Steve.

With these successes, I did it more and more for other authors. The latest one, Rio Ramirez, has a new line of novels published in November 2013, starting with Bloodsmoke. What a blast it was riding on those adventures with Rio! Check them out on all the Amazon stores and at AdagioPress.com.

My point is simple: I became an editor when I learned how to edit someone else’s artwork and do it professionally and passionately. And then I started doing the same for my own manuscripts, and soon as I did, I saw a sea change in the quality of my own work. It wasn’t the drudgery I thought it would be; it was a magical experience, being able to dive further into my own work and see how to rearrange little threads at first, and later major connections and moving parts of a story.

It was a little like doing underwater welding on some new all-glass hotel under the Pacific Ocean, being in a beautiful environment, surrounded by life-giving water, and gluing and welding things together that soon would materialize as a work of art and wonder of the world. I use this analogy because I was in a beautiful environment that was also daunting at first, not to mention dangerous, but the more I did the work, the better I got.

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And as soon as I saw my work improve—dramatically, I tell you—that’s when the feeling of being in a daunting and dangerous environment just floated away.

So, onto this little introduction about editing your own artwork.

Rule #1: Never fall in love with your own writing, no matter how cool you think it is.

We all suffer from this affliction every so often, especially in the beginning. I did it all the time, which is why I was a first-draft writer and author for a few years. I would come up with what I thought was a very witty or cool bit of dialogue or description of something, and would flatly refuse to let it get chopped off and end up on the cutting room floor. Yes, there were times I clashed with editors, and I ended up paying for it in the end: they ultimately rejected some of my work. It was crushing at times, and that’s also what led me to becoming an editor, not just remaining a first-draft author.

If you need to edit something you fell in love with, simply cut it out and put it in a new file you can go back to and perhaps use another time.

I’m not saying that you must cut it out and forget it about forever. Not at all. I have many folders of those very cuts I made to novels and nonfiction books I wrote, and they’re full of all those little things I thought were so cool but ultimately didn’t work in a particular story. And the good news is, I have used some of those items in other books. You will, too.

Rule #2: When you write something, it’s only there as a placeholder until something better comes along to enhance your story.

I truly believe that our first drafts are a brain dump of what is in our subconscious at that very moment, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon. It can and it will be improved . . . with proper editing and polishing.

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And with sufficient time, allowing your Inner CHILD to come up with something better.

You know those cool manuals and textbooks for design software programs like Adobe InDesign and such? If you pay close attention, the text they use in their examples are what’s termed “Lorem Ipsum,” or made-up Latin. The text is there simply to fill space so you can see what your final design product might look like.

When you think of your own artwork as a kind of Lorem Ipsum, then it paves the way for you to emplace beautiful words, paragraphs, chapters and, ultimately, your entire book later on, especially during the editing phase. This is not to say that your beautiful work is some made-up language of words from a fictitious lexicon. Far from it. I’m just using this Loren Ipsum as a wild example to suggest that what you first write is merely a “placeholder” for what you will ultimately edit, polish and make fantastic.

That first draft you wrote is only a partially sculpted block of marble.

You need to keep cutting here and there, refining, even adding some parts where needed. In the end, you polish it to reasonable perfection. Or at least make it commercially viable.

Right now, let’s take a look at the first part of the story I wrote in the previous chapter, and how we might improve upon its content and detail.

Here’s the piece again: The air was different somehow.

Soon as we touched down and I deplaned onto the jetway, I could tell it was different. What was it that stirred me so? The humidity was a thick coat of paint over my skin. The rising temps almost unbearable.

Before I’d left four years ago, I’d hated it. No, I hated the whole place.

Really.

Walking out into a typical, boring summer day in a clean and freshly pressed shirt was an ordeal for me. In less than a mad minute, I would be soaking wet, wondering why I had even bothered to put on a dress shirt, let alone anything at all. I just wanted to be all nudnik at the beach, under the waves, on top of the waves, anywhere but in the damp, hot air that was the baking-oven of south Florida.

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An Introduction To Editing Your First Book

So here I was again, tossed like a cheap, frozen burrito back into that same old roaster.

And I suddenly loved it. Trying to recall my last thoughts about being home, that is, before I signed my life away to the US Army for four long years in a combat zone, I could no longer remember feeling anything but happy and proud and just . . . well, content.

As I re-read the first sentence, The air was different somehow, I like it.

It says a lot, not the least of which is, something has changed for Paul. I like it so I’m going to keep it and not do any editing on it.

So let’s take the next paragraph and see how I feel about it: Soon as we touched down and I deplaned onto the jetway, I could tell it was different. What was it that stirred me so? The humidity was a thick coat of paint over my skin. The rising temps almost unbearable.

When I read this one again, I immediately see room for improvement and will take you through what I’m feeling about it, step by step.

I like to use short, choppy sentences sometimes, because it accurately reflects the way we think about things when we encounter them. For example, when I see a beautiful painting, I don’t go, “Wow, that is truly one beautiful work of art! Wish I could take it home with me and throw it up over the fireplace. Cool!”

No, I think more along the lines of, “Wow. Cool. Brilliant colors.

Orgasmic.”

My thoughts aren’t in sweeping complete sentences. They’re little bullets that pack a helluva punch, and they allow me to use more bullets to comment on whatever I’m admiring or thinking about. This is the same style of dialogue screenwriters use in their screenplays: short, choppy sentences and phrases that mirror how we talk and act.

So, considering the next paragraph again, I would change it slightly, because the word “deplane” bugs me. It’s so . . . mmmmmm . . . technical.

And the use of such a harsh and stiff and technical term among a pool of soft, warm terms irks me. But it was the first thing outta my head, so I used it initially. It’s okay to do that in your work, too: come up with a term that doesn’t sound quite right but at least works for the moment. You’ll change it later, so don’t worry.

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How To Write Your First Book

And, again, please do not edit your work as you write your first draft!

Just write and write and write until the story is done. You’ll edit things later. If you get bogged down editing as you write your first draft, you’ll probably never get it done. I have suffered from this disease, too, so trust me when I say this (again): write your first draft from beginning to end and do not edit it along the way.

Also, when I wrote, “. . . I could tell that it was different,” I don’t like the word “that” in there. It breaks up the sentiment and distracts me from the true essence of that part of the whole sentence.

So how about this for a complete sentence, considering my feelings and thoughts above: Soon as we touched down and grabbed our carry-ons, I felt myself pulled down an impossibly long tunnel by some invisible hand, my fellow travelers following in my wake. As the new vibe bathed me in unfamiliar colors and sensations, I felt a definite contrast. What was so different about this place now, a place I called home?

I could go further with this short introduction to editing your first book. But I won’t. What I’ve done is give you a flavor of what you’ll do on your own. Yes, it takes time and effort, and you’ll get there. Promise.

Provided you follow the steps outlined in this book.

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Summary

I

f you haven’t subscribed to my notion about your Inner CHILD and the subconscious, you still can write your first book. Long as you take breaks in between each part to allow your subconscious time to think about things.

So, a brief summary of all we’ve shared here: Find your One Word, something that embodies the theme of your story. Let it sit about for a short time.

Take your One Word and expand it to Five Bullets, outlining the beginning, middle, and end of your story, with transitions in between. Let it lie about for some time.

From Five Bullets, blow those up to 25 Descriptive Sentences. Your story is now taking shape, so run with it. When done, leave it on the table for a while, let it grow ripe and tasty.

Design your Synopsis from your 25 Descriptive Sentences, allowing the words to flow more freely and openly into a full narrative of your story.

Then it’ll be time to design and build the true skeleton of your story, your Outline, with all the necessary moving parts and articulations. Take your Synopsis and let it dissolve into all these parts and things. If you need to write a lengthy one, please do so. Add all the little spices, too, like

How To Write Your First Book

cool quotes and dialogue you dreamed up or discovered, helpful notes about your characters and places and atmospheres, and whatever other supplementary materials you need to write your first draft. When done, put it aside so it can ferment into a fine vino.

Your Outline will be used to construct your first book. If you’ve written a highly detailed Outline, then the book will all but write itself. Go slowly and allow yourself all the time you need.

The first draft of your first book will sit about for a long period of time. It’ll need to, trust me. The longer, the better. Because when you start editing your first draft, you’ll see it more objectively. Actually, I don’t mean to say that you should engage in editing on a purely objective level. Not at all. It’s just that you need to see your own work from a detached point of view so you can add and take out what is necessary to make your baby the best you can make it.

Writing your first book is one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have. It’s the ultimate—so far—means of expressing yourself and your thoughts, ideas and beliefs. But so many people don’t know where and how to begin. That’s why I designed and built this book: to give people a meaningful starting point along with some hope and faith that they can indeed write their first book.

Again, you do not have to believe in my philosophy or personal notions about the Inner CHILD, the subconscious and Subism. Those are my personal constructs and they work for me and a few others who have subscribed to them. Always have. We do know that our minds work in clever and mysterious ways, and that when we undertake a challenging task, we must give ourselves time to mull it over, to think about it on a deeper level than what exists only in our conscious self.

For now, I shall leave you with this little thought: you have the personal power to do just about anything you wish and dream. Okay, maybe you can’t be an astronaut because of bad eyesight, but you can write your first book. Please use the same old building-block approach to this project as you did when first learning to read and write. It’s a familiar, tried-and-true method that works. When you use it, you’ll see for yourself the power that lies within.

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Summary

When you’re done with your first book, you’ll look back and wonder what the fuss was all about.

And then you’ll wanna dash off to the computer and write another one.

I wish all the best one human being can offer another.

Cheers, Dean P.S. When you’re done, please email me a copy of your first book: editor@adagiopress.com. Thank you kindly.

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Okay, Dean, I’m Done . . . Now What?

T

his is where new writers think they’ve reached the end. Yes, it’s the end of the first draft and an edit or two of your first book. Yes, you’ve accomplished a lot. And I mean a lot! Congratulations!

Remember that quote “Just when you think you’ve reached the end, that will be the beginning”? Good, because this will be the beginning.

This is where you set aside all your great work, something that may have taken a year or more, and just let it rest a bit. You’ve come off a marathon, a project you’ve worked on continuously for a long time. Maybe you weren’t consciously working on it, but I promise you that your Inner CHILD has been at it full time, in addition to taking care of your life in all other areas.

When I complete a first draft and an edit, I am drained and exhilarated at the same time. Like feeling wide-awake drunk, giddy with pleasure and excitement, spent from having marched over rough terrain for months at a time with little rest. At that moment, I need a break from everything so I put aside the project and go out and celebrate. Maybe a little vacation somewhere, even to a nice hotel or spa in town or up the coast. Or down.

In South Africa, we have some wonderful options for getaways.

You too will need a vacation, so please take it. Hopefully, it will coincide with your normal break so you can in fact take off and go somewhere,

Okay, Dean, I’m Done . . . Now What?

reflect on what you’ve done, relax in some sunshine and under the warm waves. Whatever you do, make sure it’s a true break from your normal routine. Your Inner CHILD will need this break as much as you, so reward it with something special.

After about a month or two, you will want to return to your newborn baby, see what it’s up to. And at this point, it will be begging for more.

More in the way of improvements here and there. In short, it will be time to do some serious editing. Thing is, dear Reader, this type of editing may need to be done by a professional editor who has done this type of work for many years. If you wish to see your first book in print, whether an ebook or a printed book, you will need to take your game to the next level and that requires commercial assistance. It also will require some cash.

How much? Good editors start at about $2,500 to do a once-over of a 400-page manuscript, with perhaps three additional passes. That means that they will take your baby and edit it as necessary, depending on how much you can afford and what you two agree on. Then they will return the edited manuscript to you for additional work by you, unless you pay them to edit it completely. If you’re a good writer out of the starting gate, your editor may not have much work to do. This is rare, though.

Most manuscripts by new writers require a lot of work by a good editor, and this may entail doing what I term a “scorched-earth” edit. This also can mean ghostwriting or a considerable rewrite. This is not always the case, so please don’t fret over this possibility. Make your work the best it can be with all the tools you have, then send it out to a good editor, see what they think.

Most manuscripts need some degree of work, both from a good editor and yourself. Yes, your editor may not do all the work for you, but she will give you excellent instruction on what you need to do to make it better.

She may suggest you describe your characters in more detail and show their actions and inner motivations, which will flesh them out more. She may suggest rewrites of your storyline to make it more compelling.

If you cannot afford a good editor, then there’s always the option of joining a writing group where students and an instructor critique each 103

How To Write Your First Book

other’s work, provide good feedback and make suggestions, much in the way an editor would.

You also should consider taking a class on creative writing at a local community college or university. Most colleges and universities offer extension courses for adults and non-students, and they almost always have a creative writing course that is affordable to all.

Regardless of which method you choose, you most likely will need to employ one or more of these suggestions above. When I started out, I did everything myself and usually I got it right. But that was only because I was deeply passionate and motivated, so I would spend considerable time editing my own work. That was, of course, after I learned to become my own editor. I highly recommend your doing the same as I did, because it made me a much better writer and author. The more you do on your own, the better a writer you will become, but there will be times when you need outside assistance, so please take advantage of it. There is good assistance for most any budget. You just need to figure out what is available to you and what you can afford.

If you stick to this program, I can promise you this: you will succeed . . . eventually. It took me a long time to get it right, and it has been worth all the effort, time, money, heartache, and getting to know my Inner CHILD. Please be one of those people who continues on and never gives up. If you quit along the way, then you’ll never know what you could have accomplished. Never. Here’s an interesting statistic: most people quit near the end of something, and they never really knew how close they were to the end. It’s a fact.

Don’t give up, even when things are not going well for you in your life outside writing. I know it’s tough when you’re a single mom with two children and a job you dislike. I’ve seen those women slug away at life, but they also had a dream like you do and they kept at it and eventually got published in a magazine or had their book formally published by a New York trade publishing company.

Another fact of life is this: if you keep at something long enough, you will succeed. I have to invoke one example where you will not: if your eyes are bad and you’re too old, you will never get into NASA’s space program.

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Okay, Dean, I’m Done . . . Now What?

But that’s an extreme. If you follow the guidelines in this book, do all the exercises, write your first book, learn how to edit that book, and stick with it until it’s in excellent shape, you will succeed in getting it published.

I refuse to listen to naysayers, those who will tell you it’s impossible to write a book when you have no skills at this game. Baloney. I used to tell those people, “Your statistics don’t apply to me.” Nowadays, I simply ignore any naysayer and their silly words.

When I started writing this book, I knew it would take a lot of my time and pull me away from writing novels, which is my fave thing to do.

I knew it would be a chore at times, because I don’t really dig nonfiction. I love to invent stories and splash them onto paper. That’s what gets me up in the morning and makes me hot and bothered. Good sex does, too, but that’s beside the point. I wrote this book because I wanted to let everyone in the world know that if I can do this—write a book—then so can anyone else who takes the time to do it.

As I stated early on, I’m no genius. I just stick with something until I get it right.

Please stick with it, dear Reader. Do so and you will get it right. If you quit along the journey, you will never know. That thought alone would drive me insane, especially knowing that so many other people in the world have done this—write their first book. Just get out there and do it.

Please and thank you!

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Useful References

LiteraryMarketplace.com This site is the reference bible for all things literary. Their book Literary Marketplace is in two separate editions. Before you buy, just so you can see all the value in it, please take a look at it at a local library.

This comprehensive volume (two, if you get the International Literary Marketplace, too) features publishers, agents, ad agencies and PR firms, associations, book distributors and, of course, all the cool party events and book fairs in the US and around the world.

Here’s a tidbit in their own words: “When it comes to books, you can reach the people who publish, package, review, represent, edit, translate, typeset, illustrate, design, print, bind, promote, publicize, ship, and distribute.”

I personally use these volumes and always find them to be indispensable.

Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents 2013, 23rd Edition: Who They Are! What They Want! How to Win Them Over!

This long-running book is also an excellent resource to find publishers, editors and agents.

Useful References

John Gardner’s The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers I love this book for its simplicity and high value. If you get only one book on the art and craft of writing, please buy this one. It’ll be a lovely companion to How To Write Your First Book.

Jodie Renner’s Fire Up Your Fiction - An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Stories Absolutely fantastic reference and learning tool, packed with short and powerful examples. It’s detailed enough to include sufficient pointers for you but also short enough so you’re encouraged to read it several times.

You can also hire Ms. Renner as an editor for a very reasonable fee.

Jodie Renner’s Writing a Killer Thriller - An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction Another excellent resource, but targeted to those writing that killer thriller, mystery or suspense. Again, like her other book on editing, Style That Sizzles & Pacing For Power, Ms. Renner packs a lot of energy into this volume.

Steve Harrison’s National Publicity Summit Steve and his brother are world-class experts in showing you how to get great PR for your book. Please subscribe to theirs different newsletters, plus view their other websites that feature special programs for getting maximum exposure for your first book: NationalPublicitySummit.com, SteveHarrison.com.

Copyright.gov This is a very helpful site that explains the ins and outs of copyright law. There’s also a very informative manual, Copyright Basics, which can be found on the home page under the section About >> Copyright Basics.

Your work does not have to be submitted to the Copyright Office, nor does it have to be formally published, for you to own the copyright to your own artwork. Please consult this manual and read more about copyright law before you begin your journey into publishing.

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How To Write Your First Book

Jutoh.com Jutoh is every writer/author’s dream: a WYSIWYG program for both Mac and PC that produces a great, clean, accurate ebook (epub forApple iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo; mobi for Kindle). We use it for all our ebooks and couldn’t be happier. In less than one day, you can learn how to format your MS Word or other file and convert it to epub and mobi. Plus, Dr. Julian Smart’s customer service is world class. To start, we recommend the $39 version. If you’re publishing many ebooks at once or in a short time and wish to do extensive HTML and CSS coding, then buy the $80 PLUS version.

108

About The Author

Dean Garner was a New York Times bestselling ghostwriter and editor of many books. He also mentored and consulted to several New York Times bestselling authors.

He is currently Senior Editor of Adagio Press, a small indie publishing firm that specializes in the line of 69-Minute Books and 69-Minute Novels, books you can read in about an hour. He is the editor of Rio Ramirez’s new action-adventure novels, featuring Tommy Darlington.

His recent books include Who Really Owns Your Gold: The Intended Global Meltdown of 2012-2014 and a contemporary rewrite of the 2,500-yearold masterpiece Sun Tzu The Art of War. Both ebooks are available from AdagioPress.com.

His first book, TOPGUN Miramar, published in London in 1992, was an international bestselling coffee-table book in three languages, featuring the US Navy Fighter Weapons School, TOPGUN. Before devoting full time to writing and editing, Dean was a scientist (biophysics), US Army Airborne Ranger with the 1st Ranger Battalion, a corporate security specialist with international private military companies he designed and assisted in building, and a commercial and military aviation photographer. He flew in US military high-performance attack

How To Write Your First Book

and fighter jets (A-4, A-7, F-4, F-14, F-15, F-16, F/A-18), helicopters and cargo and refueling aircraft, and photographed from the back seat of jets and from various platforms on other aircraft.

In his free time, he paints mushy stuff he calls tranquil impressionism (TranquilImpressionism.com), travels the world over, hikes whenever possible, and reads voraciously.

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Testimonials For William Garner’s Work

“The Best approach to writing a book I’ve ever read. If you have ever heard that little voice in your head saying that would make a great story.

Or I need to tell someone about this. Or even just, I wonder if I could.

Dean Garner’s book on how to write your first book is a must read. It illustrates in detail the exquisite , sometimes painful, but mostly joyous effort of putting your thoughts on paper. Mr. Garner’s passion for words and the art of story-telling is wonderfully illustrated in how anyone with the tenacity to do so, can write. This book is a must-read. Thanks Mr. Garner for the inspiration and the direction.”

—Marilyn White, via Amazon.com (Amazon Verified Customer) “Dean Garner’s version of The Art of War confirms for us that for the past 2,000 years the fundamental principles of special operations in battle have not only remained true, but they apply equally to today’s boardrooms and bedrooms. When on the hunt or holding ground, success can only be had by the precise application of disguise, deception and diversion, and a genuine appreciation for angles, inches and seconds.

“Ranger Garner masterfully shows us how.”

—Dalton Fury, New York Times bestselling author of Kill Bin Laden

How To Write Your First Book

“Soldiers and scholars have struggled for decades to extract the nuggets of wisdom contained in Sun Tzu’s classic work on war, strategy and tactics.

Dean’s most recent consolidation of the major points made in the original is handy, helpful and valuable for all students of the art of war.”

—Dale Dye (Captain, USMC, ret.), Hollywood film and tv actor and military advisor “Dino, THANK YOU! When I listen to someone speak in a class or make a presentation, I take notes on the key points, draw little lightning bolts when the speaker suggests “actions,” and use the left side of the paper (and draw light bulbs) when something they’ve said triggers some interesting idea or concept that I’d like to explore further. In your class, I spent a great deal of time scribbling on the left side of the paper.

“You have a positive, passionate spirit that comes through loud and clear, a flexible approach that probably made most feel that they got something valuable out of the class, and an intelligent, nonthreatening style for someone so accomplished.

“Thanks for a great experience and the willingness to keep lines of communication open!”

—Jonathan Canger, PhD, Vice President, Global Talent Management and Organization Effectiveness, Marriott Vacations Worldwide “Sun Tzu for the Modern Warrior and the Modern Battlefield. Easily understood and to the POINT!” —Ranger Joe Mattison, Command Sergeant Major (US Army, ret.)

“Just finished a 3-week course How To Write Your First Book at Ringling College of Art & Design with NY Times bestselling editor (Angels & Demons, among other NY Times bestsellers) William Dean Garner.

Fascinating person, amazing class. Am now torn between Dino’s mantra, ‘Everyone has at least one good story in her’ and Fran Lebowitz’s ‘Not everyone should write a book.’

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Testimonials For William Garner’s Work

“Highly recommend his class if it is offered again.”

—Jo Ellen Silberstein, Attorney at Law, Sarasota, Florida “Before I turned pro and floundered without direction, it was Dean Garner who became instrumental in organizing my first two books. Since discovering my travel journals posted on my website, StrikingViking.net more than 10 years ago, he has been as inspiration and often editor of my work. Because of his encouragement and fine-tuning, my first book is still a continuing success, currently back-ordered in fifth printing, and was a National Geographic Channel documentary.

“Through his personal writing skills and marketing expertise, Dean knows how to connect with readers as well as coaching authors. A remarkable man of incredible intelligence and unquestionable integrity, without Dean’s assistance, I’d likely be staring at publishers’ doors slammed in my face.

“With utmost gratitude.”

—Glen Heggstad, bestselling author of Two Wheels Through Terror and One More Day Everywhere, featured on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, 48 Hours “Literary agent, Particle Physics Illuminatus, and former Army Airborne Ranger. With respect for everything you do!”

—Dan Brown, New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and Deception Point “My name is Steve Alten, I am the NY Times bestselling author of Meg, The Loch, and six other novels, including the just-released The Shell Game.

My books tend to be fast-paced thrillers, and the hero often relies on technology. War has also played a part in my storylines.

“It is imperative that I get my details right, and so I take great pride in writing this recommendation for Dean Garner. Dean edited four of my best novels and assisted two others. He is an outstanding editor and author in his own right and is a very valuable part of my team. You would

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How To Write Your First Book

be wise to hire him as a ghostwriter . . . but I expect his services shared with me on my ninth novel.”

—Steve Alten, New York Times bestselling author of Meg, The Shell Game, Domain and Goliath “When I first embarked on my single-title writing path, I had already published approximately 30 category romance novels for Harlequin Books.

I had decided I wanted to write about former military special-operations warriors and develop bigger, more relevant action-adventure stories—still romance, but much grittier. While browsing the web doing research, I ran across Dean Garner’s website. Among other things, Dean had posted amazing photos of his time spent in Ranger Battalion. I literally accosted him in cyberspace by introducing myself, explaining that I was in a virtual drought of information on Ranger procedure and asked if he would be willing to answer a few questions.

“Dean was open, forthcoming and generous with his responses to NUMEROUS questions and even went so far as to graciously share some of his journal entries with me, a virtual stranger, from his time at Ranger Bat. “For his generosity and patience, I will be forever grateful. The information he provided was essential background for the writing of that first single-title book, To The Edge, which subsequently sold and launched a strong of novels featuring former Spec-Ops warriors. That book kickstarted what ultimately became a series of 12 books, the last seven of which have landed on the New York Times Bestseller List.”

—Cindy Gerard, New York Times bestselling author

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Acknowledgements

No one writes a book in a vacuum. I’m no different. There’re several people who contributed to this book, and all had excellent comments on the manuscript, giving me ideas on how to improve it and make it the best it could be. Other people dear to me served as inspiration and gave me needed energy to do this project.

Lindy K. was the first person to give feedback on the first draft. As always, thank you, Lindy.

My friend and colleague Dr. Gillian G. shared insightful thoughts on various issues. Thank you, Gillian.

I thank my clients and students over the years, especially at Ringling College of Art & Design, for sharing their inspiration and work with me.

My Inner CHILD did all the work except the small task of typing the manuscript drafts. I can’t thank my CHILD enough so I’ll just say . . . thank you.

I sincerely thank you, dear Reader, also for serving as a great source of inspiration to me as I wrote each word. I greatly appreciate your spending your money on my work and making it your new-found investment. You’re the reason for this book’s existence.

Excerpt From BLOODSMOKE A Novel By Rio Ramirez

Bloodsmoke is Book One in a new series from Adagio Press: actionadventure thrillers by Rio Ramirez. The series features Tommy Darlington, a small-town hitman who reluctantly climbs the ladder of success in a shady global industry run by well-heeled thugs with infinite resources, and backed by a secret cabal of dynastic men thousands of miles from the action. Along the way, Darlington discovers the nature and identities of the powerful men behind the black curtain, and begins questioning their methods and motives, leaving a trail of warm bodies in his wake. The more this sinister cabal tries to control Darlington, the more they lose their grip on him as he gradually reveals and unravels their carefully laid plans.

1 Cell phones suck. They annoy me more than no-see-ums.

The one next to my head on the nightstand buzzed and vibrated.

Thought it was a mosquito so I slapped at it ‘til I figured out it wasn’t the State Bird of Florida strafing in for breakfast.

It was Alfred: “Tommy. We have a job for you. Trail Motel, room 204 in the back. Single occupant, male. One seventy-five.”

Excerpt From Bloodsmoke

He went on for another minute, filling me in on my next bull’s-eye, then the usual: no goodbye and a cut connection. Hell, at least the guy paid on time. And in heady, dirty cash.

Drove to the motel in between fares since there weren’t many calls I felt like taking. They were all local gigs out to SRQ, the airport between Sarasota and Bradenton. Didn’t like that place. It ferried people on their way to their dreams, while I was stuck in paradise.

Did a coupla 360s around the parking area and neighborhood, parked about half a mile off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Why is it that every town in the US with a sizable Black presence had a Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. . . . in a rundown section of town? No, never in the posh white neighborhoods. Could you imagine that—Beverly Hills with a Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard?

Sarasota was no different, but the town’s power council ensured it was well away from the good white folk across the tracks.

I disliked the name on several levels, not the least because it was too long to pronounce and use in everyday conversation, it was a screaming insult to The Man Hisself, and it was saddening that no one had made an effort to find a suitable diminutive of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Me? I called it King.

Simple.

Parked somewhere along The Boulevard Dedicated To The Man Hisself and walked back to the motel, passing a few street prostitutes who, even at a freshly harvested 16, looked a haggard 50. At least I knew what they’d look like in 30 years: much the same, except gray in the skin and low in everything else. Sadder still was knowing these streeters’ half-lives were about five years on the long side, six months if they were really unlucky.

Their pimp was their handler, mentor and slave-owner, and he was the one who determined the early or late grave. I came to know every pimp in Sarasota and Manatee Counties by name, face and demeanor. There was always only one type: rotten-mean.

Mean assholes who demeaned girls into a very short life of pussy for profit, then sold them to some john or cop or local state representative who put them up in a small house north of town for $500 a month, and 117

visited them a few times a week to fuck them silly, then return home to their Catholic lives in upmarket Osprey or on Longboat Key. Every full moon or so I made those assholes one of my pet hobbies, when I couldn’t sleep or got tired of watching Banshee or Hawaii Five-O. Many a pimp spent the last minutes of his life wondering what 5’10” and 180 lbs. of cruel fate had dumped him inside the gaping maw of a Dumpster. Everyone I knew said I had a calming demeanor and was pleasant to be around, so those pimps at least received a sympathetic sendoff en route to their next life.

Cell again. It was Rachel. I let it go to voicemail, then listened in: “Tommy, you better be making some money, you loser. I’m writing my ass off today and I wanna celebrate in Margaritaville next month, so get off your lazy—” Enough was enough: I folded Rachel, stuffed her back in my pocket and hoped she might suffocate in her self-important, one-way rage ‘til I got back home.

“Great sex revives the dead,” she once told me.

Wished I’d come up with that one, but at least I could implement the thought and fuck her into little submissive sighs.

Room 204 was at the back of the building and it faced a stretch of King that had a long line of 60-foot palm trees and six-foot-high bushes along the street. I moseyed through an opening in the bushes and up to the motel where several partiers were laughing and pissing in the pool.

Looked inviting enough, especially since they were all girls, about 19 or 20 years old, and obviously not from here. Once again focused, I moved upstairs and walked past 200 . . . 202 . . . and 204, stopping the briefest of moments to sense what was up inside.

The curtains were open a crack: One man sitting on the bed . . .

Watching World War Z on the flatscreen . . .

Drinking a Heineken . . .

Freshly showered, wearing a towel around waist . . .

Smoking a cigarette . . .

Several lines of pink blow on a small pocket mirror just to his right . . .

Excerpt From Bloodsmoke

A/C running on max at 68 degrees . . .

Warm exhaust streaming under the window, betraying a recent meal: Little Caesar’s Meat Mania, lotsa crushed peppers. . . .

Didn’t notice me go by.

At the end of the walkway, I stopped in front of a door, room 212, looked back toward 204. He wasn’t curious enough to step outside and look up and down the walkway.

Down the stairs at the other end, then underneath the walkway, back to the other side and up again. Slowly this time.

Got to his room and stopped in front of his door, waited. Nothing. The tv was still on and he was still sitting on the bed, the coke field now down to dust particles. My presence there didn’t register.

Most people stumbled over the obvious and kept right on walking into the next moment. I noticed everything, even surveyed the air molecules in front of me over and over as they floated past on journeys to whoknows-where. We all have this thing we call the subconscious, which is the quantum motor behind everything we do in life. Mine was audible and abuzz full throttle here inside my skull where the gray mattered.

Rachel fancied herself the clever one, but she really had no clue what drove her own behavior. I smiled at that and reminded myself to mention it to her sometime. In passing.

The guy was oblivious to my presence, so I just stood there in front of his door, sensing where he was, what was on the tv, and anything else I could see, hear, feel or taste in some way.

He got up from the bed and dropped his empty beer bottle in the trash can outside the bathroom, got another beer from the reefer, sat back down again in the same spot as before, not one inch to the left or right.

Creature of habit.

All I needed to know for today.

2 Ever seen air flash-freeze between a man and a woman?

I blinked once, taking a snapshot of her expression.

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Eight seconds passed as she hovered there in front of me, all those once-soulful dancers of air now forming a solid block of ice between both of us.

The love of my life and me.

Blink two.

Another eight seconds.

Blink three.

Then she drifted closer to me, right in my face: “Fuck you, Tommy.”

Rachel was my only real pain in the ass. If only this woman knew what I really did for a living.

Past girlfriends had little problem sharing emotions, and that’s why I did whatever I could to keep them in my closet world, the unadulterated Tommy I kept hidden. Each girl with her characteristic slap, kick, jab.

One with a punch that grounded me in a whole new way, a solar-plexus punch that rolled my eyes like ball bearings across a marble floor. Each as different as the palette of an artist’s protovision, my women defined my entire miserable life . . . guiding me down paths I never would’ve listed on my To-Dos, running the errands of love.

Since high school, Rachel had scientifically experimented with every offensive maneuver on the map, ‘til she came up with what worked best against me. The stinging verbal assault. Her simple little fuck-yous were hollow-point bullets, machine-gunned so fast at the center of my face that I only had time to react to my own pathetic response to her volley, never once addressing my actual intended target: each painful dismissal.

Even if I actually had the necessary reaction time, I wouldn’t know what to do with it: how to execute a low-flying missile that always evaded my operational radar.

Mine was always a wide-eyed look of shock. Despair and heartbreak mashed in my mind. Too busy wrestling with fright to be angry at her, by the time I got around to where I was supposed to be pissed, I’d melted again. The fear of losing her. The lust of having her.

All rushing to gain first tracks, my emotions kept missing their designated mark. Stunted and bruised growth in many ways. Over the years, I struggled to redefine each feeling. Anger was no longer anger. Hurt

Excerpt From Bloodsmoke

was something altogether different, a welcomed misery. When I felt what I thought was madness, I dismissed it as something else entirely. I did feel and deal with things. In an unexpected and seemingly surgical way. In my job, I wasn’t allowed the luxury of normal feelings, you might say.

Heart on a hard, I pressed on.

Rachel, someday I’m gonna tell you a little story. “I’m sorry, Rach. It wasn’t my fau—” “The very moment you own your actions, Tommy—” “Got it the first time you said it, Rach. Like, years ago.”

She had no problem sexing me twice a day and giving me the most heavenly releasers I’d ever felt, but when her thunderbolts unleashed on me, I was still the little kid from down the block, the guy she used to laugh and thumb her nose at, while she dated guys four and five years older. I was the little brother figure she taunted yet still loved in some odd way that haunted me for many years. And defined those paths into the wretched unknown.

Who could blame her? She was intelligent and thinking, 5’7” and then some, about 125 firm pounds, sexy banana-blonde hair, with richly sculpted Italian slash Russian features.

She was clean and untouched, even by a single probing finger, until she was 23. I know this fact because I’m the man who unzipped her Levis and released her from virginal chains and all that Jesuit chastity her mother preached like Matthew from the age of 18 months on. She’d been programmed like a PlayStation, but somewhere along the way had hijacked her mother-written code and reworked it into her own vision, something even she struggled to define.

Rachel wasn’t simply the love of my young life, she was my life, long before old age set in, washing away other, mostly insignificant, childhood memories and the little horrors of adolescence and puberty.

“If you got it years ago, then why are you such a fuck-up, TommyBoy? TommyTaxi. What a joke. You’re an animation, a cartoon, Tommy.”

Like I’ve been trying to tell you for a while, Rachel, there’s a little more to me than you’ll ever know. “Cartoon.”

Her insults were always delivered piping hot, with an ironic smile that 121

said maybe she was half-kidding. Or not. The enigmatic smirk said it could go both ways but I secretly knew which way it always played out.

“I wasn’t destined to make old bones with anyone, Rach.”

“Don’t go there.” Her head rotated slowly toward me, eyes scanning my face for signs of weakness.

“We’re there, Rachel.”

“You always do this.” Still trying to find a chink in my paper armor.

“No, only lately.” This time I looked her dead on. “You’re looking for excuses. Again.”

“Always putting the blame on me, Tommy.”

That’s when she backed away a foot or so, turned her head to the wall, seemed to continue the conversation there instead of with me, soon as she saw that look slide over my face, a look that said, Don’t fuck with me right now, Rachel.

Regret was a constant companion these days: out of fear and anxiety from my real job, the one I hid away from Rachel, I often said or did something to piss her off, then I’d get just a little defensive and that hidden monster clawed ever so closer to the surface.

“I don’t know you anymore, Tommy.”

My dry smile, curling my lips with coat-hanger hooks, said it all. I mumbled something to my own distant wall: “You have no clue, MyLove.”

With that, she slipped away. . . .

3 I hate nice guys who do stupid things. Really stupid things.

Something sooo stupid that yanks them outta that Nice Guy category and stuffs ‘em into Bad Guy territory, a dark place where unforgiving men with a lotta money and no heart make one call that trickles down to my cell phone and wakes me up at some odd hour.

Nice guys don’t deserve what I have to give them. But someone out there thinks they do so I carry on and try not to think too much about it.

Nice guys don’t always finish last, but they almost never finish first, usually a distant second at best.

Excerpt From Bloodsmoke

Room 204 had won the lotto, though, inventing some software that could hijack a person’s computer, sit there like an invisible glacier, undetected by virus hunters, and continually suck up all the data on a hard drive or any external drive attached to the computer. Whatever software and hardware lived on 1s and 0s, this program could swallow it all and surreptitiously send it over to servers in India, Pakistan or some Fill-InThe-Blank-istan.

He’d rented a midsize at the airport, left it parked out back by the pool, nothing inside except the smell of new used rental car. This guy was conservative, though, and even had a bottle of ammonium cleaning solution and some paper towels in the back seat. Clean freak? Probably not, just someone who knew he could get MRSA or AIDS from touching a contaminated steering wheel. Or arrested for having cocaine dust on the dashboard.

“You coming in or not!?” One of the daisy-brain bikini-teens.

Even behind the anonymity of oversized sunglasses, her sparkling blues zeroed in on my muscled forearms and did a slow finger-walk all the way down to my crotch.

Looked over at her and nodded imperceptibly, and kept on walking.

“I’ll be here all day, mister,” she said in a lower voice, a little sultry spiced in. Didn’t work well on her, but the effect was cute. Made a note of it: the cute, not the girl. Wasn’t into 19-year-old kids. These girls couldn’t touch the love of my life on any level—except maybe in kindness—so I never gave them a second look. In my line of work, I hoped they would do me the same courtesy. I prayed she hadn’t read too much into that little nod.

He was still on the bed, probably hadn’t moved all night, watching tv.

New lines of coke on the little mirror.

In my old flips, I padded up the stairs near his room and again stopped in front of his door. This time, though, I knocked four times.

The door opened and he peeked out and said, “Hey, what’s up? You the pizza guy?”

Damn, he was even smiling. A nice guy, no cares at all, just in town for a few days, not sampling the stale bikinis downstairs, just a nice guy. Who did a very bad thing to a lot of bad folks.

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His coming-out party was sliding into servers at Facebook and ripping off every square nanometer of data over a month, and then presenting tidbits of it to the Board of Directors at their annual meeting, which he also crashed as a waiter carrying around bottles of champagne. When he managed to squeeze his way to the head table, he dropped small giftwrapped flash drives in front of each Director. If he’d done his own due diligence, he would’ve discovered that the majority of the Directors all worked in the intelligence community, mostly for the CIA. By the time he reached the loading dock, alarm bells and klaxons were sounding throughout the Agency, not to mention a hundred other intelligence and security firms across the globe. Word was out that one man had managed to sneak in and steal priceless data from Facebook, but also from every single DoD entity in the US government, plus hundreds of other clandestine organizations, departments and sections, and private companies and firms. He could’ve created a website that made WikiLeaks look like a grade-school kid’s blog, but his motive was entirely different: he wanted the recognition and he wanted a very high-paying job in the security industry.

While he’d correctly calculated his escape route, he inaccurately estimated the power and depth of the world’s intelligence and security apparatus, which was led at the very top by men in dimly lit cellars and spread throughout every government and state.

And so here he was, holed up in a medium-rent motel room, good cable and firm bed, plenty of beer in the reefer, and some young sex at the pool if he so chose. Slice of heaven to most nice guys.

“Brandon Parrish?”

“Not the pizza guy, are you?” Clearly resigned, he opened the door all the way, let me in.

Broke my heart I had to do this. Almost wanted to wag my finger in front of his nose and lecture him. “You weren’t very careful.”

“How did you find me?” Sitting on the bed again, in his favorite spot, staring at the tv, now mute, he absently grabbed an empty beer bottle and upended it like it was full.

“Someone got a call, they called a someone, that someone called me.”

Excerpt From Bloodsmoke

“So really you’re—” “Your last option.”

He looked at me, perked up. “Option?”

A nice guy who didn’t just pull the tiger’s tail, he had the CO Jones to tie a ball of fire to it. Nice guy who thought he would get off easy, get paid for having invented something cool and useful to a large organization, retire to Belize or Costa Rica, work from some designer hut on the beach.

All the while never once considering the domino effect his route would have. His was a dream world and my job was to shatter that world.

Nice guys always thought they had a plan, a way out. Brandon was no different and, like Rachel, never once considered the consequences of selfish action. If only they had some degree of introspection, but they were too afraid of what lurked beneath.

“Look, man, I can make you rich beyond anything you every imagined,” he told me, now pleading.

Just looked at him.

“Don’t kill me. Please don’t kill me. I’m only 23. I’m a fuckin’ kid, man.

A kid. I know what I did was wrong, but—” then he looked away and a smile spread across his entire face, a fatuous smile.

Pride.

Satisfaction.

Disbelief at having kicked all their asses, made them look bad, forced some higher-ups into retirement. To a McMansion in Sarasota, probably.

Just stood there for a moment, not answering him, then: “Brandon, you’re a sweet kid, but you messed with all the wrong people. And if you can’t see this, then you’re sweet and stupid.”

Each nice guy, regardless of how stupid he was, when he saw a break, a way in or out, made the mistake of jumping at it without thinking, a monkey blindly swinging in the dark from one branch to the next, taking for granted it would be there at his call.

“See? I told you, man! I can get you wealthy quick. Just let me go, dude.

Please.”

I wasn’t heartless, especially with nice guys. I felt sorry for them. They were the ones who got picked on in school, shunned in college, ignored 125

by the beautiful women at those big corporations they slaved at. They attracted flies like honey does, like shit does. More like shit, though. Nice was worse than shit because everyone wanted to be nice but couldn’t because they were all wired to be assholes. So when nice came around, people crapped all over it, tore it down to its basic elements, and rebuilt it in their own image: shit.

Little voice in some deep recess of my subconscious reminded me that sometimes nice wasn’t so nice and it had to be dealt with. That justification made the butterflies in my stomach start a small riot, because I had always focused my energy on bad guys. Not like I had some special code like Dexter. I just liked taking out the trash. Good people were not trash.

But hey, I didn’t always get what I wanted in life and sometimes my choices weren’t really my own. They were made by the men who paid me to do a job. Someday I would have to rewrite their rules, but not on this beautiful day in Sarasota, Florida, US of A, Incorporated.

When I left the room, I made sure the tv was tuned to HBO, which had non-stop movies; ensured I’d cleaned all horizontal surfaces with ammonium and paper towels, after brushing down the walls with a broom.

DNA, especially from freshly sloughed-off skin cells, can stick to walls as easily as any horizontal surface. I wasn’t gonna leave behind even a strand of mine. If so, it would be lost forever in the putrid fibers of the hotel carpet.

At the pool, I smiled at the young lipgloss lolly in her thong bikini.

She’d not only seen me but noticed me in a carnal way that wrote an indelible something on her reptilian brainstem. My careless nod cemented it in place.

Not cool at all, this loose end.

“Ready for me, are ya?” she said, trying to imitate some starlet’s crooked smile.

As I walked away from NiceGuy’s final resting place, moving toward his rental car, I hoped the loose end in the pink bikini would forget me.

Took a few more steps . . .

Turned around . . .

Excerpt From Bloodsmoke

Soon as I saw the tall, gorgeous, young stud approach her, bend down and kiss her all sloppy-like, put his hand inside her bikini bottom, I knew I was a distant memory.

Wondered if Rachel would soon see me this way.

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