Imagine a finished manuscript in your hands, or your name on the front of a newly published book—does that excite you?
Better yet, imagine letters from readers saying your book changed their lives, that your words gave them a new perspective. Clarity. Renewed hope. Joy.
If other writers enjoy these things, why not you?
First, you have to write a book.
A well-planned book is based on a concept: the writer begins with an idea, and from it a plan emerges.
Take whatever time you need to sift through your story ideas and choose the one you would want to read—the one about which you’re most passionate. It must capture YOU so completely you can’t get it out of your head. Only that kind of an idea will draw you to the keyboard everyday and inspire you to write the book you’ve always dreamed of.
The intricacies of composition may involve days and hours, there may be drafts enough to stretch for miles, words to span a thousand pages, hours of writing and rewriting and deleting and sculpting and pruning of word darlings. But everything unfolds from the original concept, the winning story idea, laden with conflict—the engine that will drive your plot. And discerning readers will look for the soul that is sheathed in engaging metaphors, arresting phrases and beautiful prose – the single unifying concept from which they grew, Every intelligent reader will search for its purpose, its premise.
We all order our lives that way. When, as parents, we plan a home for our families, the glimmer in our minds is of a comfortable and wholesome place to live and grow. When, as writers we set out to creating a wholly satisfying experience for our readers, we begin with the end in mind.
This concept is expressed beautifully in a phrase from the classic Sabbath song, L’chah Dodi: sof maaseh bemachshava techila, the end of deed is first in thought. This is how intelligent people function — end of deed, first in thought — they decide upon a goal and then work their way toward its fulfillment. The more accomplished the person, the more ambitious the goal — and the more difficult and complex the road to its attainment.
God, too, created the world from a plan and for a purpose. His plan was the Torah, which preceded the world (Shabbos 88b), and His purpose was that human beings find the meaning and the goal of creation in the Torah. “He looked into the Torah and created the world,” and he designed the universe to make it possible for human beings to carry out the commandments.
The early generations of Israel perceived the spiritual essence of the Torah so clearly that they could sense what God wanted of them. Our Patriarchs and Matriarchs obeyed the Torah before it was given. Who told them the laws? No one. Their own spiritual greatness directed their actions and determined which deeds should be performed and which should be avoided. It was their holiness that carried with it the ability to know what action would enhance that holiness and what would taint it. The privilege of accepting the Torah from God, of carrying out its precepts enables Israel to elevate the spiritual potential from the morass of the mundane, and create heaven on earth.
That human intellect is capable of perceiving a degree of God’s wisdom is one of His greatest gifts to humans. True, sometimes humans can give a logical explanation of one or another law, but that is no proof whatever of the validity of the Torah; the Torah does not need to be legitimized by human approval. Rather it is a tribute to the brilliance of human intellect that it is capable of understand an aspect of God’s wisdom (Rabbeinu Tam).
The New Year has just started, and this week we will embark on a new cycle of Torah readings, as we begin with the first section of the Torah – called Bereishit / Genesis.
New beginnings enable us to point ourselves in the right direction, like a plan at takeoff, setting ourselves on course, reorienting our priorities and thrusting the engine that will propel our journey along the destination we set out to reach.
The decision to write a new book, demands of us a great deal of self-discipline and self-motivation to liberate ourselves from our complacency. God created this world out of nothingness. It was tohu vavohu –a dark chaotic nothingness. What we do this year — as with every year in the journey of life — will determine our future. Each step we take makes a difference. The rabbis teach that humankind is obligated to finish the creation of the world, started by God, as noted in Genesis. So if we want to build a home, or create a business, or write a book, let’s begin now. We need only finish the creation already started.
And…why not being with the end in mind?
Take a few minutes to brainstorm a great ending to your book. Visualize your reader turning the last page. How have they changed? What are they feeling? What are they motivated to do, be or have? Are they riveted to their chairs deep in thought, planning their very next step? What is the one takeaway message you want to leave them with, the words that will tie up all the loose ends and pack an emotional wallop, the last lingering tastes of your book…?
You may or may not stick with this ending. But it will give you direction and help propel your writing. You’ll know if your message stays in your mind, growing and developing every time you think of it.
The right concept simply feels right, and you’ll know it when yo
u land on it. Most importantly, your idea must compel you to write it.
Don’t allow the magnitude of the writing process to overwhelm you.
Take the leap.
Stay focused on why you started this journey in the first place.
Dedicate consistent time each day, and you may find that this time next year, you’re holding the first copy of a published book with your name on the cover.