So you want to write a book. You’ve sat down at your computer – or your notebook, if you prefer longhand – and you’re ready to go. Your characters have been speaking to you for quite some time, your settings are vivid in your mind, and your plot is foolproof. You’re as ready as you’ll ever be, and you know once the first word is inked on to the page, the rest will flow out perfectly.
But way back there, in the furthest recesses of your mind, is the fear of failure. That is where you store those gnawing questions you know will eventually eat their way to the front of your thoughts. The little ones will strike first: what if there are spelling errors? What if the settings aren’t believable? And then, once you are weakened by your own self-doubt, the most monstrous question will strike: what if this book isn’t goodenough?
I’ll let you in on a little secret: with just one simple step, you can have the confidence to say “my book is good” without that little, fearsome monster sneaking up on you. You may have heard it before, in one way or another, but you have never put it into practice. So here it is, the Good Book Formula: take one major plot idea. Add in a handful of unique characters, a dash of detailed setting, and a sprinkle of your own writing style. Stir all the ingredients together, and then taste. Season with subplots, character development, and more writing style as desired. Stir, and repeat the tasting and adjusting process as many times as you want.
Then, add in the secret ingredient, the Chemical X of book-writing, the pixie dust that will give your story wings: your heart.
No, please do not have someone pull out your heart like in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” That’s disgusting and traumatizes young children.
What I mean is, as you’re reading and tweaking the book you have written, pay attention to what you are feeling. When your characters finally kiss, does your heart skip a beat? When the dragon swoops in to burn down the village, are you afraid? When your favorite character dies, do you cry? You cannot expect your reader to react emotionally to your book if it does not affect you at all.
Adding in that extra bit of heart is what separates good books from just books. It gives your reader something to love, something to believe in. It gives you something to fight for. So no matter how you tweak the Good Book Formula – because every recipe can be tweaked and bettered – always include that essential ingredient.
