I've Never Written A Book Before, Where Do I Start?

You want to write a book. You've never written one before. You're staring at a blank page wondering where the hell to begin.

Good news: you're asking the wrong question.

The question isn't "where do I start?" The question is "why haven't I started yet?"

Because here's the secret nobody wants to tell you: you start by writing. That's it. Open a document. Type words. Keep typing until you have a book.

"But I need to know about structure and character arcs and three-act paradigms and—"

No, you don't. Not yet.

You need to write a terrible first draft. Then you can learn how to fix it.

Stop Waiting For Permission

Most people who say they want to write a book never write one. Know why?

They're waiting for permission.

Permission from whom? Who knows. The universe. Their English teacher. Some mystical authority figure who will anoint them as "ready" to begin.

That person doesn't exist.

You don't need an MFA. You don't need to read fifty books on craft first. You don't need the perfect writing software or the ideal writing space or the right notebook.

You need to open a document and start typing.

"But what if it's bad?"

It will be bad. That's fine. First drafts are always bad. Every author you admire wrote terrible first drafts. The difference is they kept going anyway.

What You Actually Need To Get Started

Here's your shopping list:

Something to write with. Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Scrivener, a notebook and pen—doesn't matter. Pick something free and easy. Don't spend $200 on software before you've written 10,000 words. That's procrastination disguised as preparation.

An idea. Doesn't have to be brilliant. Doesn't have to be original. Just needs to be interesting enough that you want to spend three to six months writing about it. "Woman moves to small town and opens bakery" is enough. You'll figure out the details as you write.

Time. Not eight hours a day. Not even two hours a day. Thirty minutes a day will get you a finished draft in six months. Can you find thirty minutes? Of course you can. You found time to scroll social media for an hour yesterday.

Willingness to write badly. This is the big one. You have to be okay with sucking. If you can't write bad sentences without spiraling into existential despair, you can't write a book. Give yourself permission to suck.

That's the list. Notice what's not on it: classes, conferences, critique groups, writing books, special software, perfect conditions. None of that is required to start.

The Brutal Truth About Outlines

Should you outline before you start writing?

Maybe. Maybe not. Depends on how your brain works.

If you're a planner: Outline as much as you need to feel comfortable starting. Some people need to know the whole story before they write Chapter One. That's fine. Make a detailed outline, scene-by-scene breakdown, character profiles, whatever helps.

If you're a discovery writer: Start with a vague idea and figure it out as you go. Some people can't outline—the story dies for them if they plan too much. That's also fine. Write into the dark and discover the story.

If you have no idea which type you are: Start writing and find out. Try outlining a few chapters. Does it help or feel constraining? Adjust accordingly.

The outline debate is stupid. What works for other writers is irrelevant. What matters is: can you finish a draft with your approach? If yes, it's the right approach for you.

Your First Draft Is Going To Be Garbage

Let's get this out of the way: your first draft will be terrible.

The beginning will be slow and boring. Your protagonist will be passive and unlikable. Your dialogue will be wooden. Your descriptions will drag. You'll repeat yourself constantly. You'll forget plot threads halfway through. Characters will change names randomly. You'll write yourself into corners you can't escape.

All of this is normal.

First drafts are not supposed to be good. They're supposed to exist. You can't edit a blank page. You can edit a terrible manuscript.

Professional authors write terrible first drafts too. The difference is they expect it. They don't judge themselves for it. They finish the draft anyway, then fix it in revision.

You're going to want to quit around 20,000 words when you realize your book is awful. Don't quit. Keep writing. Push through to the end. You can't learn to revise until you have something to revise.

How Long Should Your Book Be?

Stop obsessing about word count.

But since you asked:

Novels: Somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 words for most genres. Romance and mysteries can be shorter (50,000-70,000). Fantasy and thrillers can be longer (100,000-120,000). Literary fiction varies wildly.

Your first book: However long it takes to tell your story. Don't pad it to hit a word count. Don't cut essential scenes because you're "over" some arbitrary limit. Tell the story. Worry about word count when you're revising for publication.

For context: 80,000 words is roughly 320 pages in a standard paperback. If you write 500 words a day, that's 160 days—about five months. See? Totally doable.

What About All Those Writing Rules?

"Show don't tell." "Never use adverbs." "Avoid passive voice." "Start with action." "Kill your darlings."

Forget all of them while you're drafting.

Writing rules exist to fix common problems in amateur writing. They're useful during revision. They're paralyzing during first drafts.

If you're stopping every sentence to check whether you used an adverb or told instead of showed, you'll never finish. Write however you write. Fix it later.

Yes, you'll break rules. Yes, your draft will have problems. Yes, you'll need to revise extensively. That's how books get written.

Nobody writes perfect prose on the first try. Stop expecting yourself to.

Do You Need To Read Writing Craft Books?

Eventually, yes. Right now? No.

If you've never written a book, craft books won't make sense yet. It's like reading advanced mathematics textbooks before you've learned basic algebra. The concepts are meaningless without context.

Write your terrible first draft first. Then read craft books. They'll make sense because you'll recognize the problems they're solving. You'll have examples from your own manuscript to apply the lessons to.

After you finish your first draft, read these:

Save The Cat Writes A Novel by Jessica Brody (structure)
Self-Editing For Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King (line-level editing)
Story Genius by Lisa Cron (character and emotional arcs)
On Writing by Stephen King (mindset and process)

But not until you've finished a draft. Craft books are for revision, not drafting.

The Middle Is Where Everyone Quits

Around the halfway point, you'll hate your book.

The initial excitement will be gone. The ending feels impossibly far away. The manuscript is a tangled mess. You have no idea if any of this is working.

This is called "the muddy middle" and it happens to everyone.

This is where most first-time authors quit. They assume the book is broken beyond repair. They assume they're not talented enough. They assume they picked the wrong story.

Wrong. The middle always feels like this. Even on your tenth book.

How to survive the muddy middle:

Lower your expectations. You're not writing beautiful prose right now. You're getting through the middle.

Write badly on purpose. Give yourself permission to write placeholder scenes. "And then they fight and she wins" is fine for now. Fill it in later.

Skip ahead to scenes you're excited about. Who says you have to write chronologically? Jump to the fun parts. Come back and fill in connective tissue later.

Set small daily goals. Don't think about finishing the book. Think about writing 500 words today. Then 500 tomorrow. Then 500 the next day.

Remember why you started. What excited you about this story? What scene made you want to write this book? Go back to that feeling.

When Should You Show Your Work To Other People?

Not yet.

Not while you're drafting. Not when you're 20,000 words in and panicking. Not when you need someone to tell you it's good.

Finish your draft first. All the way to the end. Then revise it yourself at least once. Then—maybe—show it to beta readers.

Why wait?

Because feedback on an unfinished draft is useless. You don't know what your book is yet. Neither does anyone else. You'll get conflicting advice that confuses you more than it helps.

Because you're vulnerable while drafting. One person saying "I don't think this is working" can derail you for months. Wait until you have a complete draft and some distance from it. Then you can hear criticism without falling apart.

Because showing incomplete work trains you to seek validation instead of finishing. Every time you share half a manuscript and people say "this is great, keep going!" you get a dopamine hit. Pretty soon you're addicted to that validation instead of motivated by completing the work.

Finish your draft alone. Then get feedback.

What Comes After The First Draft?

You finish. You type "The End." You sit back feeling accomplished and exhausted.

Now what?

Step away from the manuscript. For at least two weeks. Ideally a month. You need distance before you can see what you actually wrote versus what you think you wrote.

Read it straight through without editing. Take notes. Don't fix anything yet. Just notice what works and what doesn't.

Now revise. This is where the real writing happens. Your first draft was you telling yourself the story. Revision is you making it work for readers.

Get beta readers. People who read your genre and will give honest feedback. Not your mom. Not your best friend unless they're brutally honest. You need people who will tell you when something isn't working.

Revise again based on feedback. Then probably revise again. Most books go through 4-10 drafts before they're ready for professional editing.

Hire a professional editor. Yes, this costs money. Yes, it's necessary. No, your writer friend who took an editing class cannot replace a professional developmental editor.

Only after all of this do you think about agents, publishers, or self-publishing. First you write the book. Then you make it good. Then you figure out how to get it to readers.

How Long Does All This Take?

From first word to publishable manuscript?

For most first-time authors: one to two years minimum.

Yes, really.

Drafting might take six months. Revision might take another six months. Beta readers and more revision might take three months. Professional editing might take two months.

Can it be faster? Sure, if you're a fast writer with strong instincts. But expecting to go from zero to published in six months is setting yourself up for disappointment.

Most successful authors wrote multiple unpublished books before they wrote something good enough to publish. Their first novel is in a drawer. Their second novel is also in a drawer. Their third novel got published.

You're not behind. You're learning. Be patient with yourself.

The Real Answer To "Where Do I Start?"

You start today. Right now.

Open a document. Write a sentence. Then write another. Then another.

Don't wait until you've read more craft books. Don't wait until you have more free time. Don't wait until you feel ready. You'll never feel ready.

The only way to learn to write a book is to write a book. Your first attempt will be flawed. That's how learning works. You get better by doing it badly at first.

So stop researching how to write. Stop asking for permission. Stop waiting for the perfect conditions.

Just start.

Write something terrible. Finish it anyway. Learn from the process. Write the next one better.

That's how every author you admire did it. That's how you'll do it too.

Now close this article and go write.