4 Tips to Overcome Book Writing Obstacles

These days, writing a book has become more popular than before: People write books as a way to promote their business. Self-publishing has made it easier to share your story.

But it’s easier to start a book than to finish it, as many people have discovered. According to the internet, a staggering 97% of people who start writing a book never finish.

Plenty of reasons abound for not finishing a book. This post will cover the more common reasons and share some suggestions on overcoming these obstacles.

Not enough time to write a book

It’s tough to commit time to write a book. You’ve got all the distractions of daily life, not to mention unexpected situations like finding out you’re out of the chocolate you munch on for inspiration.

Self-discipline is key. Set a daily goal, such as writing a couple of hours a day, or a certain number of pages per day.

Don’t worry about quality. Just write, and let the ideas flow. Sometimes you need to bunch of unnecessary words to get to the words you want to keep. You can edit your work later.

Fresh out of ideas or momentum

It’s easy to have ideas for a book. It’s harder to develop them into a story or a book.

Maybe you want to write about the adventures of a talking frog. You finish the chapter about the frog wandering into the city and get stuck explaining how a human and a frog become friends. It’s time to pause and map out your plot.

You may find reasons to stop writing.

For example, you discover that since you started writing your book, your topic has become popular. The market is now saturated with books and blogs about the subject. It’s time to pause and research the market and your competitors. What will make your book unique from all the others now out there?

You hate writing

Okay, this is a big problem. You want to write a book because you have a lot of thoughts you want to write down.

Many people, particularly influencers and entrepreneurs, are writing books so you want to jump on the trend and write one too. Or you have this story you want to tell, and writing a book is the best way to share it.

One solution is to hire a ghostwriter. Experienced ghostwriters can capture your voice and style and write your book for you at a cost. Another possibility is to avoid writing altogether. Do you prefer to talk more than write? You could record your story as an audiobook instead.

You suck at writing

You love books and you love to read, but unfortunately, putting words in the right order just isn’t your thing.

Fortunately, writing – like any skill – can be improved over time.

The quick fix… write all your ideas down. Then hire a ghostwriter to write the story for you. Or, write the story as best you can, fix it up with a program like Grammarly (which can catch your typos and grammar mistakes), and hire an editor to polish your writing.

This is important: bad grammar and writing can ruin a good story. An editor can improve your writing and make suggestions you haven’t thought about.

You can also go for the long-term solution. You might write terribly now, but that might not be true forever. Take some writing lessons. Read anything by your favorite authors. Learn to write like them, and then develop your own writing style. When you’re ready, start writing your book.

Key Takeaways

Many people start writing a book with gusto and enthusiasm, but never reach their goal. Even if you face an overwhelming obstacle, such as bad writing skills, you can overcome that obstacle when you’re open to solutions.

If you want to write a book, and you’re determined enough, you can become an author!

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How to Write a Book: Video Lessons to Learn From

How many people do you know who have said, “I want to write a book”? Maybe writing a book is your goal. But ask anyone who has written a book, and they will tell you that writing a book from start to finish is not an easy feat. Don’t give up, though!

Here are some video lessons you should watch with tips from famous and successful writers on getting started on your book.

Stephen King on developing story ideas

Even if you’re not a fan of horror fiction, Stephen King is an author whose success is worth reading about. He’s published over 60 novels and 200 short stories and received multiple awards.

“Go where the story leads you,” he advises. Follow the story and the characters, and eventually you will have a book. Here are some of his other tips on writing a book and getting that story told.

  • Writing is self-taught. Read a lot. You’ll pick up more about narration by copying the style of writers you admire. Later, you will develop your own style.
  • Start with short stories and develop them into novels later on.
  • Write about something you really enjoy because you will be spending a lot of time developing that idea. Don’t worry about what your audience will like.
  • How to finish a book quickly: work three to four hours a day and write six pages.
  • Don’t be discouraged if your story is rejected.

For more writing advice from Stephen King, check out this video.

George R. R. Martin on world building and character development

If you’ve heard of Game of Thrones, then you know of George R. R. Martin’s work. His epic fantasy novels were adapted into the award-winning TV series. To writers looking for advice on what they should write, he says that writers should “write the stories that excite them, that interest them.”

He has many other tips for writers still working on their first book or first masterpiece:

  • Take a character and put them through a crisis. One way is to take something or someone a character loves and tear it away from them.
  • All fiction (literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and history) is more believable if you have real characters dealing with real problems.
  • When world building, keep track of details by making a list. For example, make a list of the characters, such as the kings mentioned in the story. Or draw a map of the world you are creating. When you are writing about your world, describe the scenes in detail. You want your readers to taste the food the characters are eating.
  • A writer is like an architect and a gardener. The writer knows the materials of the building and how many storeys the building has. The writer is also a gardener who plants the seed and knows what will come out of the soil. It would be surprising if you plant a potato and a geranium grows.
  • Scriptwriting helps for writing effective dialogue. Good dialogue has a lot of back and forth; it’s not a person making a long speech. When you finish writing, read your work aloud. You’ll find that what you write might not sound as good when you say it aloud.
  • Writing a book is like throwing dice. You don’t know if your work will succeed or fail. A real writer will write the book whether it sells or not.

For more writing advice from George R.R. Martin, check out this video.

Key Takeaways

Write a story or novel that interests you, without considering whether your audience will be interested in what you write. Writing a book is a skill that takes time to develop well, and if you’re open to learning from accomplished authors, you’ll pick up some great tips for honing your craft.

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Writing Tips for Motivation

Words are food.

Words keep us going. They motivate us.

When you’re feeling down, or you’ve hit writer’s block, follow the advice of your favorite writer.

When you’re concerned you can’t make a deadline for a writing project, break your main goal into small, little goals. Just write for five minutes, or finish a paragraph. Tiny steps get you through the day.

When you’re hungry for ideas, look around you for inspiration. Read a book. Watch a movie. Talk to people.

And when you finish writing your book, your blog post, or your report…applaud yourself. Writing doesn’t have to be perfect the first time.

Just write.

Business Review: Dim Sum Restaurants

Usually, your goal when you dine at a restaurant is to satisfy your hunger. But this time, I’d like to change your perspective and look at dim sum restaurants from the perspective of a business owner with a time machine.

Many restaurants closed or only served takeout during the pandemic. When restaurants reopened for dine-in this summer, it was time to catch up on a tradition of weekend dim sum. But the place was noticeably less busy than pre-pandemic, and the staff wore masks. Customers had to check their temperature with a device. Dim sum wasn’t the same as before. 

How has the tradition of dim sum changed over the decades to adapt to the times and will it continue? My recent dim sum experience brought back memories and made me question the future of dim sum restaurants.

Getting ready for dim sum

Is dim sum breakfast or lunch? Or maybe brunch?

Older customers start dim sum as early as 9:30 or 10 in the morning. But if you have children, you might not arrive at dim sum until 11 am or 12 noon. So it could be breakfast or it could be lunch. You can even arrive for dim sum as late as 1 pm.

Children raised on weekend dim sum know the routine. They might not speak the Chinese language as fluently as their parents, but they know the names of dishes after hearing them for so many weekends from birth to adulthood.

Also, as bilingual speakers, they’ve learned the difference in terminology too.

“Dim sum” means “touch heart” but you only say you’re going to dim sum if you’re speaking English. For example, telling English-speaking friends that you’re going to dim sum with family. In Cantonese, you’d say you’re going to “yum cha” (not dim sum!) which means “drink tea.”

Dim sum begins with tea selection as your party is being seated at your table. The serving staff will ask you what tea you would like. Jasmine, chrysanthemum, oolong, sau mei, and bo lei are the most popular types of tea.

Once you’ve ordered your tea, it’s time to order food.

Ordering the dim sum: before

Years ago, ordering dim sum was like a sport. Veteran dim sum patrons had mastered the strategy. Back then, servers pushed carts of the food to each occupied table. As the cart neared a table, the server would call out the names of all the dishes in their cart. Sometimes, the server will come up to your table and lift the lid for each type of dim sum.

This serving style was a great way to learn the names of all the dishes.

A problem arose if the restaurant was very busy and ran out of the item you wanted before the cart arrived at your table.

Avid dim sum goers came up with a strategy for this issue.

All carts originate from the door separating the dining area from the kitchen. Thus, diners keep a sharp eye on The Door.

If a cart appears with the type of dim sum that you’re craving, your table will “dispatch” someone to the cart to see if the item you want is there, fresh from the kitchen. You give the server your card so they can stamp it and show receipt of the dish, and then you take your prize (dim sum) back to your table.

Maybe servers didn’t like being swarmed at the kitchen door or swarmed in the middle of an aisle (especially by people who sat furthest from the kitchen). Maybe having heated carts moving between tables became a safety hazard. Over time, this tradition came to an end.

Ordering the dim sum: now

These days, you arrive, order your tea, and then peruse a menu of items. The dim still comes in three sizes: small, medium, and large. Next to the item you want, you write how many of the dish you want, and then a server takes your sheet of selections and gives you a printout of what you selected.

This new style is far less fun and less dramatic. No chasing down carts. Also, some items don’t have a photo, so this style is not as effective for learning the names of dishes.

In the future, the far future, they might come up with a blended approach from the past and the present. Each item on the menu could have a 3D representation that appears when you press on the picture. This way, you can be more adventurous when trying out a new dish. A 3D rendering is more appealing than guessing if you want to try a new dish based on its name.

End of the meal

Having dim sum requires strategy, especially if you have a couple of families dining together.

When a group of friends goes out for dim sum, the restaurant staff will ask to split the bill evenly amongst the friends. When a family goes out for dim sum, a parent usually pays. When a combined family goes out for yum cha, things get interesting.

For example, at one table, you have the grandparents, a daughter and her family, and a son and his family dining together. The siblings have also invited a cousin and the cousin’s spouse. This situation requires strategy at the end of the meal.

Either the bill arrives and one of the adults pounces on the bill, or the bill arrives and the adults all grab for it at once. The winner pays for the entire table.

Another scenario is an adult goes to the bathroom (or pretends to go) and finds their way to the cashier on the way back. By the time someone asks for the bill, it has magically been paid.

Good times.

During the pandemic, restaurants struggled to stay in business. Some took extreme measures to comply with health restrictions. For example, one Chinese restaurant placed tables in their parking lot and served dim sum outside. Other restaurants served only takeout.

Take out dim sum doesn’t taste as good unless you can get home quickly and dive into the food right away. Reheated dim sum doesn’t taste the same.

Dim sum is a work of art. It takes skill to make the dumplings and other dishes. There are high labour costs and food costs, so restaurants have thin profit margins. They make their money back with the dinner menu. To keep a steady flow of business from morning to mid-afternoon, restaurants offer discounts on dim sum during off-hours.

During the pandemic, the price of dim sum dishes went up significantly from several factors. For example, tables were spaced further apart, meaning fewer guests, and staff had to wear masks and face shields, adding to the cost of operations.

Key Takeaways

Going to dim sum is a long tradition that will still be around generations from now. There will continue to be modifications, such as how customers select their dishes, but yum cha with family and friends will outlast pandemics and changes in technology.

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