Select a theme, topic or central concept. Are you writing about your own life, and telling your own personal testimony? Perhaps you'll be sharing a creative story with fictitious characters which includes only hints of truth or real-life experience. You'll want to establish whether your book will be non-fiction (real or fact) or fiction (not real.) In many ways, fiction writing often mimics real life, but is not an accurate portrayal of the writer or any other real person's life or story.
Write down the intended purpose for your book. Why do you want to write a book? It's a good idea to understand why you want to write your book, so that you can go back to that reason if and when you experience "writer's block" (a period or phase when a writer gets stuck and can't seem to conjure up any creativity or motivation for the purpose of writing). Are you writing your book because you want to make a little extra money on the side? Do you have a powerful message that you want to share with a select audience? Ask yourself these questions and more, and be honest as you record your answers.
Create an outline. This will give you a road map and make it a bit easier to take your writing one chapter at a time. Allow your chapters to develop through each of your main points of the outline. There are no fast and hard rules to writing your book, but having a plan or guideline such as an outline may help the writing process go more smoothly.
Work with each section of your outline one phase at a time. Take your first section and brainstorm, jotting down ideas relative to that particular chapter. Focus on that particular chapter only. There is no rule stating that you must write your chapters in order, so if you are compelled to go to the end or perhaps the middle of your story, you may do so. Try to complete the chapter that you select before moving to another.
Work through each chapter as though it were a story all by itself. Develop your paragraphs, and do your research. Use a pen or pencil to write down your initial thoughts and ideas on paper. You can later type your chapters up using a computer, but writing on paper during the beginning phase has worked well for some of the world's best-selling authors.
Set a realistic timeframe for the completion of each chapter. Some chapters may be more challenging and may therefore require more thought and time. However, setting deadlines for your writing will help to keep you motivated towards finishing your goal.
Commit to it. Allot a certain amount of time to devote to writing each week. If you hold down a full-time job and have other obligations, you know exactly how much or how little time you have available to invest in your creative work.
Finish your manuscript through focus, dedication, and your own private commitment to seeing your dream come true.