Inspiration.

Knowing that you want to write is one thing but until you set a goal, it may not happen. For me, it was NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) that had me set a goal of writing 50,000 words in one month. If you do this you will have lots of material to work with, a story to work with.

Check out Nanowrimo.com. You will be inspired.

Word

Word is what I use to write. I know that there is other writing software available but I have not used them. For now, I would recommend Word. It works well and it is what my editor and I worked with.

As with Excel, if you have a home computer or laptop, you likely already have this. If not, investing in this as a writer is a good idea.

Affirmations.

An affirmation is a positive statement that helps you to change a negative thought. In order to see yourself as a writer, you may want to use an affirmation that when repeated over and over to yourself, as you slowly start to believe it and allows you to become it.

I am a writer because I write.

The Craft of Writing

Everyone can write, so just begin. Then, work to improve your writing. Don’t wait to get a book out there, hire an editor and work hard to make it the best story it can be. Then start again, research the craft and learn. It will be fun to see the improvements as you go from book to book.

I loved The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi. Actually, if I am being honest, I didn’t like using it, I found it difficult to choose the correct phrase to describe a character’s emotion, however, it improved my story so much, I can’t believe I wrote as much as I did without it.

Other books I look forward to reading are: Write Your Novel From the Middle by James Scott Bell, Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes, and Save the Cat! Writes a Novel By Jessica Brody.

Excel.

Excel is software that is primarily used for reporting or number-related activities. I find, however, it is also good for organizing your plot, your online calendar, or your budget.

Excel is usually part of your home computer’s software package. If you don’t have it, any store that sells computers should be able to help. I wouldn’t spend the money on Excel alone, but since it usually comes packaged with Word, a necessary tool for a writer, it would be worth purchasing.

Your Genre

It is critical to choose the genre you plan on writing in carefully. It is especially important when setting up your book in Amazon as you don’t want to give your reader a false impression of what he or she is buying. If they want a mystery and you put your mysterious book in that category, they might be sorely disappointed when, to them, it is more of a thriller, not a whodunnit.

Literature & Fiction\Action & Adventure\Mystery, Thriller & Suspense