When you have an idea for a book, believe it’s good enough and not that you should wait for a better, supposedly, more brilliant idea. Instead, make the ideas that come to you brilliant. Think about what you would want to read. After all, you are the first reader of  your manuscripts.  At any rate, consider what you want to experience while writing a particular story (romance, fantasy, political thriller) or what you might learn from writing a nonfiction book (memoir, self-help or how-to).

Do you want to write a young adult fantasy, 17th century piece, a mystery or adventure romance novel? Maybe you’ve long wanted to create a Do it Yourself (DIY) book decorating a guest bedroom. Whatever the idea, meditate on it for a few days.

• Decide what the book is about.
• Think about how you will write it.
• Consider the characters: attitude, desires, etc.
• Decide on a setting or time period.
• Give your characters tentative names and ages.
• Write their occupations: school, college, job, entrepreneur, full-time parenting, etc.

You’ll know that you’re fully committed, once you start to feel the pressure to take it to the next level (research and note-taking). Once you get the ball rolling, all you have to do is keep going until you have a fully-developed topic or workable book idea with an organized outline (nonfiction ) or plot idea (fiction).

The outline might take the form of a traditional or a personal construct, preferably on paper. However you choose to start your book, you’re now ready to see it come to life confident that you’ve taken an ordinary idea and turned into something brilliant!