Should you write a book this year? An honest answer

Let's be clear about what we're not promising. Writing a book won't necessarily make you money or famous. But that was never really why you wanted to do it, was it? Let's talk about the reasons that actually matter.

The honest reasons to write a book

• Because the story is in you. Some ideas won't leave you alone until you let them out. That nagging is reason enough.
• Because making something is its own reward. Finishing a book is one of the most satisfying things a person can do — proof to yourself that you can.
• Because someone out there needs your exact story. The book only you can write might be the one a stranger desperately needed to find.
• Because you'll regret not trying more than you'll regret trying. Almost no one looks back wishing they'd written one fewer book.

The fears (and why they're smaller than they look)

• "I'm not a real writer." No one is, until they write. The title is earned by doing, not granted in advance.
• "It won't be good." Your first draft won't be — nobody's is. Good comes from editing. Finished comes first.
• "I don't have time." Two hundred words a day, in the cracks of your life, is a finished draft within a year.
• "No one will read it." This used to be true. It isn't anymore — you can publish to readers as you write.

The first step is smaller than you think

You don't have to commit to a whole book today. You just have to write the first page. That's the entire trick: the people who write books aren't braver than you, they just started. On Arwy, you can begin right now — open a new book, write your first chapter, and even publish it to real readers chapter by chapter, so you're never writing into the void. The anticipation of readers waiting is what carries a lot of writers to "the end."

If the answer in your chest is "yes," start with how to write a book with no experience or, if you need a spark, our 30 writing prompts.

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