Blog | Violet Flame blog

A lot of people aspire to become writers, but many have no idea where to start. I believe everyone has a story to tell, so potentially anyone could become a writer. But how does one become a writer? How does one launch their writing career and become that published author they have always dreamt of becoming? I was in this same boat for a very long time, wanting to be a writer but never quite hitting that sweet spot where an idea forms in your mind and inspires you so much that you not only start writing but are able to write enough to result in a book. I always had the firm belief that I had a book in me that wanted to come out, but all the ideas I came up with sounded hollow and unconvincing. That was until last year when I was finally able to write and publish my first book. So, what changed? What finally made it possible for me to feel inspired enough to write and complete a whole book? Well, this is what I wanted to share with all of you aspiring writers.

I always had the firm belief that I had a book in me that wanted to come out, but all the ideas I came up with sounded hollow and unconvincing.

Write about something you’re passionate about

For my first book which I published last year, I wrote a very personal story about a journey I had been going through for almost two years. I had never previously imagined that when I finally wrote a book, it would be about a personal experience I was going through. I always thought my first book would be a fictional novel and all my efforts towards coming up with an idea had always been geared towards fiction. I was completely taken by surprise when one day I started writing my story, without even consciously thinking that I was writing a book and to my surprise, I had a lot to say and the words just kept flowing. Before I knew it, my writing was actually turning into a book. My recommendation therefore, especially for a first book is that you write about something you feel passionate about, something you are emotionally invested in and something you feel very strongly about. It could be a personal experience or it could be anything that produces a strong emotion in you. Even if it’s a fictional story, let it center around something that is close to your heart. Once the ball is rolling i.e. you’ve written your first book, it will become much easier to write your next book.

You don’t necessarily have to write a long book in the beginning

My first book is only 100 pages long. I know there’s a lot of pressure to write 70,000 – 100,000-word books, but for your first book just allow yourself to write whatever length of book you are able to write. The idea is to start and you have to start somewhere. As you become more experienced, you will be able to write longer books but this may not be the case in the beginning. I read the story of a prolific writer who currently writes amazing fictional novels, but his first book was only 50 pages long. Whatever length of book you write, go ahead and write it and publish it. Once you publish your first book, you will then start feeling like a writer and you can officially start calling yourself a writer and this will inspire you to start writing much better books. I am currently writing my second book and for sure it will be much longer than my first book.

Don’t have unrealistic expectations

You’ve always dreamt of being a writer and wowing the world with your first book which will instantly become a best-selling novel, selling millions of copies and probably turning into a major motion picture. This is a valid dream and there is nothing wrong with having such a dream. There are people out there who have had their first book instantly become a best-seller, so it is not entirely an impossibility. However, if you wait until the day you will have that million-dollar idea that will instantly become a best-seller, then you might wait for a very long time. The thing is, just start writing even if the idea you have is not the best idea. It could even be a lousy idea. Remember the guy I mentioned above whose first book was only 50 pages long? Well, by his own admission, the book was actually not a very good book at all. But the important thing is that it was what got him started on his writing career and now he is able to write much better books with much better plots. We learn from experience, and if you don’t start writing that lousy book, how will you ever graduate to writing million-dollar books? I am not trying to burst your bubble – it is possible for your first book to become an instant best-seller. I’m just saying don’t count too much on that happening, but go ahead and write anyway. Maybe your third or sixth or tenth book will become the big hit, who knows. By the way, my first book was not a best seller either. You know, just incase you were thinking I am one of those few exceptions.

Take advantage of self-publishing platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing

These days, becoming a published author is much easier than it used to be. With self-publishing platforms such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, anyone can become a published author. You don’t have to go through difficult publishers who will be completely uninterested in your very unique ideas, or who will take your manuscript and dump it somewhere in a dark corner of their office. Now all the power lies in your hands. Your book doesn’t have to meet anyone’s approval except your own. You are in control and no one can stop you from becoming the published author you have always dreamt of becoming. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you just publish some junk and call it a book. You do want people to read your book, otherwise what’s the point of writing? So, give it your best shot, write as good a book as possible and make sure your book doesn’t have typos. As a self-published author, no one is going to be monitoring the quality of your book except yourself, so work hard to make sure your book is of the best quality possible.

Just start writing

We’ve all heard this particular piece of advice and it’s a very annoying piece of advice when you’re an aspiring writer because what exactly does it mean? If I could just start writing, wouldn’t I have started writing by now? Well, that’s the reason I put this at the end, so as not to unnecessarily annoy you too early. What this means is that you could have the best idea in the world, but unless you actually sit down and start writing you will always be an aspiring writer and never a writer. The thing is, writing is actually work and sometimes it’s hard work. The idea in your head is not automatically going to jump from your head into the computer. You will have to sit down and coax it out and put it down in written form. It takes some kind of discipline. I can’t tell you I always enjoy the process of writing. In fact, I downright hate it sometimes. And don’t get me started about editing my work after having written it down. Sometimes I look at some of the stuff I’ve written and I wonder whether I had smoked something when I was writing it. What the hell was I trying to say? My point is, writing is not always going to be fun, and you will mostly have to force yourself to sit down and just write. But the reward is in finally publishing your completed work. It’s incomparable, that feeling of finishing a book and publishing it. So, don’t expect to be carried away by some writer’s inspiration where you find yourself writing non-stop for a month without the need for food or rest. Be ready to put in the work.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Have you ever heard the expression ‘Leo Tolstoy is the author everyone wants to have read but no one wants to read’? There’s a very good reason for that. Leo Tolstoy’s books such as Anna Karenina or the equally popular War and Peace can seem really daunting when you consider just how thick they are. I’m talking 1000 pages or more. But I assure you it is well worth every minute you will spend reading and chances are by the time you are done you will be left craving for more.

Anna Karenina is my all-time favorite book by far. I loved it so much I simply didn’t want it to end. The closer I got to the end of the book, the more anxious I felt because I just wanted it to go on forever. Leo Tolstoy is quite simply in a class of his own – he cannot be compared with any other author, at least not in my books. His writing is simple yet engaging, his characters so compelling that you are left wondering how he could come up with such interesting characters. The novel has a myriad of characters, and yet each of them has a well-developed personality that is different and distinct from all the others in the book. One is left wondering how Tolstoy could keep track of all those characters and their personalities without mixing everything up. Even characters who only appear briefly are well developed and one can only marvel at Tolstoy’s genius in what he accomplishes in this novel. The protagonist, Anna Karenina is such a fascinating character that the reader is simply amazed at Tolstoy’s profound understanding of human nature. Simply put, Leo Tolstoy is a genius and you really have to read this book for yourself to understand what I mean.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I’m a big fun of Jane Austen; I started reading her books in my early twenties and I loved them so much that I eventually read most of her books and I kept copies which I hope my kids are going to read one day. Pride and Prejudice was the first book I read by Jane Austen and it was the one that made me fall in love with her writing. You may have heard of the dashing and aloof Mr. Darcy, but did you know that this is a character from Pride and Prejudice? This book is so well loved that today we have modern movies that have been made based on this book. To know more about the compelling Mr. Darcy and his romance with one of the five Bennet sisters, go ahead and buy yourself a copy of the book, and maybe you will fall in love with Jane Austen like I did.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I read Jane Eyre in my younger years and I read it again a few more times after that simply because it was such a fascinating read. It’s such a dark and terrible tale, but not in a bad way at all. It’s just that, the topic of madness and old castles and dark nights and people using candles which flicker in the howling wind is so…fascinating. Welcome to the crazy world of Mr. Rochester and his insane wife who screams at night, much to Jane Eyre’s terror. I don’t want to spoil this for you, but it’s a captivating story, dark but in an interesting, old English countryside kind of way if you know what I mean. I’m pretty sure you don’t, so just go ahead and read the book and you will understand what I mean.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

This is an interesting and weird read. I mean, the plot is so weird yet so captivating that you just keep reading, and reading, all the time wondering how it’s all going to turn out. It’s a tale of a young man who gets lost in an ideological quagmire which he unwisely decides to test in real life with disastrous consequences. The book is very well written, with interesting descriptions of how Russian society worked at the time. It was one of those un-put-downable books for me, and I’m sure it will be for you too.

1984 by George Orwell

The expression ‘Orwellian’ which denotes a brutal policy of draconian control by propaganda, surveillance, disinformation and denial of truth actually comes from George Orwell’s book 1984. This is the story of a dystopian society in which the government controls everything including people’s thoughts and this is taken to such an extreme that it seems comical and unrealistic at first. But a closer look at many societies under totalitarian dictatorships will show you that it is not so far-fetched, at least in terms of how far such dictatorships are willing to go in their effort to control their citizens. The novel seems to be a warning of some sort, probably a warning against accepting unfettered control by a government towards its citizens. It makes for a very interesting read and the fact that it has political undertones should not put you off because the way it is written is almost like an allegory. It’s the story of how one man woke up from this nightmare and how that turned out.