About the Book

"Most people aren't writers, and very little harm comes to them."
- Julian Barnes

But what if you're not most people? What if the idea of writing a book - any sort of book - has haunted you for years, but you're not sure where to begin?

This is the guide to get you started!

Perhaps you've already started - once, twice, several times - yet somehow, something always intervenes. You drift away, lose focus, lose momentum, and end up dumping your manuscript in the too-hard basket.

This is the guide to get you back on track!

Or perhaps you've actually written a book - a first draft, even a final one - but it's now mouldering in a drawer somewhere because it never seems to be quite finished.

This is the guide to getting it done and dusted!

"A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity."
- Franz Kafka

Avoid insanity, stop making excuses, read this book, and overcome all your Reasons for NOT Writing.
Of all the creative arts, writing a novel is both deceptively easy and surprisingly difficult. There are plenty of How To guides about creative writing - whether at the nuts-and-bolts level of words, language and grammar, or offering magical solutions and so-called "writing secrets." But precious few deal with the actual day to day process of becoming and being a writer. This practical, self-help guide is an exception that will help unlock your potential, your creativity and your genius. It is both inspirational and motivational.

Drawing on advice from writers as diverse as Lee Child, Stephen King, Sylvia Plath, Robert Heinlein, Dean Wesley Smith, Hilary Mantel, Steven Pressfield, Anne Lamott, JK Rowling and Ernest Hemingway, Reasons for NOT Writing... provides a textbook about the writing process. It's the ideal companion for self-study or teaching writing skills, and even mid-career and experienced writers will find something of value here.
Divided into 12 short chapters and three specific parts, Reasons for NOT Writing... contains all you need to know about writing - and finishing - your masterpiece.

Part 1: Getting Started explores the many tricks of the mind that stand in the way of a would-be writer. From finding the time, to dealing with distractions, battling Resistance, what to do when your mind's a blank, and even writing with a tomato(!), you'll find all you need to get you started.

Part 2: Keeping Going. Most novels are abandoned one-third of the way in. Find out why. And find out what you can do when you hit The Wall, strike writer's block, or are trapped in the tyranny of constant changes.

Part 3: Letting Go. The tricks of the mind don't stop once you've typed THE END. This part looks at the quest for perfection (and how to handle it), dealing with rejections, and what to do once you think you're done.

Bonus Chapter: A special bonus chapter (not available elsewhere) deals with what you should write, the business of writing, being a guinea pig, doing a Nanowrimo, the three Ps (Practice, Productivity and Professionalism), and what being a successful writer really means.

It's easy to find reasons for not writing. This book will help you overcome them.

"One of the best self-help books on writing I've ever seen."
- Stephen A Lee