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Writing a Book is Like Trying to Find Sex
by David E. Meadows , 2005

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT MILITARY.COM, July 11, 2005

Those who serve in the military, have retired from it, are veterans, or have strong ties to it, make up one of the largest reading groups in the United States. Seldom are they out of arm's reach of a paperback or latest book by their favorite author. I have shared words through email or discussion with those who really want to try their hand at writing. They have this idea for a book; a story they've always wanted to write.

Every author meets similar people. Some are quite serious. Some want you to share with them your secret of getting published. (What we don't tell them is we wish we knew the secret, too.) Others want you to write their story. (What we don't tell them is we are having hard enough time writing our own.) Writing is something you have to do; not want to do. "You know, David, I have always wanted to write a book," the person usually starts, shaking his fist for emphasis, while staring off into the sky. "I want to sit down at the computer, put this story in my head onto paper, and tell the world about it. It'll be a best seller. What do you think?"

"Write it! Figure out the time you want to devote every day to writing; set it aside; and, start slamming those words down on paper. My friend, if you write a page a day 'double-spaced' at the end of the year, you'll have a 365-page book," is my canned answer. It is a truthful answer. Unfortunately, there's a lot more about writing a book than putting words to paper. There is the 'sex' aspect.

Writing a book is like trying to find sex. You want it to start without a lot of effort. You're sure how you want it to end. And, between the start and the finish, you hope the person traveling your pages is howling, screaming, bouncing with pleasure as he or she enjoys the experience you put between the sheets. In fact, when he or she finishes your book and it's lying there closed with her or him gently stroking the cover, you want them to have enjoyed the experience so much they'll tell others. It could open a whole new way of life for you if they bring a lot of friends next time.

You have to trap the reader's interest at the beginning. That action between the start and the finish must be a roller-coaster ride of conflicts, challenges, defeats, and victories, keeping the reader's interest, as you carry him or her with your words to the exciting climax. It's up to you to keep the reader between the sheets. And, the end has to be so satisfying, the reader shouts his or her joy to everyone they meet.

The truth is there are few writers who can capture someone else's story. Everyone has a story. Every person you meet, have met, and are going to meet -- their stories are like fingerprints and DNA. It's different. It's unique. It's theirs. And, it's yours. And, while you can tell it, only you have lived it, and only you know how you want to see it shown in words. (Never tell a story; always show it. In another column we'll discuss this aspect of writing.)

There are few of us who write military thrillers, but something we have in common is that we are active duty, retired military, a veteran, or someone who has such great empathy and interest in the military that they have immersed themselves in it. For the budding author, write what you know about. I had three unpublished manuscripts contributing to my collection of rejection slips when my wife and best friend, Felicity, told me I should write what I know about. The first manuscript I wrote after her epiphany was 'The Sixth Fleet' and I not only sold it to Berkley Publishing Group, but signed a contract for three unpublished military thrillers to follow.

Let's say you have this idea for a book. (If you've read this far along, I think you do -- or, you're one of those people who'll read anything if the word 'sex' is in there somewhere.)

You wake up in the morning clambering for the word processor; the lined pad of paper; or, the odd still-functioning typewriter that is the only working model in the entire city. By the time you're dressed and sitting in front of the computer with that first cuppa, the story is begging for you to start.

The screen appears, you set up the page -- New Courier size 10 font -- double space. You 'enter' down to the 14th line and center the title with your byline. (Wow! What a great feeling to see your name there! The vision of lined shelves in the bookstores filled with your book and your name embossed on the binding causes you to smile.) You hit three more 'enters', tab, and now you're ready to put the first word on paper. You interlock your fingers, bend them outward a couple of times to limber them up, place them on the keyboard -- and the blank stare appears.

The vision of your fingers rippling across the keyboard like a pianist, while the great American novel rolls onto the screen, doesn't happen. But at least the coffee is nice. So, you sit there drinking while the blank screen stares stoically back at you, daring you to make the first move. (Remind you of that first date? In this instance, the screen always wins.)

You are not alone and you don't need a therapist. Most writers don't wake up in the morning, flop down at the word processor and rip out a hundred pages before breakfast. Everyone has a different style and approach to writing. Stephen Coonts, David Poyer, Joe Buff, Robert Gandt, Dale Brown, Michael DiMercurio, Ward Carroll, Tom Wilson, Michael Farmer, or Tom Clancy; Doesn't matter which of these modern prolific military writers you choose, they all have different ways of writing. Approaches change as writers develop more experience and styles tend to mature at a slower pace. You'll discover it with your own writing.

It's okay to copy someone else's approach to jumpstart your first effort, but eventually you'll find your own technique to lure that first story to bed. As a word of advice, it is not okay to copy their words; their plot; or any aspects of copyrighted stories. You would discover any budding career as a writer coming to a screaming halt, unless you write a tell-all of how you plagiarized another person's work and they wound up with all the royalties.

Here is something to help you jumpstart your writing. Before you sit down and write that first word, write what I call a 'Once upon a time..." synopsis. This 2-5 page synopsis should be a broad overview of the story where you tell yourself how the book is going to start, and how it will end. Between the start and finish, there must be conflicts, challenges, victories, and defeats the protagonist will face to reach the end. Here's an example of one of mine: "Once upon a time this senior chief Navy SEAL is forced to retire because of a leg injury. A week before he retires his great Aunt Hortese passes away. As the only relative, she leaves him her estate in a small cotton mill village of Sargent, Georgia.

The reader sees the retirement, meets the senior chief's friend, and follows him as he returns to his roots. He goes to Sargent to clear up his aunt's affairs, get rid of the contents of the house, and sell the place. He is unmarried, no surviving kin, and no intrinsic loyalty to the place his family has called home since before the Civil War. The estate is an old plantation owned by the family since before the Civil War. He meets old friends; hears the stories of his family; and eventually settles into going through his aunt's things." I go on with this 'once upon a time' for several pages. Telling myself how he discovers a lost treasure map showing the way to General Macintosh's lost gold. [General Macintosh was the leader of the Creek Indians in the 1920s, who signed away the Cherokee and Creek Indian lands of Georgia and Alabama at the Treaty of Indian Springs in 1823. From this treaty came the infamous Trail of Tears, and his signing of the treaty upset the Indians he governed. Two days after he signed it, they descended on his cabin along the Chattahoochee River and killed him. The $100-thousand in gold given to him by his cousin (who happened to be the Governor of Georgia -- sounds fishy doesn't it?) was never found.]

This is the synopsis of my first book. A book that saw so many rejection slips I thought many agents burned their fingers from the speed in which they put those slips into the mail. We'll talk about rejection slips later. Rejection slips can tell you more about your writing than just "we're not interested." They can even tell you when your writing is improving.

I hope this 'Once upon a time..." helps jumpstart your story. Drop me an email at readermail@SixthFleet.Com and let me know how it's going. I would be interested in seeing some of the 'Once upon a times..."

David E. Meadows / SixthFleet.Com David E. Meadows Washington D.C. E-Mail readermail@SixthFleet.Com