Is writing a book on your bucket list?

It is fascinating how many people worldwide have “writing a book” on their bucket list. So, as this month we celebrate National Novel Writing Month, we feel it’s the perfect opportunity to gather some fascinating data around this apparently popular passion. 

By Life Lovers Magazine Editorial Team

@lifeloversmag

National Novel Writing Month 2023 (or NaNoWriMo) celebrates and encourages aspiring and seasoned writers alike to embark on a creative journey by writing a novel in just one month. Even though we don’t particularly promote this deadline whatsoever, we do love the spirit behind it: to set aside self-doubt and excuses and embrace the power of storytelling, which is, as you may know, exactly what’s at the core of Life Lovers Magazine.

The challenge perspective behind it put on any aspiring writer to create a 50,000-word novel throughout the month of November. And even though the focus might be on quantity, and not quality, the goal is to actually allow them to overcome writer’s block, perfectionism, and procrastination. Now that sounds like a very nice goal to put on November’s list, right?

Fun fact: NaNoWriMo was founded in 1999 by Chris Baty and a group of friends who wanted to live this challenge themselves. “Since then, it has grown into a global writing phenomenon, inspiring countless writers to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboards and unleash their creativity,” according to Awareness Days. 

And here, at Life Lovers Magazine, where every month we get to connect and feature inspiring writers from all over the world, we can definitely understand the why behind it. 

Now, curiously enough, not only published writers feel this way. According to Melissa Ambrosini, the fabulous author of Mastering Your Mean Girl and TEDx speaker, “‘writing a book’ is one of the most common goals that I hear from the women who attend my events and take my online programs.”

And it keeps growing. Did you know that “more than half of Americans think they’ve got a good idea for a novel in them,” as reported in a recent survey of 2,000 U.S. respondents. The survey revealed that just 15 percent have actually started writing a book and a mere six percent have gotten halfway through, according to their replies. 

So don’t freak out if you feel like your bucket list item is coming out too ambitious. You’re really not alone here. And with reason. The truth is that it’d be quite easy to find a handful of very strong reasons for you to want to write one, from the love of reading to feeling your life is worth making into a movie script.

To make it clearer, the site Become a Writer Today puts together an intriguing list of reasons to why anyone would ever want to write a book. Let us know on social media with how many you can relate. 

8 Reasons to write a book

1. To Tell Your Own Story

2. To Accomplish Something Remarkable

3. To Improve Your Writing Skills

4. Because It’s Easier to Write and Publish Novels Today

5. To Monetize Your Knowledge and Skills

6. To Connect with Other People

7. To Have a Happier and Healthier Life

8. To Increase Self Confidence

How to actually start writing that book on your Bucket List

Now, if you’ve found more than enough reason for you to actually join the challenge and start writing a book or novel this month of November, and celebrate National Novel Writing Month 2023, we have some more goodies for you. Melissa Ambrosini put together 7 life-changing steps to actually get down to business and write down your book. You’re welcome.

1. When Writing A Book, Start Small

Before she started writing Mastering Your Mean Girl, she had already written and self-published multiple e-books on her website, which were much shorter. “I also wrote weekly articles on my site and others, which all allowed me to really find my voice and hone my craft before I began a full-length manuscript,” adds the best-selling author.

2. Make A Plan

When it comes to writing, it always helps to have some sort of plan up-front or at least a clear list of bullet points, even if you’re just writing a blog post or magazine article at the moment. Melissa says that she “spent a lot of time in prep-mode, nutting out all the details of what I wanted to say—first in my head, then in my journal, and eventually in a document on my computer. Whenever I found myself stuck during the writing process, I simply returned to this roadmap to get myself back on track.”

3. Get Support

‘Support is key’ applies to so many things in life. But apart from common belief, our creative endeavours might start from our soul and present themselves as a very personal process, but we cannot do them all alone. And having someone to bounce ideas off of or to simply tell you openly and objectively that you’re going off the rails will come in super handy.

4. If Possible, Go On Retreat!

“If you’re struggling to make headway in your writing, consider escaping and going on a self-made ‘creative bender’. For Mastering Your Mean Girl, I left my home and snuck away for 6 weeks to the beautiful hinterland. Making the effort to physically change my location and routine meant that I was able to immerse fully in my writing”, says Melissa.

5. Amp Up Your Self-Care

We can simply not stress this enough. If you’re not good, nothing around you will turn out as good as you expect it to be. “If you want to be ‘switched on’ creatively, it’s important to nourish and nurture yourself as much as possible. For me, spending time in nature is one of the best ways to get new ideas and stoke my inner creative fire,” she adds.

6. Release Expectations

As simple as it may sound, this fact is often overlooked. A highly constructive and far more enjoyable way to approach your writing is to simply devote to the process, not to others or to an specific expectation, as that will not push your creative flows. “Seek joy in the beauty of self-expression and find fulfillment in the raw release of creativity.”

7. Do The Best Seller Masterclass

And to conclude, the bestselling author wants to encourage us to take the time to learn practical methods and be inspired by the best. “If you’re super serious about writing a book, check out Gabby Bernstein’s Best Seller Masterclass, it’s awesome! This is a must-do masterclass BEFORE You start writing your book.”

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