Really Good Methods for writing a book

Forgive me for going all ‘new year, new project’ on you already, but writing a book is a big goal for lots of us.  And with 2026 peeking over the horizon, you might whisper to yourself that this is the year you’ll actually do it.

If you do, I can help.  Not just by mentoring you through the project – though I’ll happily do that if you like – but by sharing a few ‘writing a book’ methods that have worked brilliantly for me.

To kick us off, here are a few that didn’t work brilliantly for me:

• Going through my diary to block out specific ‘writing time’
• Writing at the same time every day
• Setting a daily word-count goal
• Creating a ‘writer’s ritual’ – whether sniffing putrid apples or meditating for five minutes before sitting down to write

I mention these first because you might be just the type of person who likes a concrete goal, a rigid schedule, or a crazy writing ritual.  If you are, give those suggestions a go.  But if you’re not, then what works for me might work for you.

It’s taken an absurdly long time for me to realise that I don’t do goal-setting, and I don’t do scheduling.

My mind doesn’t work that way.  It actively rejects any attempt I make to impose order and reason, so I have to work with it instead.  I do this by:

• Deciding what I want to do (write a book)
• Deciding when I’d ideally like to have finished it by
• Breaking the work up into small chunks
• Gradually completing each chunk with the finish date vaguely in mind

This method might seem a bit casual – so casual that at first, even I didn’t think it would work – but I’ve found it highly effective.  I think that’s because it swaps rigid scheduling for simple self-trust.

For example: I’m currently editing my novel, the previously-titled Small Fish, at the rate of one chapter a week.  When and how I do the work is not as important as simply finishing each newly-edited chapter by Sunday evening.  So far, I haven’t missed a single one.

(This is the final draft of the previously-titled Small Fish.  I’ve only got six more chapters left to edit, so it’ll be done by Christmas, and then it’s on to seeing if anyone wants to publish it.  Big eek).

If I need to concentrate on writing or editing, but I’m just not feeling it, a few rounds of Pomodoro (pomodori?) work like a charm.

You might have seen references to the ‘Pomodoro time-management technique’, like it’s a complex art.  It isn’t.  It’s very simple, and it goes like this:

• Set a timer for 25 minutes (I use a digital kitchen-timer, so I’m not dependent on my phone) and work
• Take a break for five minutes
• Repeat these two steps until you get to the fourth round of 25 minutes. At the end of that, take a 30-minute break instead of five.
• Go back to the start

(It’s called the Pomodoro method because Francesco Cirillo, the man who came up with the idea, used a timer shaped like a tomato.  “Pomodoro” is Italian for tomato.  Geddit?).

You might also find James Clear’s ‘Two Minute Rule’ useful for just getting started, though I’ll admit that this has never really worked for me.  Two minutes is… well, two minutes.

Ultimately, no time-management or goal-setting method will work unless you actually want to do whatever it is you’ve set out to do.

It’s all too easy to forget this, but it’s very, very important.  If you keep procrastinating, and absolutely nothing is working for you, then do you really want to write a book?  It could be that you prefer the idea of having written a book, which is fine, but a different thing entirely.

If you’re still adamant about writing a book in 2026, but you’d like some help, I’m here for you.  I can:

• Write the book for you, in your own style and name (so you get all the glory)
• Mentor you through the book-writing process, whether just for a one-off planning session or regular, chapter-by-chapter check-ins

To get started with either option, click the envelope icon at the top of this page to send me an email.  Then we’ll arrange a friendly, no-obligation chat.