What tools and templates should I use to help me write a book?

Apologies: this piece has got a blatant SEO-ey title. I sort-of hate myself for writing it that way, because I am so utterly sick and tired of SEO, and ChatGPT, and everything else that turns words into silage and brains into mush.

I wanted to write about how to write a book, because we’re getting to that starry-eyed bit of the year when people make resolutions and it’d be nice to think I could help.  But I also wanted to write something about how to write a book that a few people might actually read.

So I turned to Google to find out what the cool kids are searching for these days, on the premise that if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Apparently, it’s book-writing tools and templates.

(I was also going to add a sentence or two about how “writing a book” is one of the most popular new year’s resolutions, but as it turns out it’s not.  “Improved fitness” is at the top, closely followed by “improved finances” and “improved mental health”.

I mean… how dull).

I don’t use book-writing tools and templates.  Or at least, I didn’t think I did.

Then I thought about it some more, and I realised that I do.  They’ve just become so ingrained in my way of working, that I’ve stopped thinking about them as book-writing tools and templates at all.

Here they are, in no particular order:

• Scrivener, a super-app which includes just about everything you’ll ever need to outline, manage, and organise your book. It’s not free (though you can download a free trial), but like most things in life you get what you pay for.
• Freedom, which blocks digital distractions and plays soothing music whilst doing so. You can’t remove the block unless you call someone and ask them nicely, which adds to the ‘get-on-with-it’ factor.
• A notebook and pen.

It’s a scant list, granted.  But writing doesn’t need much in the way of tools and templates to be powerful, resonant, and effective.

The lesson here is this: if you really want to write a book, don’t distract yourself from writing it.

When you start something new, there can be a strong temptation to ‘tool up’ for the occasion.  That’s why January gym-goers are often clad in the brightest, most name-droppingly expensive kit.

It might look great, but does it make the actual workout easier or more rewarding?  Well… not if February’s gym-attendance figures are anything to go by.

So try out different book-writing tools if you must, but don’t let them distract you from actually writing your book.

Do you REALLY need to agonise over your main character’s eye-colour?

I fell headfirst into the ‘template trap’ before I started writing my first novel.  I filled out detailed questionnaires about each character’s personality and major life events, the exact colours of their eyes and hair, and what their star sign is.

None of it helped.  I forgot most of those notes as I wrote the story, and as I came to know each character well, their existence became more and more irrelevant anyway.  All the pressure I’d put on myself at the start, to get every last detail absolutely right, had been a waste of time.

A one-sentence summary and a basic structure can be useful, just to keep you on track.  But this shouldn’t be complicated.  All you need to do is loosely plot your story into the classic three-act structure, as follows:

Act 1: Setup

(Inciting incident and first plot point)

Act 2: Confrontation

(Rising action and second plot point)

Act 3: Resolution

(Climax and conclusion) 

There are LOTS of articles and resources that talk about the three-act structure, if you want to learn more about it.  But I’d wager that, at least to start with, the above is all you need to know.

Because, let’s face it…

…things are going to change.

They’re going to change a lot.

Whatever kind of book you’re writing – fiction or non – it’s unlikely that its premise and detail will remain exactly the same as you imagined and planned for at the beginning.

As you write, you’ll remember scraps of information you forgot to include in your planning tools.  You’ll find new ways to say things you thought you’d already said.  You’ll write notes about things you didn’t consider when you were starting out, and that you honestly can’t believe you overlooked because they were so obvious!

Writing a book is a fun and enlightening ride that’s also completely unique.  But if you’ve got everything too rigidly tooled and templated, you could miss something vital… as well as wasting your time perfecting details that ultimately won’t matter.

So, don’t go mad on the book-writing tools and templates.

Let your words and your instincts guide you, and it’s likely you’ll write a book that’s well worth reading.   You’re also more likely to enjoy writing it.

If you’d like some help, I offer flexible, fun mentoring sessions that focus on you and your book idea.

There won’t be any tools or templates for you to fill in.  But you don’t really need those, do you?

Book a quick chat here, if you’d like to learn more about how my mentoring might help as you write your book.  Or arrange a super-charged, one-off ‘Plan Your Masterpiece’ session and spend an intensive 1.5 hours with me, articulating and organising your idea so it’s ready to write!