Laura Sherman- The Friendly Ghostwriter

09/20/2025

Building a Book Step 6: Polishing the Interior

If you've been following this article series, you'll know that I am comparing building a house to writing a book (hence to melding of the two into a humorous title).

When I started with this idea, I had no idea how accurately the two paralleled.

We left off with a home that is now fully wired. With those essentials in place, it’s time to put some finishing touches.

You’ll need to hang the drywall, paint the walls, install the trim and fixtures, and put in appliances. This is where a house turns into a home. Your home won’t be the same as the one across the street because you’ll add in your personality.

Back to writing, once you have your first draft completed, you are not done. It's time to read it over a few times. You can make sure your theme flows throughout, the characters are all consistent, and everything sings to your satisfaction. Each time you read it, you’ll make changes and see new things to improve.

In this phase, you are beginning to edit. However, there is another crucial step to come!

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09/16/2025

09/15/2025

Building a Book Step 5: Wiring Your First Draft

(This is a multi-part article on how to write a book. Please check out the earlier steps before reading this one.)

When you are building a home, this is the stage where you start really defining the rooms of your home, building off the skeleton.

You know where the kitchen is, so you can start running the necessary wiring and plumbing.

Same with the bathrooms. And the bedrooms need different nuances.

This phase is still messy.

The walls aren’t finished, and nothing looks pretty. Sawdust is everywhere, but when done, the house “works.”

Same goes with writing a book. Your first draft will (and should be) messy!

When you write your first draft, you’ll be taking all the notes from the previous steps and writing words, sentences, paragraphs and chapters.

Sawdust will (and should) be everywhere.

However, when you're done, you’ll have a working draft to build from.

Your story will begin to come to life.

Note: Don’t stop to try to perfect things at this stage. You know the direction of your story. That’s enough. Just finish your first draft and then we’ll worry about the rest. After all, would you pick out the curtains when the drywall hasn’t even gone up?

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09/02/2025

Do you have questions about writing a book I could answer in a short video?

If so, fire away!

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09/02/2025

Happy Labor Day!

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08/29/2025

08/20/2025

Building a Book Step 4: Framing the Structure

When you build a house, once the foundation is laid, the framing goes up. This stage creates the skeleton of the home.

I'm sure you've seen this before, either in person or perhaps in the movies.

You can walk through and see where the living room, kitchen, and bedrooms will go. No walls, just floor joists (those long, evenly spaced pieces of wood that run parallel to each other, which will support the weight of everything above), wall studs (the vertical pieces that will be the bones of the wall structure), and the roof trusses.

So how does this relate to a book?

Well, now that you have the core elements and the rough outline, it’s time to create your story’s frame.

This frame is a list of all the incidents for your book. You don't need details yet, just enough to remind you what happens in each section.

For instance, you might write:

Incident #42: I go on a blind date with Joe and we hit it off.

In this incident of your memoir, you would, of course, know what you did on the blind date, so there is no need to go into details at this stage.

With each incident, a glance at the one-line description reminds you exactly what happened.

Once your list is complete, it becomes a roadmap. Each incident acts like a mile marker, keeping you on track. You'll know exactly what to write in the correct order.

This technique will help you figure out the flow of your entire book without having to commit the time to putting words on paper.

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08/18/2025

How was your weekend?

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08/18/2025

08/14/2025

Are you writing a book? If so, drop a comment below and tell me about it.

08/13/2025

Building a Book Step 3: Laying the Foundation of Your Story

We have the idea and the blueprint for your story (from Steps 1 and 2). Now it is time to clear the land and make sure it is level.

Then, after you pour the concrete, you’ll know your home will have a sturdy foundation. Your building needs support.

If your foundation cracks or is misaligned, the entire house won’t be secure and can come tumbling down.

For your story, with your outline in hand, let’s look at a few components you’ll need before writing. Answer these questions:

1. What is the purpose of your book?
2. Who is your readership?
3. What is the theme?

These are key elements every writer needs to know as they write their book. You’ll be thinking about these with every word you write.

For example, let’s say you have a purpose to write your life story in order to help others who were in a similar situation. Keeping that in mind, it is good to know who your readers will be.

Who are you writing this book for?

And what life lessons did you learn that you wish to impart?

Those should be developed as you write your memoir.

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