Writing a book is no easy task. It takes a lot of dedication, commitment, creativity, talent, time and will-power to complete it. There are, of course, basic writing 'rules' to follow when writing a book but I always felt that you can always bend the rules to suit your needs and personality. Here are the easy to follow tips to writing a books with ways to customize it to suit the way you work:

1) Come up with a topic / title to write about or choose the best idea you have.

This is extremely important as it is the very basis of your book, the glue to draw it all together. I am sure everyone who is a writer always felt that they have a book within them. So, if you have a few ideas bursting to come out, filter through it all and choose the best. How to choose it? Simple, rate it according to how passionate you feel about it. Say, you have this idea to write a non-fiction book on dieting but you also have this idea to write a fiction book on a heroine embarking on her diet. Weigh the pros and cons of each book idea. Do you have the all the facts in hand for either book? Do you thrive on giving advice to others or do you like to tell stories? It is important to choose a topic you really love and could spend hours writing and tweaking it to perfection. This way, you won't find an excuse to drop the book halfway through because you have lost interest or you hit a really huge writer's block along the way. If it is something you are passionate about, the writer's block could easily be broken.

2) Expand on the idea and come up with a detailed outline of the book which includes the characters' backgrounds, chapters and even estimated word count.

This is skeleton of the book to keep it standing. I know it may sound tedious and boring especially when you are raring to start on your book but trust me, it will help you in the long run. How? Let's take the example of the fiction book of a woman embarking on a diet. If you had outlined the whole story idea, from how she started, how much she weighed at the beginning, what she went through until the surprise ending, then, when writing the book, you need to only refer to this outline whenever you are lost for words. Also, it is sort of a diary of the heroine that you could refer to when writing, to ensure that you won't forget that she exercises in the mornings at 8am and not 10am. It would be a glaring mistake if you were to mention it was her regular routine to go jogging at 8am on Chapter two and suddenly in Chapter 11, you mentioned she went for the usual jog at 10am. Some readers may miss this tiny mistake but there are those who would be irritated by it. This is just one tiny thing, what if you rattle off a load of background on her in the beginning, and later forgot about it and changed in? With an outline, it will keep you on a straightforward path. But if you feel like changing it along the way, go ahead, just remember to refer to the outline to make sure that it will gel together with the rest of the other chapters.

3) Allocate time to write the book, it is NOW or NEVER

There are a lot of wannabe authors out there who always say 'I'll get to it someday' but never did. I used to be one of them till I realised that if I do not get to it NOW, it will be NEVER. Make an appointment for your book. Treat it with utmost importance, put a note in your calender or diary or personal digital assistant. It could be one hour a day or once a week or even once a month. The regularity or amount of time spent does not matter as long as you made darn sure that you set aside time for your book. If you don't, just remember, the book will not write itself and you can forget about becoming an author.

4) How to combat writer's block

Okay, let's say you are happily writing till Chapter Ten and suddenly you hit a rut. You went through the outline and realised that your book has changed direction somewhat and the outline just does not suit your story anymore. So, you are practically wordless. Well, don't worry. Fretting over it will make it worse. The best way to overcome this is to make a fresh new outline based on the changes you made while writing. Double check the facts and backgrounds to make sure it all tally. You will find that the task of writing the outline could actually start your creative juices flowing. What do you do if you are really stuck with not ideas for the outline at all? Stop, go out, go for a walk or a ride. Clear your mind. Take a rest. Read a book by a favorite author. Then come back fresh and clear minded to work on it. Start by scribbling words on a notepad (or typing words on the word processor, whichever method you used to write), just words, any words that pop to mind. Then write a sentence with that word and from there, write a paragraph. Do the same with the other words you came up with and before you know it you have several paragraphs of 'short stories' on the words you scribbled initially. By then, your writing muse is probably all geared up to start! If it still does not work, read though your manuscript. Go through it with a fine-toothed comb and by the time you reach the point you stopped, you may already have an idea of how to continue.

5) Write, write, write and write!

That is self-explanatory. You need to be fully committed to it and make sure that you follow through till the very end. There is no other way around it.

6) Write because you love it and not because you want to become rich and famous

Let me make this clear. Not everyone can be JK Rowling of Stephen King. Not every published author makes it to the bestsellers list and become rich. But one thing is for sure, those who became successful are mostly those who loved to write. So, if you are planning to write a book because you thought it is your way to riches and fame, forget it. It usually does not work this way. This is because it will show in your writing and it will ultimately turn off readers.

7) Know your stuff

Backgrounds and facts are very important. Make very sure that you get all your facts right (especially with non-fiction). You will end up as a laughing stock if you put in a wrong fact and readers are not stupid. In the end, you will lose your credibility and your book will suffer.

8)Edit, edit and edit

There is nothing more poisonous to a book than horrid grammar, bad spelling and typos. These are total no-nos. Sure there are editors to do it but it is your book, your idea, your masterpiece. It represents you. Do you want to be seen as an unprofessional author? So make darn sure that it is as perfect as can be before sending it out to agents/publishers.

Well, these are just a few of my tips on writing a book. As I have said in the beginning, the are really no real rules to it. It all boils down to individual opinions and ways of doing things. I do know that some authors do not have actual outlines of their books but they have it all in their head while there are some who have such detailed outlines that the outlines is like a book by itself. Whatever way you chose, just make sure you put nothing but your best into it and you will never go wrong. Good luck!