Last summer, I wrote a book about outer space for fun, and it was very rewarding! Are you a tween or teen who also wants to write a book this summer? If so, you’re in the right place! Today, I’ll show you how to write a book this summer step by step! This guide for tweens and teens will walk you through everything from choosing an idea to finishing your final draft. Let’s dive in!
Why Write a Book this Summer?
Before we start, why write a book this summer? The first and most obvious reason is that you want to publish the book. Even if you don’t plan to publish or share your book, there are still plenty of reasons to write one!
One is that writing is a fun summer activity. I had a lot of fun writing my book! It kept me from being bored all summer.
If you choose to write non-fiction like me, then writing is a great way to learn about your topic. If you’re writing fiction, writing still improves grammar skills. Learning how to write interesting, captivating sentences is also a nice skill to have, and writing a book will help you with that.
The final reason to write a book this summer is to build discipline. Yes, there are many challenges to writing, so doing it will build your character. Writing my book definitely built my character! Ok, now we can dive into the first step of writing your book, choosing the topic!
Step 1: How to Choose the Topic for Your Book
The first step in writing your book this summer is choosing the topic. You may already have an idea, or maybe you’re still thinking about it. Choose a topic that you like. This isn’t a school assignment, so you can choose anything! I chose my topic to be outer space, specifically the planets. I love learning about outer space, so this topic was a good choice.
For fiction, the topic should include the main character, the place, and what the main character does or has to solve. You’ll refine it in step 2!
Step 2: The Plot Outline
Step 2 is the plot. Again, you may already know what your plot is. Whether you do know the plot or need to brainstorm it, writing an outline is crucial in this step! For fiction, there are many different types of outlines, but what you need to include is:
- Title (you can work on it later)
- Genre
- Audience
- Main Character (protagonist)
- Side Characters
- Antagonist
- Setting
- Inciting Incident (the problem the main character has to solve, often at the very beginning)
- Building Action to Climax
- Climax (point of most emotion)
- Resolution (how the problem is solved)
Also, make sure to include any plot twists if you plan to have some!
For non-fiction, your outline should include:
- Title
- Topic
- Audience
- Hook
- Main Points (in my space book, each main point was a planet)
- Conclusion
Now that you have your outline, we can talk about chapters!
Step 3: How to Structure the Chapters
Now, it’s time to work on each chapter! First, decide how many chapters you need and if you need a prologue. For fiction, this can be pretty tricky. It all depends on your audience and genre. 15-20 chapters is usually the safest, but you may need more or fewer. Do some research on your genre and audience to make the best choice.
If you’re doing non-fiction, turn each main point you made in your outline into a chapter. For example, in my space book, I made a chapter for each planet.
Now that you’ve decided how many chapters to include, it’s time to make an outline for each chapter! For fiction, think of each chapter as a mini story that contributes to the overall story. Each one should have its own hook, rising action, and end. Depending on your genre, you may want to leave it on a cliff-hanger to add interest. Make the outline detailed to guide you when it’s time to start writing.
For non-fiction, start each chapter with an introduction that makes your main point clear. Divide each main point into several smaller points that you want to discuss in the chapter (it’s ok if you can’t include details. You’ll research to fill in the blanks next!). End with a conclusion that wraps everything up. Now that all of the planning is done, you can start researching!
Step 4: Researching for Your Book
This step is only for non-fiction unless you need to do research for your fiction book. In your outline, you should’ve made main points and subpoints for each chapter. Now it’s time to research those points and turn them into your book!
Unless you’re planning to publish or share your book one day, don’t worry about citations. If the source was on the internet, just make sure to save that link in case you do need to know the source later. If it was a book, save the title and author somewhere. Have all of these sources on a list just in case. Including a works cited page at the end is nice, but it’s not required unless you publish.
When doing research, write or type all of the facts from the sources that you need for your points. Use an outline to keep track of them all. They don’t have to be complete sentences. Just fill in all the blanks to make your chapter outlines complete!
Step 5: How to Write the Rough Draft
All the planning and research is done! It’s time to start writing the rough draft! This is one of the hardest parts of this guide on how to write a book this summer step by step, but I think you can do it!
For fiction, turn each chapter outline into a full chapter. Remember, this is just the draft, so the goal is to write without perfection. You’ll edit later! Depending on your genre, each chapter should be about 500-1500 words long. Again, do some more research for your genre! Stay as close to your outline as you can to help you stay focused.
For non-fiction, combine the facts into a chapter. Your outline should include each main point for each chapter. Gather all the facts for the first main point and its subpoints. Combine them to form a story. Like fiction, the goal in this step is to get the draft done, not perfection.
When writing the draft, remember to stay consistent! This means doing a little a day so that you don’t get burned out and quit in June. Don’t worry about imperfection and stick to the outline! Once you’re done drafting, congratulations! You can move on to the next step!
Step 6: Revising the Book
It’s time to revise! Revising is very similar to both fiction and non-fiction. The goal is to refine your words to make the book more interesting and readable. Add adjectives to boring parts, remove unnecessary stuff, fix wording mistakes, and fix plot mistakes. I revised each chapter at a time when I wrote my book last summer. This helped me stay focused by breaking it into manageable pieces. You will have to revise multiple times, so don’t get discouraged! After you’re confident that your book is fully revised, it’s time for proofreading!
Step 7: How to Proofread Your Book
Proofreading is checking for grammar errors. I used Grammarly when writing my book, so I didn’t really have to do this step. Make sure you don’t have any fragments, misspellings, or punctuation problems. It may be boring, but it’s important! Ok, you’re almost done! Let’s move on to the next step!
Step 8: Creating the Final Copy
To make your final copy, you need to read the whole book one more time to revise and proofread it completely before calling it done. You should feel confident that it is the best you can make it. Read carefully to catch mistakes! It’s time for the final step now!
Step 9: Sharing Your Masterpiece (optional)
Your hard work has paid off. You wrote a book in one summer! It’s time to share what you wrote! If you were planning to publish, you can do it now. If you just want to share with friends, print out the book, staple it together, and share! It’s fine if you don’t share it with anyone, but still make sure to celebrate! Writing a book in one summer is a big deal! I hope you have a great time writing your book!
So, that’s how to write a book this summer, step by step! Writing a book in one summer is a challenging task, but when you break it down into simple steps, it becomes way more doable. These steps will help you write a whole book this summer, which is extremely rewarding. Here are some extra tips for success!
Extra Tips for Success
- Make a writing plan. For example, dedicate June to writing the rough draft. July can be for revising, and August for proofreading. Set aside time each day to write.
- Take breaks when drafting. Don’t try to write the whole thing in one day!
- Use the thesaurus to find interesting words when revising.
- Grammarly is a great tool to catch errors.
- Don’t be too wordy to meet the word count. It’s totally fine if one chapter doesn’t have at least 1,000 words!
- Don’t be afraid to have others give you feedback. Feedback is really important in writing!
- Writing this book should be a fun summer activity! Use your imagination, be creative, and celebrate each accomplishment. You’ll be more likely to finish the book if you have fun!
Thanks for reading my guide on how to write a book this summer, step by step! If you liked this blog post, check out my 25 summer bucket list ideas for tweens or teens! Comment below if you found this helpful. I’d also love to hear any more tips you have to share! Thanks for reading. That’s all! Bye!
About Danya Grace
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