How to write a book

This post is from Kim M Kimselius own webbsite. Don't hesitate to check it out here: 

"The most frequent question that Kim gets when she's out lecturing, in letters and in e-mails is: How do I write a book?

Below Kim gives you a few simple tips on writing a book/story. 

Befor you start writing your story

First you get a "Post-it"-pad (one of those little yellow/pink/grey sticky note pads). When an idea pops up, write it down on the paper. Next idea - next paper. Then gather them all either on a wall or in a book. (A wall is best, there you can look at your little papers all the time). Read through the notes when you think you have enough ideas. See if you have found ideas for a good beginning, a good ending, enough chapters etc. If you can’t find an ending, try figure one out. Otherwise you might risk getting stuck when you get there, not knowing what to write. Don’t write too much on your sticky papers – you don’t want a full chapter there, just hints for chapters. When you see and read the notes on the wall, new ideas might come up, or if you see a note that doesn’t fit in, you can just add to it or simply remove it. It must feel right! Don’t be afraid to alter or cut out pieces in your story even when you think it’s finished.

When you start writing your story

Picture yourself the person you want to write about, try to be that person, feel what she/he feels, see what that person sees and write everything down.

Don't use an eraser and never mind the spelling when you start. Write from your heart and let your fantasy flow.

Write as much as you can when you start. Follow "the thread" and stick to something important to hold the story together. (here you use the things written on your sticky papers.)

Not until you feel the story is readey you may start thinking about the spelling. Remember: you can alter the story, add to it or cut out pieces until you feel it is completely finished.

It' not important to concentrate on the language when you sketch your story. You can polish the text later when the story is ready.

Don't forget to describe where the persons are, what is happening around them - are there more people around? - what they do when they talk. In other words: remember that a dialogue is not enough!

Finishing your story

It's a good idea to let someone you trust read what you have written. This someone must not be afraid to criticise you and honestly say what thay think. Sometimes it's difficult to see faults in your own writing. The story might seem complicated and mixed up and even hard to understand. This is what you need your friend to discover!

Good luck with your writing!"

Inspired? Well you know what to do! Leave a comment below and get to it!

Kim's books in other languages

"Never had I dreamed that my books would be translated into other languages​​, the time I was eight years old I decided to become a writer . Now it's six languages ​​in total and several titles of each language. Here you can see them all:

English

Here is the English version of Back to Pompeii, Back to Pompeii. It is the latest translated book.

Serbian

The very first translation was of Curse of the Pharaoh, Pharaoh Novo prokletstvo, to Serbian.

The second book, which was translated into Serbian was I'm not a witch, Ja nisam Vestica.

The third book translated into Serbian was Back to Pompeii, Povratak u Pompeju, which is actually the first book in the series.

Finnish

Next translation of Back to Pompeii was Finnish. Paluu Pompeijiin.

The second book in Finnish was Pharaoh's curse, Faaraon Kirous. I like the Finnish book covers very much. I understand why the foreign publishers make use of the Swedish covers because they are so lovely.

Norwegian

The Norwegian Back to Pompeii, Tilbake til Pompeii, was supposed to be followed by I'm Not a Witch, but the publisher was closed and despite selling rights the book never published in Norwegian.

Spanish

Then came the turn of Spanish Back to Pompeii, Pompeya Comienza la aventura. This book is the only one that has pictures interspersed in the text, has become a bit more of a textbook than a fictional book.

Icelandic

I'm so happy for my Icelandic translated books. The first book Back to Pompeii, Aftur til Pompei. The books have done so that I have visited Iceland twice. This particular book was named one of the year's best foreign language books for young people when it came out in Iceland in 2009.

Other Icelandic book is I'm not a witch, Ég you ekki norn.

Third Icelandic book is Pharaoh's curse, Bölvun Pharaoh. Here, the publisher decided to make their own covers. Which do you prefer, the Swedish or Icelandic cover?

The fourth Icelandic book that came out was The Guillotine, Fallöxin, which means that the publisher has skipped Hidden Inca, Viking thrall, the Black Death and Snapphanar. Something that has not passed by the Icelandic fans. They have contacted me and wondered if the books really come out in the order they were written.

Fifth Icelandic book is Knight's value, Töfrasverdid. When the book came out, I was in Iceland and lectured and the kids laughed at me when I tried to pronounce the Icelandic title.

Yes, that was the foreign books so far. It will hopefully be several more languages, always fun to get set the foreign books in the bookcase."

Writing with joy

This is what Kim M. Kimselius wrote writing with joy:

"Writing with joy is the name of my notebook, but it's not the one I 'm going to talk about today.

It's the joy of writing I want to tell you about. For me there is almost nothing better than to write, but it's not for everyone, that I know of all the letters and emails I get.

So how do you find the joy to write?

To me it's obvious to write to myself, if something I like, something I'm passionate about, something I want to convey to others.

This is not obvious to everyone. Many people write because they have a dream of becoming a writer, because they think that you have to write in a particular way, expressing oneself as a writer, using a special language, write a particular genre (mostly detective novels), or write so an editor will enjoy the story.

It's usually then it freezes. Because if you've decided to write a book, like a detective story, just because it is popular and can make you rich, but you do not have a that kind of story inside you, then it becomes all wrong.

If you are not good at finding the intrigue around a murder, or know how the murderer will be found, then there will be no good book because it forces you to write something you are really passionate about.

You should write about what you do best, whatever that is popular reading at the moment. You might have a romantic comedy within you, or a real harlequin story, with lots of love and sex. You might want to write something dramatic and sad, to tell you about something that has happened to you or someone in your vicinity.

It is only when you open up your thoughts and feelings and unleashes words you have within you that there will be joy in the writing.

Try to find your voice, your specialty and not lock yourself by rules and musts. Write on and feel how fun it is to let your fingers run up over the keys, or how the pen fills the papers with words.

Be glad for all the words you put on paper, instead of being sad and think that you have not posted enough. If it only gets a single sentence written during the day, you have at least posted something that you felt joy about when you wrote it.

As I write this text, I feel joy, because I am passionate about inspiring others to write and learn to find joy in writing. At the same time I'm filled with longing to write in my book, for it is so that the more you write, the easier it becomes. So it is with everything, the more you practice the better you get.

Sometimes when I'm lecturing in primary school, they usually get to write short stories based on a color. I urge them to write from the first color they see within themselves.

It tends to be magical stories. Like the little boy who saw black and then wrote a sad story about divorce and a lost dog. Someone else saw yellow and wrote on a lovely summer vacation in the countryside with his grandparents.

What kind of color do you see within you? Begin typing from that and then build on your story. Make sure to have fun and let the smile spread from your mouth through your body, feel joy when you write.

Good Luck!

Please look into Kimselius writing tips, http://kim-m-kimselius.blogspot.se/p/kimselius-skrivtips.html 

You can also find more tips on how to write with joy in my book To write with joy, which can be borrowed at the library, both as a regular book and e-book.

Hugs Kim M. Kimselius"

Are you up for the challenge? Write from your heart and enjoy the words that are coming from within you!

/ / Sharon Elbaz

Anastasias Destiny

Here is the sample of Kim M. Kimselius new book about the Grand Duchess, Anastasia!

"She sat hidden behind a dresser and peeked out at those who inspected the tsarist family's furniture that would soon be auctioned.

She had to swallow the lump grew in her throat, when the memories come to her. She remembered her father, so proud and straight, unyielding, unable to be broken, she had all the same thought, but fate wanted otherwise.

Her dear mother, so beautiful. Now she was considerably older than her mother had become.

The siblings, the dear and sickly brother, there loved dogs.

Now they were all long gone. Fate had been cruel, formed them to a life in which they never would live.

People touch the table's shiny surface, felt the silk fabric on the sofa and armchairs, the audited, criticized and brought accolades. She saw and felt annoyance, longing, sadness and anticipation.

Tensely awaited her on the right people, while she let the thoughts go.

Imagine how much speculation there had been about the imperial family's fate, especially of Anastasia's fate. Many had claimed to be the surviving Grand Duchess Anastasia. She thought of Anna Andersson, who had claimed that she was the missing Grand Duchess.

Why would anyone want to claim the title? It was risking there own life. Now, if they had made such great pains to escape from death, why did they then reveal their identity?

It was something she could not possibly understand.

She had been hiding during all the decades, followed all the discussions, smiled at all the fake versions of the Grand Duchess who did everything to get over the tsarist family fortune, the one that no longer existed.

Anna Andersson was the one who was most like her aunt, whom many had long thought was the real Anastasia. She sighed at how gullible people could be. Although she and her family had allowed themselves to be fooled once for a very long time ago.

She was tired, she had lived too long, seen too much, seen untold suffering and death.

Her veined old hands trembled as she rolled the chair forward to get a better overview of the premises. She had seen a familiar figure enter the room.

The heart began to throb like a teenage heart, so that it once had done when she first had seen the young man. She had waited and longed to meet him again.

Now he stood before her, as vibrant as last, although it differed oceans of years between them.

The wrinkled old cheeks were slightly pink and her eyes filled with tears, as she thought of all she had been able to experience, all she had missed out on, all the loved ones who had died.

He was accompanied by the girl he had talked so much about. They smiled at each other, which made her both excited and happy.

When he sat down on the couch, stroking the silk and put his hand on the wood bud, and in the next second, disappear, it became too much for her.

She knew what he would experience, she had been there, she was part of the young man's story. The memories poured over her and they hurt. So evil that the heart cramped and stopped beating.

The old lady sank down into the chair and her hand slid an envelope on which was written to Theo Aurelius ...."

"New book from Kim M. Kimselius"

Now she has done it again. Kim has finished writing yet another exciting book. It’s called Anastasia's Destiny and deals with the Russian Imperial Family: Tsar Nicholas II, Tsaritsa Alexandra, and their children, and the seventeen-year-old Grand Duchess, and when the revolutionaries storm the Tsar's palace and takes the Russian Czar and his family captive.

Anastasia's Destiny comes out in Sweden in August 2014, and will be her 19th adventure book.

Excited to read this book? If you can read Swedish, you can click on the link below and read the first chapter of Anastasia's Destiny!

http://kim-m-kimselius.blogspot.se/2014/04/las-forsta-kapitlet-ur-anastasias-ode.html

Tune in next week and read the sample in english!

/ / Sharon Elbaz

Writing Trip

I'm almost just back from sunny Turkey where I went to get away a little bit and just focus on one thing, my writing. Many would probably say that what I just did is called a Writing Trip, when you go off to focus on just their own writing, an occasion when you go away from everyday life and do a little mini vacation.

But must such a trip be to a sunny and exotic location? Who can afford to go to Turkey every other weekend to finish whatever you are writing?

Personally, I think a writing trip can be done in many different ways. It may be that you go to your summerhouse, although it would be a cold spring day and the heat is not running in the house. It may be a trip to the library or even a picnic at the nearest sea or lake. The meaning of a writing trip is to change the surroundings and not just sit at your writing desk or writing corner.

Can you fit a small excursion into your schedule? If not, it is possible to change a bit in the schedule? I think it works if you just want to.

Therefore I say; do it! Find a time and go away. Write! And if you do not write, then go off and read! Change the surroundings and doing something you have long yearned to do!

/ / Sharon Elbaz

Monday Morning

When the alarm goes off and reminds you that it is the first day of the week then you should think about not going in to a depression at once. See the day as if it's your first day in a week of opportunities and try to find the joy of the week. Maybe you'll meet someone you have not seen for a long time or find something you have not done in a while. Look forward to the little things in life and you will see that life will be so much more fun and so even this week.

   “But, there's nothing this week that I look forward to, it’s just full of boring stuff”,  you might say.

At that I would reply that if that is the case then you have a assignment for today. Your mission is to plan something you enjoy doing. It might be to play a board game with your family or maybe just to read a book. A book I believe everyone should read every night and I have just the right author for you, an author who writes for both young and adult. Kim's books are exciting and educational. Try one of her books!

//Sharon Elbaz