This question comes up a lot: “Is it too late to write my book?”
Absolutely not.
If you have a book inside you, it’s not too late to write it.
So many people have great stories and wisdom to share, but they feel like they missed their chance. You didn’t miss it. All of that life you’ve been living — that’s where your book has been taking shape.
No Age Limit to Writing
Let me tell you about one of my first writing students. She took my online class to learn how to write a devotional. I didn’t know her age, but I knew she had traveled overseas in her 40s to be a missionary. She was an eager student, immediately applying the class lessons and suggestions. Very soon, she started publishing devotionals with her dream publisher. I was so excited for her.
One day, I got a note from her, saying how much she appreciated the class. She said, “Tomorrow is my 89th birthday. I’m at an age when many doors are closing, but this writing door is opening wide.” She was living a life full of faith, and she wanted to use her words, her voice to share encouragement with others.
Writing from Experience
It doesn’t matter at what age you start writing. It’s your life experiences that will season your book. You have wisdom to share. You have a perspective that can guide younger readers. You know where the giant potholes are in the road, and how to steer around them or navigate through them.
You can begin writing at any age, in any life circumstance. You don’t need a degree in English. Or a publishing contract. You don’t need the right connections. You just need a desire to share with your readers. Whether you want to tell a really cool story, teach a how-to, or provide encouragement, if you’re ready to write, the time is right.
A Simple Starting Place
If you’re thinking about the book you want to write, here’s a simple writing prompt you can try. It’ll help you get started and see how much you enjoy sharing.
Think about a moment you’ve experienced when you learned a new insight. Doesn’t matter what or when, just something that helped you grow.
Write down what you remember about that moment.
What happened in that moment? What did it feel like? What did you learn?
Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, completeness. Just get your thoughts on paper.
Then write a few words about how that story can help someone else.
Who is that someone else? What are they struggling with? How will the story help them?
There you go. That’s your first step toward writing your book. You can do this!
Keep Capturing Your Thoughts
The words you just wrote might not end up in your book — or they might — but they are a starting point.
Now that you know what it’s like to capture your thoughts on paper, take the time to do more of that.
Carve out a little bit of time throughout your week and write things down that you want to share with your readers. You can even speak your thoughts as a voice memo on your phone, or take notes as things come to you.
The ideas don’t have to be fully fleshed out. Just capture them and see where they lead. Pretty soon, your book will start to emerge from those thoughts. You’ll discover that you’re excited to share more. And that this is the perfect time to start writing your book.
Janet Eriksson 