From Subtle Maneuvers issue 8:
Dear Subtle Maneuvers,
I have wanted to write a book for some time now; however, I am not sure what the subject matter would be. The issue could be that I have such a wide range of interests, and that I need to focus on one area such as history. I have written nonfiction articles and columns for local newspapers. My area of work is mental health counseling, but I have to be careful writing about that due to confidentiality of clients. The book could be a novel or nonfiction, and I would appreciate tips that go beyond the old “write what you know.” —Edward in Tampa
Dear Edward,
This is a difficult question! But I will offer you a few thoughts, which I hope you’ll find helpful even as they are somewhat contradictory:
LISTEN TO TONI MORRISON (AND AUSTIN KLEON)
“If there's a book you really want to read,” Morrison once said in a lecture, “but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” I think that’s a valuable way to think of any book project. You should feel in your bones that this is a book you would be dying to read if someone else had written it. The author Austin Kleon has his own version of this advice, which is more direct (and, I think, absolutely correct): “Write the book you want to read.”
Now, maybe you still don’t know what that book is. That’s fine, because to start you just need to plant the seed. Let this advice sit in the back of your mind, and maybe one day when you’re listening to the radio or aimlessly browsing the internet or talking with a friend, you’ll suddenly hit upon an idea where you think, Oh, man, that’s a book I would love to read. That’s your starting point.
DON’T THINK ABOUT YOUR PROJECT AS A BOOK AT ALL
At the same time, I think starting with the ambition to write (cue trumpet blare) A BOOK is a good way to create mental roadblocks for yourself. Instead, why not think about a story you want to tell or an idea you want to explore, and then brainstorm what would be the best vehicle for sharing that with other people? A lot of books started as something else—as a blog (in my case), a lecture, a magazine or newspaper article. Fortunately, we are living in an age when virtually anyone can start a blog, a newsletter, or a podcast, and these are great ways to give structure to your story and test the waters on how much of an audience there is for it.
But, also, this doesn’t have to be done publicly. The right vehicle for your fledgling project might be a private journal or a series of letters to a friend (or to yourself). A lot of authors’ books started as notes they made in the margins or other books while reading; if you make a lot of notes in a lot of books and then type them all up, there might be the seed of something there. Most books start with an obsession, or at least with an itch—what is yours?
CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE SUBJECT MATTER ISN’T ALL THAT IMPORTANT
I know I just said that you should focus on a story or idea that obsesses you, but here’s another possibility: that the pleasure of a good book is as much about inhabiting another person’s mind and thought process as it is the actual subject matter. I’m a fan of Molly Young’s Read Like the Wind column/newsletter, and in a recent post she touched on precisely this point. Recommending the book Nine Moons by Gabriela Wiener, Young wrote:
With certain writers, it doesn’t matter what the book is about, because the brain that created it is so euphoric, so wicked, so irascibly specific, that you want to clear out a corner of your own headspace and beckon the author inside as a permanent tenant. It is for this reason that I, a person who has never been pregnant and has little interest in reproduction, can recommend a book about a pregnant lady who watches trash TV and dreams that she’s going to give birth to a monkey.
I agree. There are some writers whom I’ll read on anything, no matter how little interest I have (or think I have) in the subject. Becoming that kind of writer is not easy—in fact it’s quite rare! But it’s a good ambition to have in mind as you think about what kind of writing you want to pursue going forward.
Having trouble finding time for a creative project alongside your other daily obligations? Or feeling stuck, blocked, or discouraged during the time you do have? Email your dilemma to subtlemaneuvers@substack.com and I’ll do my best to provide some concrete advice based on my research into great minds’ work habits.