It all started in the notes on my phone.
I developed a set of notes about intermittent fasting for my own personal use and development, and in time I became so engrossed in the topic, due to my personal experiences with it, that I decided to commit to passing on what I'd learnt.
These notes acted as the framework for the book, and any ideas that came into my head throughout the process I would get down as soon as possible - otherwise, they were as good as gone.
I created a contents page, which is wildly different to the final contents page, breaking the topic down into sections each with their own chapters.
I then opened up a separate document for each chapter and treated them individually to build the main body of text and information - which massively helped to avoid writer's blocks, as I would hop to another chapter if I was stagnant.
In time, these sections and chapters changed and evolved. Many were added, many removed, many joined together. This felt like a natural process, you will not get it right the first time.
Once I had the foundation for each chapter, and what seemed like a final contents page, I went through each document one after another and polished the ideas into easily digestible text.
Along the way, I spent countless hours researching, and personally trailing, experimenting and learning about the concepts in the book - although my existing experience led me through the majority.
For aspiring writers, I arrive at the harsh reality that I'll give to you straight...
Once you're "done" writing (a full manuscript), you are still a long way from the finish line.
This is why my book took me over two years to write and publish.
More on the remaining stages of the process in another issue!