Since I know it's only a matter of time before I write my first book, I've been passively collecting tips and ideas on how/what/when to write. An issue of the MarketingVOX Copywriting newsletter has some great ideas from a couple of contributors this week that I'd like to paraphrase here.

How to Write a Book - Martha Retallick via MarketingVOX Copywriting

1. Make an appointment with yourself. Say, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. every day, you are going to write. That means no surfing the Web, no checking e-mail, and no answering the phone.
2. Write a certain amount each day, even if you're sure that what you're writing is pure garbage. Just get those words down on paper, or into your computer.
3. If your home or office just won't cut it as a place to write, then go out. Get an hour's time on a computer at your public library. Visit a cyber cafe. Just be sure to bring a floppy disk so you can take your work with you when you're done.
4. Get a writer's posse together. Their job is to keep you writing. And your job is to do the same for them. Motivate each other.
5. Become a hunter-gatherer for tips on how to write faster and better. Ask your writing friends. Read books and magazines.
6. Don't pace yourself. Write as much as you can when you are feeling creative and when you're not, proofread what you have written.
7. When it gets to be too much, take a couple of days off and do something that is totally unrelated to your writing to give yourself time to recharge.