Great authors throughout history never wrote for money or fame but for progress. And every progress entail change and change is pain. To be a true author is to be solitary from the general trend. Not that the author should develop monastic habits.
Throughout history authors were driven from the deep reservoirs of the inner world. Drawing deep within they wrote books only under great influence for change. And for that matter they were social outcasts, pariahs to the established traditions. You are should make determination in this age of insatiable burn for money making to break through and write – write the story you want to write. Not write the story adjusting it and tuning it to the popular glamour of the day. That is role of a true author and writer.
The world – this modern age we are living in with social and psychological chronic problems needs true authors, authors who write under inspiration and deep convictions. Authors who are mellowed and sound unlock problems and bring the balm for soothing and healing.
What is the step by step process of writing a book of any given type? What are the basics? What are the essential, the building blocks?
I would say the first step in the entire process is innate desire. That is called inspiration. Inspiration means to be in spirit. To be in tune with spirit world - intuition. Writing a book therefore is not so much about moneymaking, becoming a New York best selling or even trending on twitter and other social media. The profession is a noble profession for moving forward – moving humanity forward in civilization.
After inspiration the next step is the composition. This is an art. I will give a practical example of writing a biography, life story or memoir. The process of writing a biography, memoir or life story is not simply recounting events, but reproducing life events that are full of cream. A book is not a heap of skeletons by an organism filled and ruled by sensate soul.
The next step after composition is arranging the book into sections, units or chapters. The sources and materials that have been gathered must be thoroughly and impartially examined with great care. I can even say extra-ordinary care. For example much of the information on the internet and even in traditionally published book is not genuine; thorough checking for heir genuineness, integrity, and credibility must be absolutely checked. Thus only can the author duly separate fact from fiction, truth from error. Verify facts, dates, and quotations. A want of accuracy is fatal to the reputation of any book.
The best method is to combine judiciously the chronological and topical principles of division; presenting at once the succession of events and the several parallel (and, indeed, interwoven) sections in due proportion.
In writing Moving Forward - a biography on President Barack Obama, considering the wide ranging diverse nature of his life's epochs, I never gave a complete view of any one subject, but moving from one chapter to another I constantly mixed the various topics, breaking off from one to bring up another, even by the most sudden transitions, till the alternation is exhausted. It was like a symphony orchestra with varies changes and crescendos.
What the biographer is aiming at is to reproduce both the unity and the variety of life epochs, presenting the different junctions through life in their separate completeness, without overlooking their organic connection. For example Barack Obama who lived briefly in Kenya in the 80's is still Barack Obama, the community organiser at the South side of Chicago, Barack Obama the senator, Barack Obama the US president. That is the organic connection. You are dealing with one sensate soul with varies crescendos.
Another difficulty the author has to grapple with consists in the combination of brevity and fullness. In my case in Moving Forward the material and the sources on Barack Obama are so vast that they needed condensation. The utmost condensation should be studied by a judicious selection of the salient points. Brevity is a virtue when writing a book. The author, moreover, must make the book awesome, readable and interesting, without violating truth. Telling the story with earnestness, vivacity, and freshness. The author must first lay aside all prejudice and party zeal, and proceed in the pure love of truth. Not that the author must become a tabula rasa. No man or woman is able, or should attempt, to cast off the educational influences through life. But in everything be as true as possible to the objective fact and see all points in the circumference.
Everything be as true as possible to the objective fact, "sine ira et studio"
I would also agree with you that when taking on a challenge as great as writing a biography of a sitting president, with his accomplishments still unknown, is a daunting task requiring careful checking to make sure that your information is right.
I have not written anything about Barack Obama except this: I believe, that when everything is sorted out, Barack Obama will stand along side of Abraham Lincoln as one of the greatest presidents that the United States has ever had. My only concern is that sometimes, in order to get things done, he has compromised too much, and has not stepped forward enough to be decisive.
This article would benefit from some editing. Any publication should be edited before it is presented. I spend a lot of time editing my own work. I would advise you to get someone to edit yours for you.
Ron