A New Page: How to Start Writing a Book in 2026: A Clear Path to Becoming an Author
- WENDY MELROSE
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 16 hours ago
A Fresh Start for Writers
January is a reset. A doorway between who you were last year and who you’re becoming this year. For writers, this is the moment to wipe the slate clean. Release the pressure of unfinished goals. Release the plans that didn’t get completed. Release the disappointment.
If you’ve been wondering how to start writing a book this year, the answer begins with clarity, not pressure.
This new year invites you to pause and ask a powerful question:
“What am I meant to create this year?”
The answer to that question matters. Your story matters. Your mission carries purpose. Your voice carries purpose. And whether or not you feel ready, the call toward writing your book is not accidental. It’s an invitation to rise.
Your story matters. Your mission carries purpose. Your voice carries purpose.
Why So Many Writers Stay Stuck
Most new or struggling writers aren’t held back by talent or ability. They’re held back by three internal roadblocks:
The comparison trap
Believing their story isn’t meaningful enough. Assuming someone else has lived something “bigger” or more important.
A worthiness battle
Feeling like they aren’t special enough or qualified enough to write a book.
A damaging identity belief
Telling themselves: “I’m not a finisher.”
This last one is the one I have the most compassion for. When you repeat that belief, it becomes an identity. And identity shapes outcome.
The moment a writer says, “I am a finisher,” everything changes. Confidence rises. Commitment strengthens. The book stops being a dream and becomes a decision.
The Biggest Lie About Writing a Book
Many people think they need large blocks of uninterrupted time to write.
They don’t.
If you’ve been struggling with how to start writing a book, here is the truth: books are created through consistency, not intensity. Even thirty minutes a day compounds quickly. And writing doesn’t have to be typing. You can speak your story into your phone and let voice-to-text capture your words.
Another common lie is believing that finishing the manuscript is the end. It isn’t. It’s the beginning of impact.
Writing a book is not the finish line. It’s the starting line for sharing your message with the world.
Start the Year with a Clear Strategy
If you want one practical step to begin strong in 2026, here it is:
Decide that this is your year.
Not hope, not wishful thinking, not “when life slows down.”
Decide.
The reason I stay consistent in my own writing is simple. When I know I’m called to create something, I don’t negotiate with that calling. I make space for it. I protect the time. I treat my purpose like a priority.
You can do the same.
A Mistake Nearly Every New Writer Makes
Many writers get rigid with their ideas and take feedback personally. But editing is not an attack. It’s alignment.
A book is not written for the author.
It’s written for the reader.
Removing the spirit of offense makes room for excellence and clarity.
A Simple Way to Start This Week
If you want to know how to start writing a book without overwhelm, try this:
Open a blank document and tell ChatGPT:
Your writing goal
Who you want to reach
What you want to say
Then ask it to generate heart-centered questions for you to answer.
Answer one at a time.
Then another.
Before you realize it, you’re writing.
The Responsibility of Your Story
Your life sits between two realities.
On the left: everything you’ve lived through.
On the right: everything people are struggling with right now.
Your story is the bridge between those two worlds. It is meant to help someone else climb out of the place you once were. Some people may judge your story, and that’s fine. They’re not who you’re writing for. You’re writing for the ones who will use your words as a pathway to hope.
Start with Clarity, Not Motivation
Before outlining or drafting anything, answer these three questions:
What pain is your reader experiencing?
What victory are you living in today?
What journey connects the two?
Motivation rises and falls. Clarity carries you forward.
Motivation rises and falls. Clarity carries you forward.
A Transparent First Step for New Writers
Most first-time authors feel overwhelmed because they don’t know where to begin or who to trust. The publishing world can feel confusing and full of mixed messages. That’s why I created the Publisher’s Pathway Giveaway: a simple and transparent four-step roadmap to help writers understand:
The difference between traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing
How to protect their book rights
How to identify predatory publishing practices
What real marketing actually looks like
How to take a confident first step toward becoming an author
It removes fear and replaces it with clarity.
If you’ve been trying to figure out how to start writing a book this year, this pathway gives you a grounded place to begin.
If You Take Only One Next Step This Year
Know this:
Your story matters.
Your voice matters.
And you can start exactly where you are today.
Write for ten minutes.
Voice-text a memory.
Join a community of writers.
Download the publishing pathway.
Take one step.
Because you are a finisher. And 2026 is the year you finally become the author you know you’re meant to be
Meet the expert:
Wendy Melrose is a faith-rooted book coach and founder of Resilience Press. She specializes in transparent, ethical publishing pathways for first-time authors who want clarity, confidence, and a supportive community. Through Writer’s Masterplan and her Publisher’s Pathway resources, Wendy helps everyday people become finishers and turn their stories into impact.
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