How To Finally Write The Book You Keep Postponing

For many writers, the book doesn’t start as a draft. It starts as an idea they hold on to for years.

You think about it while doing chores. You replay scenes in your head. You tell yourself, “One day, I’ll write it.” And somehow, that day keeps moving further away.

If you’re here because you’ve been trying to figure out how to finally write the book you keep postponing, reading this blog post is your best decision. Postponing a book doesn’t mean you lack talent, discipline, or commitment. In fact, it often means the opposite. It means the book matters enough to intimidate you. It means you care about doing it well, maybe too well.

The real issue isn’t that writers don’t want to write. It’s that many don’t know how to begin in a way that is sustainable, and especially possible alongside our daily life routines and responsibilities.

This post isn’t forcing productivity or shaming you into action. It’s to help you understand why you’ve been stuck, and help you learn how to move forward with your book idea.

1. Understand Why You Keep Postponing the Book

Before you try to “fix” procrastination, it helps to understand it. Most writers assume procrastination means laziness or lack of discipline. In reality, why writers procrastinate writing their book is usually emotional, not behavioral.

At the core, postponing often comes from fear:

• Fear of doing the book wrong
• Fear that the finished book won’t match the version in your head
• Fear of finishing and facing what comes next

Sometimes the fear is subtle. You tell yourself you’re “not ready yet” or that you need more time to think. Other times it’s more intense: self-doubt, perfectionism, or the sense that once you start, everything will fail or the book won’t go as planned.

Seen this way, procrastination becomes a form of self-protection. You’re not avoiding the work because you don’t care. You’re avoiding it because you care deeply and don’t want to fail at something meaningful. When you understand why you’ve been delaying, you can stop fighting yourself and start taking the right steps.

2. Separate Thinking About the Book From Writing the Book

Thinking about your book can feel productive. You imagine scenes, replay ideas, and mentally refine concepts. But none of that is writing.

The book remains safely unfinished as long as it exists only in your head. Planning and imagining are useful, but they become a problem when they replace actual writing. Writing begins when words leave your mind and appear on a page, in a document, or in a notebook.

Overthinking often steps in when writing feels risky. It’s safer to plan endlessly than to put imperfect words on the page. But a story that stays in your head can never become a published book.

If you’ve been thinking about your book far more than you’ve been writing it, it’s a sign you may need to shift from internal processing to external action.

3. Stop Treating the Book as Something That Must Be Amazing

One of the biggest reasons writers postpone writing their books is pressure. The writing motivation for authors to get their book done becomes zero because they believe this book has to be exceptional.

The thoughts that it has to represent your talent or has to be the book that proves you’re a real writer can paralyze you from writing a single sentence. When the bar is “amazing,” every sentence doesn’t feel good enough. And as every paragraph feels like a judgment on your writing skill, eventually, it will become safer to not write at all.

Lowering the bar from amazing to written is often the breakthrough. This version of the book doesn’t need to be exceptional. Drafts exist so that books can become better later. You can refine your work later. Writing begins when you allow yourself to be imperfect.

4. Shrink the Book Into Tiny, Doable Tasks

Still on how to finally start writing your book, breaking down your book into small tasks makes writing easier and doable. “Write the book” is too big a task for most minds to handle.

Big goals trigger anxiety because they feel endless and undefined. But books aren’t written all at once. They’re written in small pieces. Instead of seeing the book as one massive project, break it down into the smallest possible pieces. A chapter. A scene. A page. Even a paragraph. When your goal becomes “write the next small part,” the work feels achievable.

Small tasks create momentum. Finishing a page gives you confidence to write another. Writing one scene makes the next feel less intimidating. Small wins lead to big ones.

5. Stop Waiting to Feel Ready

Many writers tell themselves they’ll start once they feel ready. The problem is, readiness is a feeling, and feelings are unreliable. If you’re waiting to feel confident, inspired, or fully prepared, you may wait forever. Confidence often follows action, not the other way around.

One of the most effective ways to learn how to stop procrastinating and write a book is to accept that readiness isn’t a must. It often comes after you begin and not from waiting. You can start while unsure.

Writing shows you what works and what doesn’t. Waiting keeps everything theoretical.

6. Set a Writing Schedule You Can Actually Keep

Unrealistic writing goals and schedules are a fast way to burn out. Marathon sessions, or rigid routines often collapse in real life situations. When that happens, writers assume they’ve failed when the schedule was the real problem.

Consistency matters more than intensity. If your schedule requires huge blocks of time with unrealistic word targets, it’s unlikely to last. A reasonable and realistic schedule looks more like this:

• 20 minutes, three times a week
• one page per session
• writing on the same two days every week

I share more on this in my blog post: How To Set Realistic Writing Goals For The Year.

7. Choose Consistency Over Motivation

Motivation is wonderful, but unreliable. If you wait until you feel motivated to write, the book will continue to be postponed. Consistent writing, even on days when motivation is low, is what actually moves the project forward.

Writing on low-energy days counts. Writing without excitement counts. Those sessions train your brain to see writing as something you do, not something you wait to feel ready for. Basically, writing regularly trains your mind to engage with the work without waiting for the perfect mood. Over time, motivation often follows consistency.

8. Write a Simple Outline So You Don’t Feel Lost

One major reason writers avoid starting is not knowing what comes next.

A simple outline can remove the fear of getting stuck halfway. You don’t need a detailed plan. Your outline can have just enough points to help you know what comes next. Knowing the next chapter, scene, or idea gives you a place to begin each time you sit down to write.

A loose outline can be:

• a list of chapters
• bullet points of main ideas
• short summaries of scenes

Outlines can also be adjusted. Their purpose is to reduce uncertainty, not limit creativity. When you know what you’re writing today, starting feels less intimidating.

9. Create a Distraction-Free Writing Space

Your environment matters more than you might think. If your writing space is filled with distractions such as notifications, noise, or interruptions, it becomes easy to avoid writing without meaning to. Having a dedicated, distraction-free space signals to your brain that it’s time to focus.

This doesn’t require a perfect setup. It might simply mean turning off notifications, using a specific chair, or writing in the same place consistently. Using productivity and focus apps like Freedom and RescueTime can help you shut out distractions and focus on writing.

Over time, your brain learns to associate that space with writing. I explain this more in my blog post: 10 Effective Strategies to Create a Productive Writing Routine and Top 20 Tools and Apps To Boost Your Writing Productivity.

10. Talk About The Book Out Loud

Talking about the book can help release ideas or reveal missing pieces. You can journal about the project, record voice notes, or explain the plot or concept to a trusted person. Speaking helps you reconnect with what excited you about the book in the first place, and triggers inspiration.

Often, what you want to write becomes clearer when you hear yourself talk about it.

11. Track Your Progress So You Can See Proof

Progress feels invisible without evidence. Tracking your sessions, whether by chapters finished, word count, time spent, or days written, gives you visible proof that you’re moving forward. Seeing that progress builds motivation and makes you eager to keep writing.

A simple note or checklist can be used to help track progress. It’s motivating to look back and see evidence of your effort.

12. Accept That Fear Will Come With You

Fear doesn’t disappear when you start writing. You may still doubt yourself. You may still wonder if the book is worth it. That doesn’t mean you should stop. Writing alongside fear is part of the process.

Often, fear is simply a sign that the work matters to you. Don’t see fear as a stop sign.

Final Thoughts: The Book Won’t Write Itself

Yep, I know this post hits hard or probably feels like a gentle shake to get you to start the book you’ve been daydreaming of. Books don’t move forward through wishing and waiting for the perfect moment. They move forward through action.

You need to take one small step today, and open the document. Happy writing!

Want to set realistic goals for the year? Grab the Printable Writing Goals Worksheet for free!