by D.E. Ireland, @DEIrelandAuthor 
If you’ve come with up a unique idea for a book, congratulations. But you may need advice on how to shepherd this idea from that first inspiration to typing the last line of your final draft. Here are six steps that can help you along the way.
- First you need a light bulb moment. An idea pops in your brain, you say, “what if…?” and off you go to develop the premise. It’s perhaps the most exciting part of writing. Then reality sets in. We came up with the novel idea of Eliza Doolittle solving mysteries with Henry Higgins. But we first had to ascertain whether Shaw’s characters were in the public domain (yes, thankfully) and steer clear of Lerner & Loewe’s film My Fair Lady, which isn’t.