Finishing My Novel: How I Did It

I finished a novel this June.

This is a huge step for anyone, but particularly for me. I've been writing novels my whole life. Invariably, I'd get to around page 100, decide I hated it, and stop. Usually I'd delete the whole thing in a fit of book loathing. Sometimes I'd come back to it in a year and realize what I was writing wasn't so bad--and wonder why I stopped. But I never felt inspired to keep going; by then I was onto some other idea, which I would eventually abandon.

Not this time.

So if you want to write a novel, here's how you do it. Or, at least, how I did it.

Set small, achievable, regular goals. When I started with this new novel, I decided I would write 2500 words a week. 2500 words is an easy goal for me. It's 500 words a day, with weekends off. Or if I don't have a lot of time during the week, I could do it in one determined sitting. I could do a lot more--and later towards the end, I found myself sometimes writing 10,000 words per week or so. But in the beginning, it was very important to me to set small goals that I could live up to.

It's key to set goals that are less than what you think you can do. That's because if you set a big goal for yourself and don't make it sometimes, you'll be setting yourself up for failure on a semi-regular basis. That gets discouraging, especially for perfectionist types. I can't count how many times I've decided I'd write an entire novel in two months and then quit after two weeks--because the goal was just too big. If I'd said I'd write a novel in a year, I might have actually gotten it done in a few months.

When you don't make your goals, don't sweat it. Okay, so this week aliens landed in your back yard, you gave birth to a litter of kittens and you had to have your toes amputated. Not the best time for writing 500 words a day, even if you get a break on weekends. Don't let it throw you off. Life happens. Just forget about it and keep moving forward next week. Don't try to write twice as much next week to make up--you can if you want, but don't try to force yourself and then freak out when you fail. It's just going to make it that much less likely you'll pick up your story again the week after. Keep the goals small. Keep them attainable.

Get some writing buddies. Writing friends are the reason I finished my story. They encouraged me when I was mired in self doubt, they told me my story was brilliant when I was sure it was a big steaming pile of monkey poo, and they made me accountable for my goals. If you're lucky enough to have someone in your life who can fill this role for you, you have much better chances of finishing.

Set inviolable rules. The one rule I couldn't break during the writing process was this one: NO going back. NO deleting. Whatever you write in the first draft stays in the first draft. I needed this rule; otherwise I'd go back and delete huge chunks and take my story in random directions. I needed to save the editing for the editing stage. Set whatever rules you need to set to make sure you finish, despite story loathing.

Don't rely on inspiration. I've heard those stories so many times, about writers who've had a compelling dream, woke up that morning, and written an entire novel in two days in a big spasm of inspiration. To which I say: GOOD LUCK. Inspiration is a funny thing. It's undependable. You never know when or where it will strike. That's great if all you want to do with your writing talent is write the occasional poem. But if you want to make a career out of this, you can't rely on inspiration.

Instead, have a plan. Sit down every day to make a certain word count. Follow an outline. Know where you're going. Don't wait for inspiration to strike before you'll sit down and write. You may find after you write a few hundred words that inspiration comes late to the party.

Writing a book is hard work. You need a plan, a schedule, and a few rules you can't break. You also need help--no writer really does it alone. But it's never too late to finish yours.