Millions of people have tried to write a novel and millions have failed. So what is the secret to being one of the very few that actually finish? It’s all about ego, stubbornness and understanding that your book may be bigger than anything you think or understand about it. These are big concepts and that is why most people give up. To have the mental staying power to complete a novel requires you to commit to finishing it regardless of how you feel about it. And our feelings dictate nearly everything we do. So if we start to feel bad about a project, we usually abandon it. We believe that we feel bad because it must be terrible writing or because we have an instinct that we are wasting our time and should give up and do something else. But those feelings are actually irrelevant. This is the KEY. Don’t trust your feelings when you are writing - you just can’t. They are not your friend. They will tell you to give up, they will tell you your writing is sub-par and they will mock you for even trying. This is the ego’s way of making sure you don’t evolve as a human - writing and completing a book will shift your being and the ego hates that. You must fight the ego and the best way to do that, is to be STUBBORN. You tell yourself, I’m writing this book because something in it may help someone else. Once the onus is on someone else, it’s easier to keep going. You are doing it for the readers, you are doing it for the greater good, you are doing it in the service of art and your feelings don’t count. Have a deadline, commit to it and get that book done. And when you get to the end, it will still need a heap of work but I guarantee it won’t be nearly as bad as your ego protested.
Should You Abandon Your Manuscript?
So you wrote a book, and it didn’t turn out quite the way you’d hoped … ie it’s a big pile of rubbish. Should you just delete that file and be done with it? At least that way no one will ever find what a terrible writer you really are? No! Keep it. And even if you do delete it, guess what? The writing fairies have kept a back up in your subconscious. You will notice that whatever you write about, now, in the future, maybe even something you wrote twenty years ago, will somehow find its way back into your new manuscript. We have stories inside of us that need to come out and they will. But maybe that awful book you wrote didn’t present it well enough; take heart, your new book might. Everything you write has value - whether it’s trying out an idea or planting seeds for future stories - it’s all important. Just because you didn’t win the Booker Prize doesn’t mean it was a huge waste of time. All those manuscripts, whether they are hiding in drawers or out to your agent, are worthy. Thank them and yourself for typing them into life.
How Do You Write A Novel?
Everyone seems to want to write a novel these days, and everyone thinks they can … until they try. Writing a novel is an extraordinary art form that takes discipline, creativity, hard work, persistence and courage. If you’ve always wanted to write a novel, chances are you’ll be able to do it - but if you are just giving it a go for a bit of fun, maybe try something else. It’s not for the faint hearted! Novel writing is not only about utilizing the amazing creativity and imagination of the right brain, but harnessing the logic of the left brain so that the story can come together in a intensely readable way. How do you do that? You plan! You set up all the elements of your book; themes, genres, characters, locations, moments and story arcs, and then you decide what your chapters will be and what journey the character will take - from beginning to end. Outlines scare writers, but it’s always good to remember that they guide you through and educate you on what the real story should be … basically, that they can change. But without an outline, you will just get lost. Plan that book and see your mind open up with possibilities for your story - it seems counterintuitive but try it … you won’t regret it.