Writing is hard, if you have done it for any length of time you will know this. It's both rewarding and infuriating, after one writing session you leave feeling satisfied and the next, you’re not sure if you will ever be able to write again.
Below I explain the five most difficult things to figure out when starting and how to overcome them.
1. Motivation
Have you ever started a project just to abandon it a few thousand words later? Between the ages of twelve and sixteen, I started several novels, just to reach a few thousand words and stop after losing the will to continue. I needed something other than pure motivation to finish a novel. This magical tool is habit.
If motivation is the starter motor of a car, then habit is the engine. Use the initial motivation only to start writing your novel. In this short period where you can’t wait to sit down and write, build a habit. It’s important that it's regular, ideally every day, and is also consistently achievable. Even if you can write for three hours on a good day, keep your goal at half an hour if that is all you can do when you are tired. As the motivation wears off, you will still be able to sit down and stare at a computer screen for half an hour. Progress is progress, no matter how slow.
2. Finishing What You Start
This is important, especially if you are writing your first novel, and intend to finish it. Whether you are at 30% or 95%, finish the first draft before you even so much as brainstorm for the new novel idea. Write it down, for sure just leave it. I fell subject to this as I wrote my first novel, though admittedly I'm not sure I could have finished it.
I began with the intention of finishing but it was never completed. I saw, at the halfway point, there were too many flaws for it to be worth finishing and so I started again. The result was a completely different book with only the names remaining the same. I got caught by the shiny idea. Still, i finished the next one despite many better ideas for novels trying to get me to turn away from the project.
My best advice is to finish the novel you are working on, at least the first draft, before working on a new idea. When you have written a few books it matters less as you know that you can finish projects. As soon as you get into the habit of abandoning a project when it gets tough, you will find it very difficult to ever produce a finished work.
3. Perfectionism
One of the largest problems for all writers is perfectionism. In our minds, the story is flawless but as soon as it’s on paper, we are forced to see the imperfections. This is generally more difficult for newer writers as they cannot write anything close to what they want. Yet, as you improve, you set the bar higher for your writing and it will frequently miss, leaving you feeling like you are destroying a good story just by writing it down.
This often separates experienced writers from less experienced ones as you get better at accepting that it's impossible to get it perfect in the first draft. In fact, i would argue that it is impossible to make it perfect so trying to hit that the first time you write it seems silly. Seeing the potential as you write is more important than checking to make sure it is perfect. The next step, however, can take your draft to where you want it to be.
4. Revision
Revision will improve your novel, but we are often tempted to write the next book, fixing the problems there rather than trying to fix what we have already written. Failing to edit books because it is easier to write another can become a problem if it happens consistently. If you never go back to the first drafts, you will never learn how to turn a draft into something worth reading.
Leaving your first books unedited can be a good idea, as your writing will have improved so dramatically that it may be more work than it's worth. However, learning to revise is a vital skill and just as important as writing.
5. New Ideas
If you’ve written a book from start to finish, you will have felt the call of a new idea. This usually happens as soon as you hit a tough spot while writing or while editing. For example, as soon as you have written the beginning and need to give your readers some real substance, your mind will begin to distract you with something new. The new idea always seems like the easier path to take and becomes a nagging in the back of your head, trying to pull you away from your current project.
As far as I know, there isn’t a way to rid yourself of these distractions, but if you have built a consistent habit and make a point to avoid being pulled off course, they won’t cause much of a problem.
Summary
The best solution to most writing-related problems is to create a routine. This will get you through many of the difficulties of writing a novel and hopefully make you a better writer. If you still haven't finished your first draft of your first novel, get it finished as even the act of completing this first step will make you believe in yourself a lot more. At least it did for me.
If you want to read more about making progress, click here. Also, check out my other blog posts for more advice on writing fiction.