How to finish writing your novel
How to finish writing your novel
You’ve had a dream for years now to write a novel. Lots of ideas have flitted in and out of your head, and finally one has stuck. You think this could be the big idea that will get you published.
The trouble is, life keeps getting in the way. You find it hard to stay consistent and sit down at your desk on a regular basis and ensure that you get to The End. How can you break this cycle?
How can you push past your own inconsistencies and insecurities and write that last sentence?
The answer is to give yourself a deadline! You might think that deadlines are just for published authors who have agents and editors. But that is not the case.
If you know you want to finish your book, you need to give yourself a deadline. That doesn’t mean telling yourself you need to finish it in the next six months, it could be that you finish it in the next four years.
Either way, you have an end date in mind and from which you can work back.
Why is this important?
Even if you’re just starting out you need to set yourself up for success. Writing a novel is not an easy thing to do, it takes dedication, time and consistency. And I know consistency is something a lot of new writers struggle with.
You are already trying to juggle a million things in a busy week and making that time to writing can feel difficult. Well, the answer is to be to think of yourself as a professional, even if you don’t feel it. Some people work really well under pressure and so may set themselves a deadline of six months in which to finish the first draft.
You might be like me and don’t thrive under a strict deadline but want to have an end date to work towards. It gives your project a feeling of momentum, of continuum, and having something to work towards, at the end of which you can reward yourself for a job well done.
Lindsay Buroker is a prolific and successful author. I found out recently that before she set herself the goal of getting published, she never finished a single novel. Once she made the commitment to herself, she finished her first draft.
Lindsay has now published well over 50 books and is a six-figure author.
When I first started writing all I wanted to do was finish a first draft. Like Lindsay, I had never completed a single project. Like many people I have three or four unfinished novels sitting on my computer.
What frustrates me when I look back is that at least one of them are good and I had made great progress with it, but the storyline got tricky, I didn’t have a deadline and so I stumbled at that three-quarter mark. If I had given myself a deadline, I would have been in with a better chance of reaching the finish line.
Just like Lindsay.
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A deadline makes you feel professional
The mere fact you have taken your writing seriously, like a published writer would, immediately changes how you feel about yourself and your work. Take pride in the fact you have a deadline, take pride in the fact that you are taking your work seriously.
Take pride in the fact you are done talking about writing your book. Now it’s time for action.
You need to set the bar
The simple truth is nobody else is going to take your writing seriously until you do. This was a hard lesson from me to learn and took a long time to sink in.
It was a journalist I knew who I used to bump into in my local café. He saw me there with my pen and paper, scribbling away week after week, and asked what I was doing.
Embarrassed to be admitting this to a “proper” writer, I mumbled something about doing a bit of creative writing. He was the first person to say to me, “Don’t diminish what you’re doing. I see you here writing every week. You are a writer.”
Embarrassing!
It embarrassed me to have somebody say this to me. I didn’t feel worthy of the title writer. It took me a long time to own the word. But it was only once I did own it, and say it with pride and conviction, that others took me seriously too.
When I saw they took me seriously a lovely karmic circle of confidence emerged. Their belief in me increased my belief in myself. My mindset began to shift.
Mindset
Mindset is one of those words that is bandied around all over the place. At one time I pooh-poohed the concept as mumbo-jumbo. I have experienced firsthand how changing my mindset changed first my behaviour and then my outcomes in life, ie; I published a book!
When you change the words you use to describe yourself, you’ll change your opinion of yourself. If you need to write in your journal “I am a writer”, do it. You might feel silly at first, writing something like that, but in time you’ll believe it and it won’t feel as ridiculous.
Go one step further and say it out loud. Get into Superwoman pose, hands on hips, shoulders wide and say proudly “I am a writer”. Again you may feel a bit of a plonker to begin with but in time you’ll ease into your new role, your new job title if you will, and you will feel less ridiculous.
Eventually you’ll say it with pride. And to reiterate, when you take yourself seriously as a writer others will take you seriously and this confidence will feed into your writing practice and you will write with consistency.
Where are you in your writing life?
Are you right at the beginning and feel embarrassed to describe yourself as a writer? Have you started writing it down and feel comfortable with the job title? Does describing yourself this way to make you feel good? Have you set yourself a deadline?
Imagine how amazing you’ll feel when you see the words grow, your self-belief grow and your novel get finished. It took me five years to write my first book because I didn’t set a deadline. Are you ready to write your first draft?
If you are, I’m ready to help you.
If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love these:
- https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/writing-routine
- https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/writing-course
- https://emmadhesi.com/blog-post/write-the-first-sentence
If you are trying to write your novel, but lack the confidence or self-belief to see it through to the end, then join me in Unlock Your Creative Block.
It's the only programme that gets to the heart of why you can't finish your book, even though it's what you want to do more than anything else in the world.
Emma Dhesi writes women’s fiction. She began writing seriously while a stay at home mum with 3 pre-school children.
By changing her mindset, being consistent and developing confidence, Emma has gone from having a collection of handwritten notes to a fully written, edited and published novel.
Having experienced first-hand how writing changes lives, Emma now helps beginner writers find the time and confidence to write their first novel.
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