Things I learned while writing my novel
Stuff I learned while I was writing the first draft of my novel...
Writing a novel is a complete rollercoaster. You can start strong and confident, and once you get to the middle, you’ll be sitting there questioning your life choices. By the end, you’re looking at pages and pages of words that barely resemble what you imagined. As I near finishing the second draft of my novel, there are quite a few things that I learned about plot, character development, world-building, and overall tone and style that I wanted to share with you all. Be warned: writing a novel isn’t always as amazing as it sounds, but it’s a journey worth every agonizing hour staring at a blank page.
1. Your First Draft is Supposed to Be Ugly (And That's Okay)
I remember while I was working on my first draft at the beginning of the year, I was struggling horrendously. I’m talking writer’s block every other day, sitting and staring at a blank screen, unsure how to fill the space between one outlined scene and another. And then I saw a Twitter post that went something along the lines of ‘Don’t try to make your first draft perfect. Just GET IT DONE’, and it explained how your first draft is meant for you to get all of your ideas out so it can act like a map for the second draft.
This changed my life.
Your first draft is not just allowed to be messy, it’s supposed to be. It’s not a final product, but more so a glorified brain dump, a chaotic mashing of ideas that may or may not make sense. The goal isn’t to write a masterpiece; it’s to write something. Anything. There will be plot holes big enough to drive a truck through and characters who randomly change eye color halfway through. But that’s okay! The first draft is supposed to act as your map, so that once you’re finished, you can retrace your steps and figure out where you took a wrong turn. So stop worrying about trying to make every sentence sound perfect, for conversation to flow perfectly, and filler scenes to make 100% sense— just get it done!
2. Characters Have a Mind of Their Own
Let your characters evolve. It is more than likely that your character’s personality traits, actions, and decisions will stray away from the way you outlined them, and that’s okay! There’s a difference between outlining a character and actually writing them, as writing them will help you think of new ideas you wouldn’t have thought of before. Let your characters evolve!
3. Schedule time for writing, and only writing
Life can be busy. Lots of us writers are in school full-time, working part-time jobs, full-time jobs. It can be impossible to find the time to write, and most of the time when we come home tired at the end of the day, it’s hard to get started. So, try scheduling time blocks for writing and only writing. Grab your calendar and mark out the best times that work for you. Once it’s there, treat it like an appointment. Show up with no excuses.
Remember, it doesn’t matter if you don’t exactly like how things turn out. That’s what editing and revisions are for! But you can’t edit a blank page, so take my earlier advice and focus on getting that first draft down, no matter how messy. Worry about polishing things later.
During your writing times, it’s important to do two things: 1) find a location that works best for you, and 2) shut off all distractions. Put your phone on DND. Shut off that second monitor. Find a nice spot in a cozy café.
We as humans always make time for things important to us. If writing isn’t getting a spot on your schedule, it’s worth asking whether you truly value it as much as you think you do.
4. Writer’s Block is Just Your Brain Stalling for Time
Writer’s block is the bane of every writer’s existence. It usually strikes right when you're in the middle of a pivotal scene, and suddenly, you forget how to string two sentences together. For me, I get writer’s block the most when I have two scenes outlined, but I’m unsure of what to write to connect the two.
The trick? Keep writing anyway. Even if what you’re putting down feels like nonsense, you’re still making progress. Writer’s block is the brain’s way of asking for a snack break. Give it a short one, then get back to work. Keep up the momentum!
5. Write in any order
This will sound super controversial, but write in any order that allows you to get your work done. If you’re struggling, don’t write the opening scene first. Write that juicy scene in the middle of the chapter you just can’t wait to get working on. Besides, you might get ideas for other chapters as you focus on a different one, so make note of those ideas and worry about reordering things later.
Conclusion: Keep Writing, Keep Going
Writing a novel is hard work. You should be proud of yourself for every push you take! There will be days that you question why you ever started, and days when you can’t imagine doing anything else. The secret? Persistence. You don’t need magic and miracles to get your book finished, boatloads of motivation and inspiration. You just have to keep writing. Even when it’s tough, even when you hate every word you typed. Because in the end, the joy of finishing that last page far outweighs the struggle it took to get there.
And remember: let your first draft suck.
I hope you guys enjoyed this post. I apologize again for the very long break in posts. I’m hoping to be more active on here, as well as back on Pinterest. Thank you guys for your continued support!
With love,
c <3