How To Finish A Novel

Completing a novel, especially when you’re working a full-time job, is no easy task. As a solitary activity, novel writing can be lonely and isolating, and when a full schedule forces you to pull late nights and stay in on weekends to make progress instead of spending time with family or friends, the loneliness and isolation tend to increase. I also often find myself caught in a cycle of feeling overworked and under rested, because when I finally go to bed in the early a.m. after a long writing session, my mind will stay stuck on my book instead of drifting into sleep, even though my body is heavy with exhaustion, which results in insomnia.

One of my friends asked why I write if it causes me such grief. I said, “Because I have to.” Writing chooses you. If you have the writing gene, gift, curse, or whatever you want to call it, story and character ideas will come to you whether you want them to or not, and you’ll have a nagging hunger to write them down that grows and grows until you finally do. But why am I telling you things you already know? If you’re reading this, you’re most likely a writer too, so you get it.

I’d like to share some strategies I’ve developed for a less painful novel-writing process. I hope these strategies will help keep you motivated and on track so you can finish your novel sooner, because looking back over a polished final draft makes all the grief that was part of the journey so worth it.

1. Set Milestones And Reward Yourself For Reaching Them

When drafting my first novel, I counted every 10,000 words of solid content, meaning fully fleshed-out chapters and not just outlines or notes, as a major milestone. Each time I got to a new milestone, I’d take a Saturday or Sunday off from writing and do something purely leisurely that I don’t do often, like go shopping for non-essentials, check out some places I’ve never been just because I’m curious about them, or spend the day not doing a whole lot but sitting on the couch. I know that pulling yourself away from your writing can sometimes induce guilt or anxiety, because we all want to make the most of the limited free time we have for it, but mixing it up with breaks for fun and relaxation every now and again will make your sparse writing time more productive, as you’ll be less burned out. Relishing in what you’ve accomplished so far can also be a morale boost that keeps you driving forward.

2. Make Time For Breaks And Clearing Your Mind

Writing is like studying or playing an instrument in that after doing it for an extended period of time, it causes your brain to become fuzzy. You start forgetting grammar rules and how to spell words you normally have no trouble spelling, and you lose your ability to discern the right rhythms for sentences. Because you also lose focus, an hour or two might pass by before you know it with little productivity.

When my head gets fuzzy, I take a coffee break, go for a walk, cook/eat, or take a nap, and then I try to refocus. It’s amazing how much clarity comes back to you after a little time away from your computer screen. When I return to where I left off, I often find that the last sentences I wrote, which seemed fine before I stepped away from them, are actually rather clunky and contain typos. 

3. Allow Your First Drafts Of Chapters To Be Rough

“I recommend getting a solid rough draft of the entire novel first and then to identify and fix structural problems.”

With my debut novel, I spent way too much time polishing the first five chapters before having all the kinks worked out of the plot. Once I did get the entire plot figured out, I had to make considerable changes to the chapters I’d already edited so painstakingly, because parts of them no longer made sense for the revised story structure.

Don’t get hung up on making each chapter perfect initially. To be efficient, I recommend getting a solid rough draft of the entire novel first and then to identify and fix structural problems. After that, you can do as many rounds of line edits as you want.

4. Steal Time For Drafting Whenever You Can

Back when I still mainly worked in an office, I’d take time on my lunch break or during slow tempo periods to draft chapters and jot down editing notes in a notebook or my phone’s notepad app. I’d transfer whatever I came up with to my manuscript Word document later at home. I could have worked directly in my manuscript doc I guess, but I always felt uneasy about having it open around my colleagues.

I realize not everyone has a day job involving project-based work in a cushy, corporate environment where it’s easy to look busy when you’re actually checking your social media page, shopping on Amazon, or in my case, writing a novel. If you have a different situation, I challenge you to find the moments you pass aimlessly during your day and fill them with book work. See how much faster you can make progress.

5. Remember That It’s Normal To Have Ups And Downs

You’re inevitably going to have days where you feel burned out, doubt your abilities and the interest anyone else will take in your story, and maybe even consider throwing in the towel. Just remember that these are all common things for writers to go through. I believe it happens as a result of spending too much time in our heads. You will bounce back, and every new milestone you hit in your novel will be a reminder of why you have to keep going, even when it’s a struggle.

Do you have other tips on how to deal with the pressure of finishing a novel? Message me!

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MJ Biggs is the author of the novel A Wonderful Place To Die.