I've finished writing my novel. It's been years since I've finished a book, and I was beginning to doubt myself. There’s a constant start and stop element to writing that can leave you feeling discouraged. We ask ourselves, why won’t it come as easily as we would like it to? Yet, we fail to realize that it rarely ever does. For anyone else struggling to finish, I have a few tips.
Just write. Get out of your head. The intention of writing a book is not to get it perfect but to get it written. Get words on paper and then edit, edit, edit. You can't edit nothing.
Be intentional. I finished my book a few months ago but wanted to add a few more chapters to round out the story. I set a goal of one page, one paragraph, one chapter, or one scene a day. I mapped out the chapters so I knew what I'd be writing and then remained steadfast in realizing my goal each day (there were weeks I didn't meet my goal, but I always went back). My chapters/scenes weren't perfect, but they were written, and that mattered.
Celebrate all wins. If you wrote a sentence, a paragraph, an outline, or whatever, celebrate that. It doesn't matter if someone else was able to write 30 chapters or 10k words in a day. This is your work. Celebrate your wins however big or small they are.
Have a “writing friend” who can help you work through the kinks. Talking to someone about my story was cool at times but talking to another active writer was exactly what I needed to spot plot holes and finally finish my book. Someone who could see the forest for the trees when I was too in my head. As writers, we can isolate ourselves and then get frustrated when what we want to say doesn't come so easy. Bring someone else into the writing process with you. Someone who can provide valuable insight into the chaos in your mind.
Write through it. For me, I'd start writing a scene and it would sound terrible in my head. That little voice criticizing my work would make me stop and give up. When I learned to ignore that voice and simply write through the self-criticism, that's when I was able to finish my book. For example, there were times where I wanted to write a stream of conscious or a clever line, but I couldn't think of it in the moment or what I wrote sounded off. So, I wrote a note like [write clever comeback here] and then kept writing what did come easily. The first draft will be bad. Really, truly awful. But now that the words are on paper, I can do the work to make it better.
Start with the end in mind. What is the goal of each scene? Each chapter? The book? Every word in your book should propel the purpose forward or complement the purpose in some fashion. Anything else is a waste.
Kill your darlings. Don't be afraid to cut scenes. Actually, cut whole chapters, scenes, and sections. Rewrite characters. Cutting is often necessary. If cutting something in your book changes absolutely nothing in the story, then it should probably be cut. Even the scenes you love the most.
Leave breadcrumbs. When I was struggling toward the middle or the end of my book, I would reread the beginning to look for breadcrumbs. For example, I'll leave character backgrounds intentionally vague in the beginning, or I'll have a character say something ominous like, "I can never go back there again," or little things like that that meant nothing before, but now inspiration clicked and I realize that I can use that breadcrumb later in the book to create a new scene or add depth to an earlier chapter. It's a good way to make it seem like your story is more well-rounded and it helps to create tension in the story.
Give yourself grace during your writing process. If writing a book was fun and easy, everyone would be doing it. In fact, less than three percent of people in this world who begin writing a novel actually go on to finish it (don’t fact check me, go ask Google). Not many people can do what you do. You're a writer. Own that and stop listening to the voice in your head telling you you're not good enough. It's a bald-headed lie who needs to get a life.
Write that book. Screenplay. Story. Poem. Song. Just write.
About J. Lovelace:
J. Lovelace is an experienced writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. She has published one novel (Bad as in Good) and a poetry collection (Upendo). In addition, two of her short stories have been recognized and published in the literary journal Midnight and Indigo. With a penchant for fantasy, romance, and drama, J. has also amassed over 900,000 reads online for her interactive stories. Beyond writing, J. has also explored her creative pursuits in film, having written, directed, and filmed four short films available on YouTube.
Residing in sunny Florida with her loving husband and two children, J. continues to inspire and entertain readers with her creative works.
Follow J. Lovelace on Tiktok: @jesiwritespoetry and IG: @loveiswaves
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