It’s Time to Finish your Novel

It’s December again and time for my annual appeal to all those who read the RMFW blog. It is time to finish your novel. Whether you want a traditional contract or are motivated to master the skills of an indy publisher, you still must write your book. Today is the day.

But something has been holding you back. Some block or fear has prevented you from finishing your novel. Are you a perfectionist? Do you require the muse to sit on your shoulder while you write? Are you swamped with work and kids and a needy spouse? Do you fight crime at night? Regardless of your legitimate reasons, I want to make something very clear to you. Are you ready?

You matter. Your art matters. Your story matters. Make yourself a priority and get your story done. Leo Batty, founder of Nanowrimo, likes to say “The world needs your story.” He’s right. There’s someone out there who needs to read the lines you write. But that person will never be inspired or comforted, or even amused if you don’t finish your story.

I’m not saying it won’t be hard, but small steps now will lead to great progress later. Try to find one hour a day to work on your novel – just one hour. It doesn’t even have be 60 whole minutes. It could be three 20 minute periods throughout the day, or two thirty minute blocks. However you find that time, commit to writing 500 words. If you can write 500 words starting on January 1st, you’ll have 15,500 words by the end of the month. By the end of February you’ll have close to 30,000 words. By June first you’ll have a 75,000 word novel.

Will your novel be perfect? No. Will it need work? Yes. But imagine the sense of accomplishment when you’ll have typing “The End”? Imagine the pride when you tell your peers in RMFW that you’ve completed your first manuscript?

Don’t worry about the re-writes and the edits. Don’t worry about the agent rejection letters and the pitches. Those moments will come. Worry about finishing your story!

Oh, and it won’t take four months to write. You know that, right? As you get into the habit of writing your novel you will find that your stamina for writing will increase. Your writing muscles will stretch and grow. Absolutely make your goal 500 words in the beginning, but don’t be surprised when that average begins to creep up.

When I first started taking my writing seriously I could only write about 500 words a day. After about a month I was writing 1500 words a day easily. By my third year it was up to 2300. Now I’m averaging around 3000 words a day. My goal is to average 5000 words a day.

But you can’t celebrate a book that isn’t written. You can’t send a novel to an agent that isn’t there.

I know what you’re going to say. My story has problems. I don’t know where I want to go with it. I have a saggy middle. All these things can be fixed if you write your story. See, don’t get hung up on writing the perfect story. No such thing exists. Write the best story you can write and leave the rest to be fixed during editing.

Kazuo Ishiguro, author of Remains of the Day, admitted that he likes big, messy first drafts where he gives himself permission to go anywhere he wants to in the story. He makes notes about detours and side stories and he figures it out later. He doesn’t wait for the muse to strike with inspiration and he admits it can be a struggle to get words on the page. Finally, he goes all out with a fanatical obsession, committing to working non-stop until a gangly, unwieldy draft is finally done.

Now, I’m not suggesting you, gentle reader, should follow in Ishiguro’s footsteps. If you can’t commit to writing a 100,000 word draft in four weeks, there is no shame. Very few people can do that. The point I’m trying to illustrate is that he’s not worried about every sentence being a work of art. He’s not worried about the first draft being perfect. He’s not worried about run-on sentences or plot threads left untied. He’s worried about getting the draft done. If you can write with that mindset, I believe you can get your draft done.

I will leave you with this. 2019 was a very good writing year for me. I published my debut novel, The Gallowglass, along with a novella, and had three short stories published as well. My book launch party was one for the ages. I was surrounded by my friends and family. Most importantly, I was surrounded by my peers in RMFW. We raffled prizes, drank beer, and talked about literature, music and history. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work and I will always treasure that memory.

I want you to have memories of your own. I want you to feel like you’ve climbed a mountain. I want you to experience what I experienced. Oh, and I want an invitation to your book launch party.

The world needs your story.