Over the past two years, I’ve written two complete novels — one of which is currently on its 7th draft — while attending university and working part-time. It’s a good feeling to make strong progress, but I haven’t always been this productive.
When I first started writing, I could never seem to finish a project. I bounced from story to story and didn’t really find my groove. Until one day when I sat down and wrote out everything that kept me from reaching my goals. These are the four traps into which I fell and an explanation as to how you can avoid them.
A quick note: each writer is different. I’m not saying my way is the only way to succeed. But it just might be what you need to kick-start your progress.
1) Editing too Much
Writers are often perfectionists. We don’t want to move on to chapter 2 until chapter 1 is flawless. I get it, and I was the same way for a long time. But stopping to edit disrupts the flow of the story and often causes the writer to doubt their abilities.
Think of it like this. Almost all professional athletes watch film of their own games to learn how they can improve as players. But imagine if they did this during the game — every time they sat down on the bench. They’d lose track of the score, and the failures of the previous play would chip away at their confidence.
As writers, we should be prepared to edit. A lot. But only at the right time — not during the first draft. If you spend weeks or even months perfecting the opening chapters, you’ll never finish the story. This quote by Jane Smiley should offer some encouragement.
All the first draft has to do is exist. It’s perfect in its existence. The only way it could be imperfect would be to NOT exist.”
~ Jane Smiley
You have to let yourself move on to chapter 2 because chapter 1 is perfect by existing.
2) Improper Planning
Notice how I didn’t say, “not enough planning”. That’s because planning is a unique balance for each writer, and only you can discover what works best for you. During my early attempts, I didn’t plan enough. I sat down and wrote myself into plot stagnation until I trashed the project and moved on to the next one. It wasn’t until I planned my story and gave it direction that I found a way to move seamlessly from chapter to chapter.
Planning is a unique balance for each writer, and only you can discover what works best for you.
But there are others who plan too much. They figure out every minute detail of the story, to the point where they sit down to write and aren’t able to find any joy in the process. There’s no mystery left, nothing to discover. I had this problem with my second attempt. It took a few tries to get that planning sweet-spot.
If you lose interest in your story before you finish or don’t know how to progress the plot, I would suggest switching up your planning methods.
3) Not Making it Your Priority
Writers are rarely just writers. We’re parents, students, employees, community members, and many other things. This makes prioritizing writing tough, to say the least. I can’t tell you how to run your life more efficiently. But I can refresh your perspective.
Remember why you began in the first place.
Your motivation is unique, and it will carry you through the toughest of writer’s block. I write because I remember the wonder of traveling across worlds with friends like Bilbo Baggins, Percy Jackson, and the creatures of Redwall. I want to help kids find that same love for reading and give them an adventure where good wins in the end.
Whenever I am struggling to find the time to write, I remember why I started, and suddenly other things become less important. If I’ve spent too much time on homework or browsing Instagram and haven’t found time to write, I ask myself, “Is this more important than my dream? More important than my message?” The answer is almost always no. That’s where you have to choose to put your novel first. That sounds easy now, but the truth is, writing often requires sacrificing something — grades, pay-raises, and “downtime”, among many other things.
I ask myself, “Is this more important than my dream? More important than my message?” The answer is almost always no.
4) Writing the Wrong Story
Yet another balancing act for writers: finding stories which interest us that will also sell. When a project has lost its appeal to me, it’s often because I’m writing something I think fits market trends, even though it doesn’t interest me. For obvious reasons, this is going to result in a subpar delivery.
The trick is to think of stories that have done well recently that you enjoyed.
Maybe you even thought, “I’d like to write a story like this.” Well, do it! But be careful. Don’t rewrite bestsellers. Henry Porter and the Large Cup of Lava isn’t going to leap off the shelves. Instead, think of the elements of that story that you liked. In Harry Potter, for example, I loved the slow introduction to the hidden, magical society. I connected with the main character — an underdog kid with an epic destiny. The large cast of rich characters made me care about every scene, no matter how small or big. Once I know why I liked it, I can transfer these concepts to a new story and make it my own, make it something that will keep my interest.
Don’t rewrite bestsellers.
Final Tips
Writing is a creative, dynamic field with hundreds of different approaches. I can give you all the hints I know, but at the end of the day, you have to learn what suits you best. Here are a few things you might want to try.
- Schedule writing sessions in your calendar and don’t compromise.
- Join a writing group and be honest about your progress. They’ll keep you accountable.
- Unplug for a week to focus on your story. Log out of Instagram, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter — everything.
- Read terrible flash-fiction online to boost your confidence.
- Use writing apps that don’t allow you to edit. There’s a handful out there that will keep you from backtracking.
I know I’ve addressed this several times already, but I want to emphasize it one more time before you go. Writing is an art of passion. To succeed, you have to genuinely care about your story. You can set yourself up for success with the tips from this article, but in the end, nothing else is more important.
Writing is an art of passion. To succeed, you have to genuinely care about your story.
