What Does it Take to Write a Novel and Finish? Part II: Mistress, Master, and Tyrant

This is a teaser of What does it Take to Write a Novel and Finish Part II: Your Novel as Mistress, Master, and Tyrant. It's the second installment of a three-part guest post series I am doing on the wonderful blog For the Love of Film and Novels. Thank you blogger Marissa for creating and running such an awesome resource! 

It's my advice about how to start writing a novel and not give up until it's finished. Check out last week’s post (Part I) for how to start a novel and check in next week for Part III: It's Time to Kill the Monster. This week is all about the middle phase, which Winston Churchill described as a point when your novel becomes a mistress then a master and finally a tyrant. Yippy!



Click here for Part I: Getting Started - An Amusement.
Click here for Part III: It's Time to Kill the Monster.

photo credit: Olivander via photopin cc

photo credit: Olivander via photopin cc

 It’s easy to see how starting and finishing a novel would be the most difficult parts of the process, but many authors would argue that the middle point is where people lose it. This is when the words: patience, willpower, discipline, and never give up become very important.

The First Draft is Not the Final Draft

One of the biggest mistakes people make is finishing a first draft and running out to send it off to agents and publishers who respond with either silence or absolute disgust for even sending it at that stage.

When I wrote my first novel, every single draft looked fantastic to me because I didn’t know what a final draft actually looked like. When I had finished the first draft of my second novel, I had just sent out the final copy of my first book, so I knew what a finished piece looked like and boy was my first draft material awful! Truly, truly awful! This is why writers like Stephenie Meyer, author of Twilight, freak out when a draft is leaked onto the net. It’s dribble! Check out Stephenie Meyer's open message about this event on her website by CLICKING HERE!

photo credit: LMRitchie via photopin cc photo credit: LMRitchie via photopin cc

Unfortunately, first time writers may feel horribly squashed by an early rejection and terribly overwhelmed by the thought of the editing process. Again, I recommend getting some good books about editing to help, but it’s also going to take some drive and commitment.

Treat Writing like a Job

You have to get on yourself to work on a routine schedule, every day if you can manage or at least a full work week. That might mean 300 words a day or five chapters a week, but you have to keep trudging forward. Set a period of time when you are not allowed to do anything else, that means no email, no Facebook, no dishes, or laundry, nothing other than writing. I can’t tell you how many people will actually iron clothes in order to get away from the blank screen. Find ways to motivate yourself like rewards for finishing a draft or getting to a certain point in the manuscript.  

To view the rest of the post CLICK HERE!

Click here for Part I: Getting Started - An Amusement.
Click here for Part III: It's Time to Kill the Monster.