What if you can’t seem to finish writing your novel? What if you’re afraid that you’ll just have to rewrite it?
Michelle posted this question on my “Ask A Question For My Blog” page:
I’m only 14, but I’ve wanted to be a writer since first grade. I used to just write random mini-stories whenever I felt like it (which was pretty much every other day), and I only just started getting serious about writing a novel. But I have a problem finishing stories. I come up with an idea, I do my best to develope it, and I start writing… but something happens and either I’m too lazy or I get frustrated or the story isn’t developed… I don’t know what to do to actually finish it. I think my biggest fear is that there will be too many things wrong with the first draft, and I have heard ‘Writing is rewriting’ but I think I’m scared. How can I get over it? I’m never going to finish a novel if I don’t get over this.
Randy sez: A lot of published novelists started writing in first grade and got serious about their writing when they were in their teens. So Michelle, you’re in good company.
As for how to get over the fear of having to rewrite, there are several solutions:
- Quit writing. If you do that, then you’ll never have to rewrite. But if writing is in your blood, this isn’t an option.
- Write it right the first time. I know a number of writers who get the book right the first time and never do any major rewriting — at least not until their editor gives them their revision letter. Some of these writers are best-selling authors; others are award-winning authors; I suspect some of them are both. But I’m pretty sure all of them do a lot of preparation up front — either they write outlines or they work through my Snowflake method or they do some sort of story development before they start writing.
- Grit your teeth and just do it. This is the Nike solution, and if the other options aren’t for you, then you’re going to need to learn to do this. Michelle, you’re only 14, so you have plenty of time to develop good strong teeth-gritting muscles. Don’t beat yourself up about this. Focus on the fun of writing. If writing isn’t fun, then it seems to me to be hardly worth doing. And if it is fun, then it’s worth doing well.
What do my Loyal Blog Readers think? Do you prefer writing the first draft or rewriting? Leave a comment here and let us know your opinion! Personally, the first draft is my favorite part of writing and editing comes in a distant second. So I belong to the “do it right the first time” school of thought.
If you’ve got a question you’d like me to answer in public on this blog, hop on over to my “Ask A Question For My Blog” page and submit your question. I’ll answer them in the order they come in.
At heart, I’m a problem solver and perfectionist. I guess that would explain my degree in Computer Science, which happens to be collecting dust…
But that means that I absolutely love the rewriting process. Analyzing and revising are my strengths, and I can take my greatest pieces of junk and make them tolerable, if not great. Searching for problems in grammar, spelling, and flow is where I have a lot of fun. Fixing those problems is even more fun.
My greatest obstacle is the creative process, having to actually churn out work that can be revised later. But I guess that’s a topic for another day.
Hey Michelle – I completely agree. You’re also in good company because I believe we all have this problem or feel this way at one time or another. It’s part of the way a writer’s brain is wired.
Also, keep in mind that if you let it, rewriting can be just as much fun as discovering the story in the first place. Challenge yourself to come up with the best words you can, the freshest writing possible.
And, if all else fails, you always have your pre-readers – those people who will tell you what works and what doesn’t – to help you along the way.
Good luck!
I like writing short stories because it is easy to go back and edit. I like writing novellas because I can’t seem to stay with it long enough to make it a novel. Editing takes a lot of work, so I like to get it right the first time and only make minor revisions when I edit.
To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, “All first drafts are crap.” I used to worry about the quality of my first draft, too. But there is a great freedom in allowing your first draft to be bad. Just turn off your inner-critic and have fun. You don’t have to share a first draft with anyone. Have confidence that it can be fixed during rewrites.
I would suggest possibly sticking with shorter works at first and then build up to a full novel. Instead of trying to shift from “random mini-stories” to a full novel, try shifting to full short stories. If you have no trouble coming up with ideas, focus on the smaller ideas and work them through the whole process of planning, writing, revising. Work on getting a feel for what workflow works best for you (heavy planning leading to hopefully less revising, or going more seat-of-the-pants but having more revision, etc.).
Although writing short stories can work differently than writing novels, if you don’t have a comfortable workflow, both can fall apart before completion. Learning to be a writer is both finding your voice and, just as importantly, finding your process to get an idea to completion. Be mindful and explore different possibilities for both.
Personally, I have a hard time getting projects to completion as well. However, my biggest problem is too much free form planning without enough actual getting words on paper. But I have managed that by using a more structured planning like the Snowflake method (rather than endless pages of notes) and then setting aside X number of minutes most everyday to just write as much as I can. That is working for me.
You need to spend time exploring different processes and like Randy says, work on the teeth gritting muscles. The good news is that with any exercise, it’s always hardest at first when the muscles aren’t developed. You may have to force it at first even with little self-bribes, but force it long enough and it becomes habit. Good luck!
Don’t be afraid of having things wrong in your first draft. Just finish it, then let it cook-simmer-rest, whatever word works for you.
You are your first editor. Let the story rest for awhile, then go back through it and you will find things you want to change, delete and add. That’s part of the rewriting process – and part of the fun as you see your characters grow.
The Snowflake Method is a good way to get an overview of what you’re writing. You don’t have to follow every little step, but you could try parts of it for fleshing out your story.
Your personal methods will probably change over time and that’s great. No one wants to be stagnant. However, as you have already discovered, writing is hard work. But if you are a writer, it’s the hardest work you’ll ever love so much.
I have been EXACTLY in your place Michelle. I also decided I wanted to try writing when I was in primary school and became more serious about it when I was about 13. Now I’m nearly 20 and only just am I finally 25000 words into a sort of okay, kinda cool in places, but a little bit crappy first draft, that I’m actually really excited to rewrite and that I think has a snowballs chance in hell of being published. Maybe the way I got here will give you some tips for your own writing.
When I was 13 I was getting really excited about writing. We’d just had an author come and talk at my school and I was thinking how cool I’d be if I got something published at that age. I tried to start a couple of things, but it never went very well. Looking back I can see that these failed attempts were products of my either non-existent, or very poor planning. Some people can write without planning, and probably there are some genius kids out there who know how to do it instinctively but I wasn’t one. Planning is important, and it and writing in general, takes practice, as Randy tells us all the time, but I know it’s hard to motivate yourself to “practice write.”
So I kind of gave up writing for a little bit. Then I got into fanfiction. Writing fanfiction might be a bit looked down upon by some more mature or experienced writers, but I think it’s a great way for a new writer to get going. There’s lots or reasons for this. For one, you’re not just practice writing. You’re writing a real story with characters and a plot that people read and give you feedback on, and feedback is a huge source both of confidence (when people tell you they love what you’re doing) and constructive criticism to improve your writing. As a teenager you’re mostly writing with and for other teenagers on ff.net so there’s no pressure and no judging. There’s also the freedom to do as much or as little planning/research as you want, since you can use characters from other stories, or make your own and use other storyworlds, or make your own, etc. And finally, you post your story in increments of one chapter, so there’s no waiting for the whole thing to be done before the world sees it. I credit fanfiction with a lot of my development as a writer.
Something else that might help give you the motivation to finish your story is happening right now. It’s called NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month, and the aim of the game is to write a 50000 word novel in the 30 days of November. It’s entirely quantity over quality, all you’re expected to do is get the words on the page, but it forces you to stop worrying about your writing and it’s good fun, and there’s people all around the world doing it with you and cheering you on. The site is nanowrimo.org
So I think in summary my three tips are:
-Plan: Even though there are some people who don’t, I really think especially for your first attempt it will help a lot. All my unfinished stories are ones that weren’t properly planned.
-Try Fanfiction: Just jump on fanfiction.net for a start, have a look at some stories that interest you and get a fell for the place. If you find you like the idea, have a go (note: my first two ff ideas also died before the one chapter mark, so this isn’t a miracle cure.)
-If you’re up for the challenge try nanowrimo.
I could give you a bazillion more little tips and tricks that I’ve picked up in the 6 years that separate our ages, but we’d be here all day. Just trust that all things come with time and practice and patience and have faith in yourself. Also, if you don’t already have a writing journal, get one 🙂
Hope this helped in even a tiny way. Good luck.
When I wrote my first Novel back in 2005, I rewrote it several times because I wasn’t happy with it. I mean had good portion done, then got a better idea start writing got a better idea of merging both ideas more of the new one. However when I sat down to write it for the who know how many times I had to stick with a chapter until I liked it. No write a chapter and move on, I couldn’t move on until that chapter was perfect… ok not perfect but was I was looking for.
It gets frustrating at times, but as Randy said you need to grit your teeth and just do it. I wish I started taking my writing serious at 14.
I have to second Katy’s tip: try NaNoWriMo. I was in the same boat when I was 14. I loved writing, I always had a great time getting a story started, and then I would lose steam and never finish it. The first year I did NaNo, I got further in any novel than I ever had. The second year, I finished the story. And then I finished another story the third year. And the fourth. And the fifth. And now I’m working on my sixth NaNo novel and I can confidently say, I’m going to finish this one too.
And, as you’re 14, Michelle, you can sign up for NaNoWriMo’s Young Writer’s program and set your goal for however many words you think it will take to finish your story.
I know that NaNo is a controversial subject among writers, but some of use desperately need the annual kick in the pants to keep us motivated and on track. And once you have gotten over that hurdle and written THE END on one of your novels, it’s like smashing down a huge wall that previously seemed absolutely insurmountable. And the next time you face that wall, it seems a little smaller, and a little smaller, until finally you find that finishing is not that hard after all. If NaNo is what gets you over that first hurdle, then by all means, take advantage of that great community of like-minded writers!
As others have said, NaNoWriMo is what got me to finally finish my first novel. But remember that your first draft, especially of your first novel, is more than likely going to be crap. That’s more than okay. Give yourself permission to write crap and you’ll find yourself starting to write not-crap.
Just don’t forget to write outside of NaNoWriMo, too, else you’ll never improve.
You can also try something smaller than a novel. Even just 50k words is a lot to revise. Try 10k or 20k.
THANK GOD for rewrites! I had almost completed my first fantsy novel when I got accepted to the Highlights Whole Novel Workshop for Fantasy this past May. It was very exciting because they only chose 8 writers from all over the US – and we were picked from our writing samples.
My novel was decent, but not getting much interest. I went to the week-long workshop, learned not to be afraid of being real and raw and rewrote the whole 389 page manuscript. It was amazing. When I read the new prologue to the group, they cheered and even wept. And now an agent is interested and reading it.
So again, I say, thank God for rewrites! They keep your story from wasting away in the land of rejection.
Write the last scene !!!
Ok, not the very last…but the big reveal or the end of the final showdown..you know, the final payoff to the story.
It has helped me. Once I know where the story is going the characters just naturally seem to wind up there.
My problem is the opposite, just like Lancer (I’m also a problem solver and a perfectionist) I love rewriting because I get to live the scene over again. This is coming from a someone who loves watching good movies 30+ times, but with rewriting I can change things and see where it goes. It’s writing the first draft that’s hard for me because I have to create something from nothing. So I have to find a balance of how many rewrites is too many to the point it kills the story and also ask myself — is rewriting just another form of procrastination from me getting my novel completed?
I finally figured out that it really is best to write the first draft in its entirety without going back just because I found myself rewriting a chapter many times and then end of tossing it because the chapter before it or the story itself changed too much making rewriting pointless till the entire first draft of the novel is finished.
The whole wasting time thing — about having to rewrite a huge novel because the first draft didn’t work — is a myth because it’s all writing practice anyhow and in the future you might be able to go back and salvage that first draft that didn’t work and make it your next novel.
If you feel overwhelmed by the whole thing then stop thinking of it as a huge task and just take it one page at a time and enjoy writing that page and then enjoy writing the next page.
I’ll have to rewrite my YA novel (first ever full-length manuscript), because my writing has developed so much since I wrote it and I need to rethink many of the scenes and characters. It’s so daunting to start, which is why I’m going to use Snoflake Pro to help me, but I know it has to be done, and I also know that once I get into it, it won’t be so daunting. It’s just the starting bit that has me dragging my feet.
That said, I believe that I’ve learned enough over the past year to write a better manuscript next time that won’t need as much rewriting (I didn’t know a thing about writing when I wrote that first manuscript).
I’m 32, Michelle, and I’m just starting out. You have plenty of time, and keep it up. I was about 15 when I first started trying to get things published, but I lacked the self-confidence at the time to face the rejection letters, so I quit. Don’t quit 😉
Randy:
I am a new writer. I finished my first novel, but found it to be too long. The storyline is great; it flows, however, it is too long for YA novels. How do I cut 40,000 words without losing the storyline?
I love writing, but I just don’t know how to go about the rewrite. Help! The word count is 148,500.