I wrote my first novella when I was about 21 years old. It was 143 pages long, and misanthropic and bleak enough to be concerning to my parents while promising more dark things to come. Looking back, I think there were a lot of things I could have done better, but I’m just glad I did it. Considering my history of procrastination and self-doubt, it never should have happened, but it paved the way for four more manuscripts, one based upon the novella, with a drastic shift in perspective and changes in plot. So, even though I am hardy an expert on anything related to writing (I still have a long way to go to achieve anything even resembling expertise,) I’ve decided to write a short list of ways in which you can push yourself past that hallowed finish line of completing your first book.
- Try your hardest to avoid perfectionism.
Just write, even if it’s not great. Even if it’s trash. Even if all you want to do it throw the entire thing on a bonfire and forget the godforsaken project ever existed. Editing exists for a reason. I would even recommend, if you are a regular slave to self-doubt, not looking at your manuscript while you write, except for maintaining consistency in the narrative and characters. It’s tempting to tear your manuscript to pieces while writing, but don’t. Endless nitpicking and self-editing will get in the way of actually writing a manuscript.
2. Don’t be embarrassed/ obsess about what others will think.
Gillian Flynn once said “Write first, blush later.” Has your grandma insisted she would just love to read ‘that book of yours’ when you finish but your manuscript has half a dozen dirty sex scenes? Don’t sweat it! You’ll figure it out later, this is another problem relating to self-editing. Trust me, if I let myself get really embarrassed by what I wrote I’d never write, or at least I’d never let anyone read it. My first manuscript had a scene with a mentally disabled man’s blackmailer setting him up with a prostitute as incentive after the man’s suicide attempt. I read this manuscript to my mom… aloud. Nevertheless, if this is awkward for you (I can’t say it wasn’t awkward for me, because I’d be lying my ass off), just don’t worry about it. Remember Gillian Flynn’s words, if she hadn’t ‘blushed later,’ books like Gone Girl and Sharp Objects wouldn’t exist.
3. Write Every Day
This isn’t a hard and fast rule. There are some days where you’re going to be extremely busy and you just aren’t going to be able to get a lot of writing done, if any. But you can’t get in the habit of not writing because you ‘don’t feel like it.’ That’s BS, you can’t wait until you’re feeling full of vigor and inspiration to write. You just have to write; period, otherwise you won’t get a project done.
4. Write some notes on your manuscript before (or during) the actual project.
I used to be a hard-and-fast discovery writer, which was great except for one thing… I never got anything done. I’m still not much of a plotter, but I like to establish my characters a little before I start officially working on a project. What I generally do is write a brainstorm on the premise and the main character in one of my journals, and sometimes I write some vignettes on the character, which helps me understand them. Before I wrote “Fantastic Feats of Self-Destruction,” my second major project, I wrote an intensive character sketch of the protagonist (anti-hero?) and it turned out being the best (and most character driven) thing I ever wrote. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend writing extensive notes before you even start, that can bog you down and prevent you from actually completing a project. But it really depends on the genre of what you’re writing, for instance, doing a shitload of outlining for a mystery is pretty much a given, while when it comes to my genre (whatever that is, I’m still not entirely sure) there’s more room for ambiguity.
5. Don’t let people read your manuscript until you’re done with it.
I break this rule myself regularly, but I still think it’s fairly important. This especially goes for people who’s opinions you really care about; I think you should wait until you finish the first draft to show it to these people, if you haven’t finished yet, and especially if you’re a hypersensitive person like me, beta reader’s opinions can keep you from thinking objectively about your project and can actually hinder you and prevent you from finishing it.
Sarah's Corner 