You want to write a novel.

But you still haven’t finished your first draft.

Perhaps it’s because you...

I know how you feel. I have experienced all those problems and more in the process of trying to write my first novel.

It came to the point where I didn’t even think I would be able to ever finish a novel.

Does this sound like you?

Well, I’m here to tell you that you can finish your first draft.

In this article, I am going to tell you my secrets for finally overcoming perfectionism, lack of motivation, discouragement, and more so that you can finally finish your first novel.

Let’s get started.

PREPARATION STAGE

The preparation stage was my biggest obstacle. Pantsing (writing by the seat-of-your-pants) novels never worked for me because I would lose steam and ideas a couple of chapters in and would give up.

So let’s tackle the top three things that are holding you back from getting through the preparation phase. 

1. You Can't Stick With One Project

You're a super creative person. You probably have a ton of story ideas and plot bunnies swirling through your head right now.

You find yourself going from one project to the next. Starting one project, but then leaving it when you come across a newer, shinier story idea. 

It’s time to stop.

You need to choose one project and stick with it to the end. Even if you lose motivation. Even if you think of a better story idea. 

And, I know, it’s hard to choose just one. So which story should you choose?

I recommend that your first project follow this criteria:

• It has less POV (point-of-view) characters
• It has a relatively simple plotline
• It has a strong protagonist and antagonist with clear goals
• Bonus: Choose the novel that you don’t take as seriously (this way you won’t let perfection bog you down)

When I had to decide on a which story idea to choose, I narrowed it down to these two options:

Novel 1:

• Five main characters
• Duology
• Still not sure about the protagonist and antagonist’s goals
• Complex world
• Way to many ideas, which could lead to a more convoluted plot

Novel 2:

• Parody novel
• 1 (maybe 2) POV characters
• Simple and linear plot 
• Clear protagonist and antagonist goals
• Basic fantasy world

So I chose Novel 2. 

And it was a great choice. Not only was it easier to outline and write, I didn’t get lost in complicated POV or get beaten down by juggling multiple subplots during the writing process.

So which novel do you know the most about?

Which story idea is the most clear to you?

Which story has a strong protagonist and antagonist?

Can you combine any of your ideas into one story?

Once you nail down which story you are going to write, you are ready for the next step.

2. Fear is Holding You Back

If you have tried to write a novel before, but failed, there must be some kind of fear or mindset that is holding you back. 

For example, when writing my first novel, my biggest fear was this:  creating a cliche story.

“This villain is too cliche.”

“This character’s motivation is too cliche.”

“This trope is used way too much.”

“My story is nothing new. Why am I even writing?”

I kept telling myself those things. And soon, everything I came up with felt cliche.

 I couldn’t get very far in my outlining progress, because the pressure to create a story that was “fresh” and “never been done before” was holding me back. 

Once I realized that, I decided to write “The Most Cliche Novel Ever”. A novel where I would stuff it with so many cliches and tropes. Now, instead of having “write a cliche novel” as a fear, it was my goal. And with that fear out of the way, I could finally move forward.

What fear is holding you back?

Are you afraid that people won’t like your writing?

Are you afraid that you are wasting your time?

Are you afraid that your story is nothing new?

How can you reverse that and tackle your fear?

3. You're Getting Lost In Your Outlining Process, or Just Not Outlining At All

If this is your first novel, I highly recommend that you outline it for three reasons.

• To prevent writer’s block
• To understand the overall direction of your story
• To create a story that has focus

Strangely enough, outlining was the hardest part of writing the novel for me. Something about organizing all my ideas in a coherent way while still maintaining a cohesive plot was a really big problem for me. 

The solution to this?

Start off with a simple outline. 

 How detailed you make your outline is up to you and your style, but here are the basics.

Cast

1. Your protagonist
2. Your antagonist
3. Any other side characters you might need

Plot

1. Motivation: What drives your protagonist?
2. Goal: What is the protagonist trying to achieve? How will the reader know the story is over?
3. Plan: How does the protagonist plan on achieving his goal? What obstacles will he have to overcome?
4. Stakes: What consequence would the protagonist suffer from if he didn’t complete his goal?

Structure

1. Normal Life
2. Call To Action
3. Point of No Return
4. Consequence approaches
5. New Plan
6. Consequence approaches once again
7. Dark Moment
8. Climax
9. Climatic Moment + Protagonist Succeeds or Fails
10. Resolution

And now that you have your roadmap, you can begin to write your novel!

WRITING STAGE

After all the preparation is complete, the next thing you have to do is write. This is the stage where most people drop off, so let’s look at the three obstacles you will have to overcome at this stage

4. You Aren’t Tracking Your Progress

Have you ever tried to gamify your writing process?

When I started writing my novel, I decided to track my daily word counts, and I tried to challenge myself to beat yesterday’s word count.

That turned out to be one of the best things I could have done for creating a consistent writing habit.

Even though I might have failed at writing something I was happy about, hey, at least I succeeded at beating yesterday’s word count!

I recommend trying this out with an app like Wordly.

Or you could try making a spreadsheet like I did.

5. You're Doing This Alone

Writing a novel might be one of the most complex and taxing projects you ever take on.

You may think that you can do it alone, but having a support team is one of the absolute best ways to set yourself up for success.

Do you have a support team?

Do you have someone to:

• Help you outline, and share ideas? 
• Write the novel with, so that you can take turns writing chapters and help keep the story fresh and exciting for you?
• Read the story as you write so they can encourage you, motivate you, and give you fresh ideas and feedback?
• Nag you politely inquire about your writing consistency?

Just having one of the above will greatly increase your ability to stay consistent and finally complete your novel.

This person can be a friend, a family member, or another writer from the Kingdom Pen forum.

I wrote my first novel with my younger siblings, and if it weren’t for their help, support, and contribution, I wouldn’t have made it past the first chapter. 

So who will support you on your writing journey?

6. You're Editing As You Go

Here is how most writers write:

1. Write a few pages or paragraphs
2. Edit
3. Repeat

But here is how you want to write:

1. Write
2. Keep writing
3. Don’t stop writing

The first draft isn’t about having great prose, having flawless grammar, or even having a readable product. 

Your first draft is about getting your ideas on the page so that you can understand the shape of the novel, so that when you do go back to edit, you will be able to edit effectively.

Of course, this is way easier to say than to do.

What if you run into a problem with your story?

What if you realize you need to change something that you already wrote?

Am I telling you that you should just keep writing, even then?

Yep. Keep writing.

But if you really do run into a problem, I recommend you do this,

1. Keep a list of things to change when you go back to edit
2. Keep writing as if you already made the change.

For example, if you realized that you should have killed the Hero’s sidekick back in chapter 7, and you are already on chapter 10, add  “write sidekick’s death scene in chapter 7” to your list, and then continue writing as if your sidekick is dead - with the sidekick not showing up any more and a remarkably saddened hero.

This list has become one of my strategies for writing. Whenever self-doubt and my inner critic come out, instead of letting it bother me, I just add the problem to the list, forget about it, and keep writing. 

DESPAIR STAGE

And finally, we have the despair stage. This is where you will really want to stop writing. But the way you overcome these challenges will determine your success.

7. You Don’t Have a Writer’s Block Strategy

Ah, the dreaded writer’s block.

One of the reasons why Writer’s Block is such a problem, is because it comes out of nowhere, and we have no idea how to deal with it.

The best thing you can do is plan for Writer’s Block. That way, you will have a strategy and not catch you off guard.

Consider reading our roundup blog post for breaking through writer’s block.

But here is how I personally broke through writer’s block when writing my novel.

1. Identify the problem

More often than not, my writer’s block comes from a specific problem. So I ask myself questions about why I am feeling particularly unmotivated to write.

• Is it a problem with the scene? Not enough emotion? Wrong POV character?
• Is an unnecessary character dragging down the plot?
• Is my main character losing sight of his ultimate goal?

2. Fix and keep writing

Usually my problem just requires a simple fix. I switch the POV, change the setting, or remind the main character of his goal, and that is enough to keep me going. 

Basically, I use Writer’s Block as a signal that there is something wrong with whatever I am currently writing.  Writer’s Blocks tells me that  I need to take my story in a different direction while still avoiding editing what I previously wrote. 

So, what’s your Writer’s Block strategy?

8. You Feel Like Your Writing is Terrible

The more you write, the more you begin to loathe your writing.

At least, that is what happens to me.

The most basic advice I can give you is to say: Keep writing anyway!

Which, admittedly, is good advice. You should keep writing, but it really doesn’t help with the ever-growing sense that your writing is garbage.

So I am going to give you a more actionable tip to ease your woes, and make it easier to “keep writing” despite your loathing your writing.

1. Identify what is particularly wrong with your writing style

Repetitive sentences? Wooden dialogue? Terrible descriptions? Unrealistic fight scenes?

Just choose one particular aspect that is bothering you. (If you can’t think of any, then that is a sign that your brain is giving you unconstructive feedback, and you should just ignore it and keep writing)

This step is critical because it helps you get specific about your problems instead of just being overwhelmed and saying that you are overall “a terrible writer”. 

2. Make it your mission to get 1% better at writing each writing session. 

Now each time you sit down to write, make it your mission to consciously improve your problem even by the slightest bit. 

For example, say you have trouble with repetitive sentences. When you sit down to write, set a goal to vary your sentences. Add longer sentences. Make more sentence fragments. Get creative with your sentences.

In your free time, read writing from your favorite author and keep an eye out for how they diversify their sentence patterns, and then incorporate that into your own writing. 

This is a great way to deliberately practice your writing, while also modelling your favorite authors.

9. You don’t understand the purpose of the first draft - and you are striving for perfection

What is the goal of this first draft?

A lot of writers believe that their first draft needs to be perfect. A polished manuscript that is ready to send off to beta readers, and then be published.

But that’s not what the first draft is for.

Your first draft is supposed to be messy. It’s supposed to be flawed. That’s why it’s the first draft.

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” ― Terry Pratchett

Especially if this is your first novel, perfection or a great novel should be the last thing on your mind. 

If this is your first novel, you already have way too many things to worry about.

Your first draft should

• NOT be perfect
• Help you understand what the story is about
• To recognize the weaknesses in your writing - so you can improve it
• Have something to edit
• Prove that you can finish a novel (most people never do this)

What helped me the most when writing my first novel was telling myself “It’s not supposed to be perfect. I just need to finish this.” 

Each time I sat down to write, I would tell myself that over and over.

It finally helped me let go of my perfectionism.

And once the burden of perfection disappears, so will your hesitation to write. 

Is perfection holding you back from completing your first draft?

What can you do to overcome this desire for perfection?

Overcome it.

Keep writing.

And finish that novel!

And there you have it!

The 9 things that are holding you back from writing your first draft. Once you overcome these things, you should be well on your way to finally completing your novel.

Now, tell me in the comments: which one particularly resonated with you? Are there any other reasons that you can think of that hold writers back from finally finishing their novel?