January isn't my favorite fresh start (I'm a September person, [here's why]), but it's when most of us take stock and set resolutions, goals, or intentions. I'm trying to abandon the absolutist mindset that comes with "goals" (for me), so intentions it is. And for most of the writers I talk to, the big one is some version of FINISH THE DAMN BOOK.
I'm a firm believer in what I tell my clients about writing a novel: It takes as long as it takes, and you're on nobody's schedule but your own. That said, at some point you're ready to let your story set sail.
Whether you're germinating a new idea or revising for the nth time, there are some concrete steps you can take to solidify your commitment to your creative self and your novel.
Know your why.
When the going gets tough—and it will—having a crystal clear idea of why you’re writing this book is critical.
You can write pages and pages on your ‘why’ (I certainly have!) but ultimately you want to distill it down to a sentence or two. Think of it as your book’s mission statement. Put it on a sticky note and stick it on your computer. Copy it into Word or a Google doc, blow up the font to a ridiculous size, print it and frame it! Make it something that you see regularly and use it as a source of inspiration and motivation. Let it give you your creative glow back.
Knowing your why is so important and it can be really hard to articulate. Download my free ‘Know Your Why’ workbook, which guides you through a series of prompts to help you dig deeper and get to your mission statement. Sign up at the bottom of this page to get the workbook.
2. Make a plan.
Part of my background is project management, and let me tell you, without a plan, projects struggle to get off the ground and quickly lose momentum, people get confused and frustrated, and everyone loses time and money.
Writing a novel isn’t the same as orchestrating a web redesign, but it is no less complicated! (Be grateful you don’t have to try to coordinate a meeting schedule among a team of 15+ people.) The key is to be realistic about how much time you have to work each day or week and how much you can realistically accomplish in that time.
Can you work for 20 minutes on the train as you commute? Great! Can you write a page or revise 3 in that time? Perfect! Now you have a baseline for what you can reasonably expect.
If you'd like a fuller walkthrough, my Project Management for Writers course takes you through planning your novel step by step.
3. Build in some ‘down time’.
Unless you’re on someone else’s deadline (and even sometimes if you are), there will be times that you don’t get the work done. We’re human, life happens. Even if writing a book is your only job, you will get sick or have a day that the call of Netflix is just too strong. That’s okay!
The beauty of having some padding in your plan means that when shit happens, it’s not a plan-busting big deal. Shrug and move on, knowing that you were smart enough to realize that this was inevitable and you’re still on track.
4. Celebrate your wins.
We’ve all heard how important it is to do this, but how many of us actually do? Is there a voice lurking in your head that says, “Sure, we’re going to celebrate doing the thing we were supposed to do anyway?”
YES.
You don’t have to tell that voice to shut up—chances are it’ll just get louder—but you do have to acknowledge your accomplishment. You’ve worked hard and stuck with a difficult commitment. Want to do it again? Give yourself some positive reinforcement. Take a lesson from Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford:
So how does all of this play out? Here's how I applied these steps to a revision of my own.
My why: I wanted to tell the story of a woman who had an amazing life and felt to me like she had been lost to history, as well as work through my feelings about societal expectations (especially for women), motherhood, and learning to embrace and love your true self.
Truth: this may not set you on fire to read my book. That’s okay! I promise it is not a dry and boring biography but more importantly, this mission statement isn’t for anyone but me. It’s not how I would pitch my book to anyone, though I might incorporate some of the ideas contained in it. What’s important is that when I read it, I get the feels about my book and what I’m trying to do with it. It reminds me of why it matters to me.
My plan: My detailed outline (15 pages!) had 32 chapters, some with one longer scene, others with multiple shorter scenes. I started the revision in January and wanted to be done in April. 16 weeks / 32 chapters = 2 chapters per week.
My downtime: I committed to 3 chapters per week as my baseline, which gave me wiggle room for the weeks that didn't go as planned.
I was privileged enough to be able to devote a good chunk of time to writing almost every day, and the level of detail in my outline meant I had a clear idea of the work each scene and chapter had to do. For the first couple of weeks, I blocked off 1-2 hours a day to see if that kept me at 3 chapters a week. If it hadn't, I would have adjusted either the time or the deadline.
NOTE: Your math does not have to look like this!
For me, being done with the revision in April was an important symbolic milestone, which was why I based my plan around it. Your ‘absolute’ might be hitting a word count or a set work product each day or week. Take that absolute, plug some numbers into the other variables and go from there. (Can you tell I liked algebra in high school?)
Celebrate my win(s): I rewarded 3-chapter weeks with a random hour of reading time, and it had to be a "fun" book, not a work book. (Admittedly, as someone who reads for a living, that line is VERY fuzzy. It's rough, haha.)
For the finish line in April, the plan was an extra-long massage or dinner at my favorite local fancy restaurant. When I finished the revision, I chose dinner and I relished every bite. :)
I also encourage you to find a way to recognize your wins that isn’t always about spending money (though it’s totally valid, I know it’s not always realistic to be able to get a pedicure or buy a new book). Maybe a bath (if only my city apartment had a bathtub…) or a trip to the library for a hot new read or making some favorite comfort food.
Whatever you do, remember to be kind to yourself and give yourself some grace. It's not about perfection; it's about doing it again (and again, and again) until you hit the finish line. Writing a novel is a process, not an event.
A plan tells you how much to write and when. It can't tell you whether the pages are doing their job. If you already have a draft and can't quite see why it isn't working yet, that's what I do. Here's how we can work together. Not sure what you need? Fill out the Contact form and we'll set up a free 30-minute call to talk it through.