Position:Home>Books & Authors> Has anyone here actually finished their novel...?

Steps to Finishing a Novel:

1!. Plan!. This may mean you create outlines, notes for your world, and character notes!. It may be as simple as a synopsis of the tale!. Planning helps you see where your story will end up!. You don't have to follow the plan to the letter!. It's just a guide!.

2!. Create a goal!. Most novels clock in at 80,000-100,000 words (count words, not pages, because agents and publishers go by word count)!. In order to reach that, you need to set small goals!. 1000-2000 words a day is a reasonable goal!. If you have a lot of time and/or are inspired, 4000-6000 is also reasonable!. If you have very little time, as little as 500 words will work, but don't go any lower than that or you'll lose momentum!.

3!. Create a schedule!. Decide when you are going to write, being aware that you may have to move your current schedule around to accommodate!. For best results, write everyday!. If you can't, write whenever you can!. At least three or four times a week!. Stick to your schedule unless there's a major emergency (ex: family death)!.

4!. Write without concern about the quality!. If you never hammer out that first draft, you'll never edit a novel, then send it off for publication!. Your first draft is the time for crap!. Let yourself go!. Your plan is a big comfort at this stage!.

5!. Reward yourself for reaching small goals!. Every 10,000 words, I reward myself with super-expensive gourmet chocolate ($8!.00 a bar!)!.



I have used this list for years!. It rarely fails me!. Though I've never published (haven't had a desire to since last year), I've finished over five novels!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I've actually finished two of them!. Only one of them was in any shape to sell, which I did!.

My advice is to let the story go where it wants to go!. It may not be the direction you had planned, but you might eventually like this new direction, or maybe you can steer it back onto your course!. Finish it!. You will have such a sense of accomplishment, it will boost your writing confidence!.

Here's the hard part: after you finish it, set it aside for at least six weeks!. You will look at it through new eyes - perhaps you'll see that it's not as bad as you think it is now!.

Keep going!Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I've finished one novel and am working on a second!.
I start out with a beginning, middle, and an end to my story!.
What happens while writing is fun but I had to back up and try different trails before!.
Mostly I would re-examine my "beginning, middle, and end" that I wrote before, see where I am, and then start writing to get me to that next spot!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I haven't finished but what keeps me going is knowing that I am writing for the characters, for their story to be told not just so I can write a book!. Maybe you should do an outline on it and decide where you went wrong and rethink it until you feel better about it!. After that if you can't redeem it then I'd say there's little hope!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I think you should start on another book for now!. Later on, you can go back, take on a new view and decide whether or not u should rewrite major parts of ur current book!. i dont think u should ever scrap a book!. just set it aside, save it and maybe one day, u can use the story for something else, pick a character out, the setting, etc!.

hope this helped and cheers!.
by the way, i like ur avatar thingy!. what manga/anime/game is it from or is it an original design!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

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No, not yet!. I have started two books already (both mystery)!. I recently bought a pc programme called NewNovelist!. It's really helpful!

Don't scrap your story! Put it aside for now and then go back to it a bit later, but not too much later!. Try writing a little bit every day/week!. Keep going! Good luck!Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Just keep writing and see where it goes!. I wrote 55000 wds last November and I know some of it is crap but a lot of it is not bad!. I jsut let the characters tell me what to write!. I can always edit the crap out later!Www@QuestionHome@Com

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let the characters find themselves!. write everything you know about them, even if you aren't going to put it in the story!. just get to know them!. they will live your story, and all you have to do is write it down!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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