I’ve been doing a lot of writing and learning about writing over the years. Most of this has been on the same novel because I keep learning how to improve it. I’m pretty much finished. I promised my editor this, so I am curbing my idea for an epilogue for now. Sooner or later I’ll share it with you, and hopefully, my future works will be more efficiently produced.
Now I haven’t sat behind a computer staring at a screen all this time fleshing this story out. I have a family, career, plans, and a whole slew of other obligations that are constantly filling up my list of things to do. Family comes first and then you got to take care of the things your employer pays you to do.
So naturally, you don’t want to mess up your marriage or your day job for writing a novel, but if you ever plan to finish you got to make time to do it. During the rough draft phase, you’ll need to optimize your time to get the story down. For me, that meant when the kids were in bed. I always made sure that my wife knew what I was up to, so there’d be fewer interruptions. I’d also put a time cap on it. After 20 minutes, I’d stop. If I could get in more time great but otherwise, I need time with my wife too.
Sometimes, I’d get up early to write but found myself wanting to procrastinate with coffee, research, browsing headlines, and all that. But eventually, I sat down and got something done. There were a few times, I wrote until 3 am while everyone was in bed. You have to fit it in. If you’re on a roll and have the opportunity to knock out another leg of the journey go for it.
Now in school, they tell you that after your rough draft, you enter the revision phase. In writing a novel, it’s not just editing typos and grammar. It’s way more than that. You’re looking for logical inconsistencies, recurring words, too much stage direction, formatting issues, the flow of scenes, and a lot more. Unlike school, the revision process can go well beyond two dozen passes before the novel is ready for an editor or a literary agent. Keep in mind, if you’re a novice like me, you may have missed some vital game-changing issues that will make or break your story.
Now I revised for years because I kept learning more about making better characters, keeping tension, and driving the plot forward while the characters are focused on whatever their goals were. I should mention setting as well but you see what I mean. The best thing you can do to set yourself up as a writer is to get your hands on some killer books on writing novels, memoirs, short stories, whatever you want to write, and start doing it.
I handled revision in bursts. At first, it would take me a week to get through a chapter. Then eventually, it took a day. Fast forward to now I can handle it within an hour. Here’s the kicker sometimes you need to revise several chapters in one sitting. When you get to the point of changing a phrase or a word back to something else you have you can pretty much let it go.
Here is where you’d want to queue in a few beta-readers and get some feedback. I’d recommend a local or online writing community. Keep in mind that not all feedback is good. The best feedback you’re going to get is from professional editors, agents, and writing coaches. Go to a writing conference and get some feedback.
After you’ve done all that, and have taken some notes, go back and read that novel a few more times. Ten times should do. After that, then you’re where I’m at. Maybe you’d be picked up by a traditional publisher or agent. Maybe not. But while you’re figuring that out. Take time to write. Agents can take weeks, sometimes months to respond. Same thing with publishers. If you go with an independent publisher or self-publish, it can happen much faster. Don’t let researching all this become a point of procrastination in your writing endeavors.
Somewhere in all this, don’t forget to breathe, live, love, and remember that you are blessed.