Writing a novel can be one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. Many people want to write a novel. They sit down with great intentions of writing the work to finish it, hoping to get it published. What beginning writers don’t know is that writing a novel is a time consuming task. It is not something they are going to finish in a week or two. It takes, time, dedication and determination to write 50,000 plus words. The writing can take an unexpected turn because the characters have a mind of their own and want to take charge of the story.
It is at this point that you can become discouraged and throw the project in. Usually, the discouragement for me comes from not understanding my characters and their motives, or I can get lost in where the story is taking me. Here are four steps I follow to resolve this issue:
I stop writing and take a long hard look at what I’ve already written. Sometimes I’ll find a scene hasn’t quite done its job to hold up the plot to keep the story moving forward. I review the scene to see why it’s not doing the job I wanted it to do. I check the structure of the scene and ask what is the purpose of this scene? I re-write until I get it just the way I want it. Sometimes this process can take many drafts, so I keep calm by taking a few deep breaths, I go for a walk to clear my head, and most of all I’ve learnt to be patient. All that re-writing is worth it.
I don’t know my characters as real people. Sometimes I haven’t gone into my character’s personality to understand them at a deep level. This means knowing how they will react with various situations. Do I know how they are going to react when they meet a homeless person in the street? Is my character going to be repulsed because the homeless person is looking unkempt? Will my character be open and friendly? Or will my character ignore that person and walk right past because of private prejudices? It’s important to know how your character will react in this situation. Your character’s reaction will determine where the story goes. When you let your character take charge of the story, i.e. character driven story, you will find the story will write itself. When the writing flows and you are racing behind them writing as fast as you can to keep up, is knowing your character at a very deep level.
Are you being congruent with the theme of the story? Perhaps your character has shown themselves as wanting something that is outside the theme of your story. You may need to ‘interview’ your character to find out why they are acting in that way. Sometimes, especially if the motivation is well outside your original theme, you may need to rewrite a lot of your work to be consistent with the theme of your book, or worse, change the theme. This may require many, many hours of extra work, but trust your instinct and do the work.
Sometimes I can be impatient, wanting to get the words done quickly. While I’m writing I have a niggly feeling I’m putting words down for the sake of getting my daily word quota done. This is where I push my keyboard away, take up a pen and paper and write by hand. The physical writing by pen and paper slows me down physically and mentally; slowing my breathing slows my mind. This process helps me to re-align with my heart and the love for my characters. It’s amazing how this slowing down creates more space for my thoughts as my heart and mind begin to listen to, and hear each other.
A gentle reminder: writing a novel is not easy, there will be starts and stops and starts, as you get to know your characters and the interactions they have with each other. This is the fun part of writing a novel. Enjoy the process and reward yourself when the work is done.