What I’ve learnt in 10 years of writing novels
Like most writers, I didn’t know what I was doing when I started writing. All I knew was that I wanted to write a novel.
The first novel I wrote, I started in November 2013 by doing NaNoWriMo.
It’s bad and I’ll never publish it but I learnt one crucial thing while doing it: I like to write in a non-linear way.
What I mean by this is that I like writing whatever chapter or scene is in my head, whether it’s chapter 1 or chapter 20.
So when I started writing my next book, All The Stars We Follow, I decided to write exactly like that. I wrote the scenes and chapters I could see clearly in my head and then placed them where I thought they should appear in the plot. I was already using Scrivener at the time so I could easily move my chapters around to fit my plot later.
What didn’t occur to me at the time was to write detailed summaries of my chapters and as I took my time writing that book, it took me longer than it should have to organise the plot when it came to editing and rewriting.
Although it’s not the only reason, it’s a main contributor to the fact that it took me four years to write and publish that book.
As I had written half of the second book in that series by the time I’d finish the first one, it took about a year to publish Book 2, Where We Fall, using the same method.
Until then, I hadn’t questioned my writing method. It felt fluid and I didn’t have writer’s block so it worked for me, right?
Unfortunately, I’m one of those people who likes to be organised and who thinks if there’s a better, more efficient way to do things then I need to find it.
So I started researching the way other writers wrote their books. There was the classic plotter/pantser debate and I placed myself in the pantser category.
Then I thought that I should try to write in order again, that it would surely simplify the writing process.
So I did. I wrote thousands upon thousands of words.
But one thing kept happening: I couldn’t finish any of the manuscripts I wrote, no matter how organised and disciplined I was.
It was as if I’d lost interest in the book by the time I got about two thirds of the way through it. Even when I wrote every day.
And let me tell you there’s nothing worse than getting to 60k words and abandoning a manuscript because you just lost interest.
Still I kept going for three years because I thought it was me, rather than my own process.
Until I realised that it was a waste of my time. It’s just wasn’t the way my brain worked when it came to the creative process.
But I had to trust myself enough to trust my process. And so I did because, in truth, I had nothing left to lose.
When an idea for a new novel struck recently, I went back to what I used to do: writing in a non-linear fashion.
And everything changed for the better.
Words and plots started flowing again. All I have to do is watch the film in my head and type as fast as I can. For the first time in four years too, I’ve reached that state of flow where you’re so engrossed in your story that everything else fades away.
But what is even better is that having that freedom helps me to see the book as a whole rather than a list of chapters. I can see my character arcs clearly and how the plot articulates itself effortlessly.
I will explain my process in more detail in another post because it’s more than just writing in a non-linear fashion. Basically, I’ve refined the process to match my writing-style.
But what I really wanted to tell you if you are a writer doubting your own process is don’t.
Your process is valid.
It is unique just like you.
So rather than try to copy what somebody else does because it seems better or more efficient, ask yourself what your process is and how you can enhance it.
So what can you do today that will make your process even better but, most of all, not impede your creativity?
Happy writing!
