I recently finished writing a novel and, as promised, here are the 5 realest tips I picked up from this experience.
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First off, let's demystify what writing a book is actually like by showing you what my writing calendar actually looked like for this novel:
What do the colors mean?
Yellow = Brainstorming and outlining. That's right, I only spent 3 days planning before jumping in. More on that later.
Red = Writing. One chapter a day, shooting for 2.5K words (though it often was more or less, and that's okay!)
Gray = Other work, days life got in the way or I couldn't write.
Pink = Days off / resting days.
â TIP #1 - It's Okay to Miss a Day (or Many)
We writing-types tend to have unrealistic expectations. Daily writing is one of them. You don't have to write every day, and it's okay if something gets in the way and you miss days or even weeks.
It doesn't matter how many days you miss, as long as you always get back to writing.
â TIP #2 - You Don't Have to Outline Your Whole Book
I understand that first-time writers combat their fear of the blank page by outlining / planning well in advance, and that's okay, but here are some real-ass truths:
If you're like me, you think about your book several times every day. Trust me, books take a while to write and you are going to have plenty of chances to find ideas.
Instead of outlining the whole book, scene by scene, I just get myself enough of a framework to get started, and then I use a bit of my secret sauce:
đ¶ Each night, as I'm winding down before bed, I take a journal and write down what I think will happen in tomorrow's chapter. It takes a few minutes, and those notes are pretty much all I need to get me through a writing session.
â TIP #3 - Writing Is Not That Important
Writing a book is more than just the writing part, it's also about the living part too. You're a human being with responsibilities and sometimes things get in the way. And this is okay!
So what if life got in the way of writing?
Roll with the punches and try tomorrow. That's all we can do~
Now, let's build on the last point by adding even more context to the calendar, because writing a book is more than just the writing partâit is also about navigating through the chaos that is life.
What do the icons mean?
đ„ (Spoons) = Days I was tired, sick, or out of spoons / Action Points
đ„ (PCs) = Computer issues! Thank you, Microsoft!!
đ° (Distressed Face) = Stressful or unexpected life events! Can you believe I got surprise visits by my inlaws twice while writing this book? I wish I was kidding!
đ (Pill) = After a life-long struggle with anxiety and depression, I finally started taking medication. Good news: I feel better. Bad news: the transitory period is rough.
â TIP #4 - Every Day is Different
It's easy to think that every day is the same and that you should be able to do the same things consistentlyâbut that's a fantasy! If you're like me, some days you have more energy than others, and some days the writing is easier than others! It's a crapshoot, but there's little we can do about it.
It's best to be kind to yourself, and take the L, than push yourself when you're already running out of steam and end up burning out. Take it from me. đ€
â TIP #5 - Life is a Sitcom (No, Really)
Looking at the experience of writing this book, there is so much more I couldn't just fit into two imagesâbut there's a point I want to drive home.
I have the tamest, most peaceful life, and I still get on average 2.5 plots going on every week (like it's a sitcom up on here). Every week something breaks, something bad happens, something unexpected (good or bad) gets in the way.
And I'm basically a hermit! I can only imagine what it's like to be a person with an interesting life.
All of this to say that, you gotta lower your expectations a little. You're not going to write that book in one weekend. You're going to go over estimate. Something is going to get in the way. Between the prologue and the epilogue you're probably going to have to survive through a whole season of sitcom disasters.
In theory, writing a book is simple:
You sit down and write.
In reality, every day feels like a miracle.
This book took me ~6 weeks to write and in that span the best streak I ever got was 5 days in a row. Out of all those weeks, I spent a total of 15 whole days doing stuff other than writing.
The key isn't in being a perfect human being who never makes mistakes⊠but in being willing to get up, no matter how many times life knocks you down.
I hope this helps!
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