Building good writing habits is important if you want to finish your book, because without these eight habits, you will lose all motivation.
Writing can be hard work, but training your brain into certain habits can make it a whole lot easier. While success can never be guaranteed, finishing your manuscript becomes a much stronger possibility when you stick to the following eight habits.
Not believing in perfection
There are no ‘perfect circumstances’ in which to write. You can’t procrastinate in your writing because you’re waiting for the perfect pen, perfect coffee shop to work from or perfect weather outside. These things will always elude you, so stop holding out for them.
In the end, your book won’t be perfect either. The perfect book has never been written. You have to accept that all you can do is the best you can do, and that’s good enough.
Knowing how to write through problems, on and off the page
The writing process can be beset by obstacles, whether they’re in the pages of your manuscript or in your everyday life. Issues with the plot not coming together or not being able to work out the ending are common, while off the page, you may have work deadlines or may be lacking in motivation.
Whatever the problems are, you need to work through them. Writers who fail to finish their book tend to get derailed when things get tough, while those who confront their problems head on make it to the end. Over time you’ll develop strategies and tricks that help you overcome problems, but working through them is always better than avoiding them.
Not fretting over ‘what ifs’
You can’t blow hypothetical questions out of proportion if you’re going to succeed in completing your novel. You may be thinking ‘what if’ about getting bad reviews, not getting an agent or not being picked up by a publishing house. All those hypotheticals do is undermine your confidence and, therefore, your motivation.
You need, instead, to get into the habit of writing for you in the here and now. You can worry about everything else once the book is complete, but the book won’t get written if you feel paralysed by self-doubt and fear.
Not comparing yourself to your favourite authors
Remember, the books on your shelves have been through multiple drafts, self-edits and professional edits, they did not start out that amazing. Successful authors know not to compare their rough draft with the works of their favourite writers.
Focus on what you have in front of you and on how you can write and polish it to the best of your abilities. Comparing yourself to established authors is self-defeating, so put a stop to the negative thoughts and just keep going.
Seeing bumps in the road as normal
As with any process, there are going to be ups and downs whilst writing your manuscript. You have to normalise those bumps in the road and just accept that some days the words will come tumbling out, and others you’ll barely pen a sentence.
Training your brain to just accept the rough with the smooth in your writing life is important if you’re going to power through those rough times. A blank page one day does not mean you’re a bad writer or not up to the task, so accept it’s a bad day and try again tomorrow.
Recognising the importance of breaks
Creative burnout is a very real thing, and a danger when you commit to a long and difficult process such as writing a novel. Successful writers recognise when they’re pushing themselves too far know when they need some time out.
The trick here is taking enough time out to recharge, but not so long that you lose motivation to come back to it. You don’t want a break so long that you decide to give up, so take enough time away from your manuscript to gain some energy, but try not to stay away longer than you feel you have to.
Knowing your novel’s needs
All books are different and need different things at different times. You have to learn how to identify the problems as they arise – both in the book and your life – and fix them for the good of the novel. That might mean getting an editor in if you’re fed up of self-editing, or finding a way to clear your diary so you can focus on writing the ending.
Successful writers are in the habit of identifying minor and major adjustments that need to be made to their books. Much of this will come with experience, but it’s experience gained by keeping on writing.
Not treating writing as a chore
Writing is supposed to be fun, not hard work! When you view it as a chore, you’re self-sabotaging, because nobody wants to do chores and most of us put them off for as long as we can. If writing is something you feel you ‘have’ to do every day but don’t want to do, it becomes very hard to get the words down and complete your manuscript.
By reframing writing as fun, you incentivise yourself to carry on with your novel. You will write more if you look at writing as something exciting and fulfilling, so try and adopt a more positive attitude towards it.
Writing you book is supposed to be an exciting process, but self-doubt and fear of the unknown can creep in all too easily, and that’s when our motivation flags. As writers, we’re inside our own heads for long periods of time and when we start to lose confidence, we lose momentum.
These eight habits are so important because they’ll stop you from being derailed. Embrace them and keep on writing. The only way to finish your book is to stay positive and put the words down.
For more information on the editing services I provide, please get in touch via the online contact form.
Add comment
Comments