Starting a novel isn't that hard of a task. With ideas fresh and the prospect exciting, you can easily write several thousand words before you hit a lull, deciding that maybe it wasn't that great of an idea to start with. Are you that person with at least five or more unfinished novels sitting in your hard drive? Here are some tips to help you finish them.
- Work on only one fiction project at a time.
- Think about what made you want to write the story to begin with and work your mind to regain the excitement you once had for it.
- If you are shooting blindly, writing with no outline, consider making an outline to finish the novel.
- If you are going by an outline, perhaps the outline needs tweaking in order to fit with how your novel is developing.
- Write at least an hour a day, five to six times a week.
- Additionally, take a day or two off from writing a week to avoid burn out.
- Keep a small notebook on your person at all times to write down spur of the moment ideas that can enhance your novel.
- Do not pay attention to spelling or grammar on your rough draft. Just write and worry about the structural details later.
- Focus on the formation of the story, not how marketable it is or how "in style" it is.
- Love your story. If you are more concerned about publishing it before you've even written it, it is already doomed to never be finished.
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