Yes. I finally finished the first draft of my novel (can I get a little applause?) I originally started my novel at fifteen, by hand (something I don't seem to do now.) I still remember the pale blue notebook, the purple pen I used, the exact armchair I sat in, at one of my old houses, curled up scrawling away. I did what most people do when they start a novel. I forgot about it. Got bored writing it, put the notebook away and forgot about it.
I found the notebook again just before I left for university. I was inspired, though it would take me another two years before I would sit down and seriously begin to write it again. It took me roughly one whole year, seriously writing, to finish the first draft. To see 'The End' over 100 pages later was something 15 year old me never expected to see. I thought in that moment I would feel overwhelmed, perhaps cry (because I am a very emotional person,) but instead I felt more motivated to continue writing, to edit, to have a final manuscript that will one day become a finished book that I will see in my local bookshop.
So, what did I learn? What advice can I give to other hopeful novelist hoping to finish their first draft?
My biggest, and seemingly most obvious, piece of advice it write. Just write. You don't have to write everyday like some authors recommend but try to write regularly. Some days I would only be able to write down three words, but three words is better than none. It might help you to have a goal in mind. If you want your novel to be completed by a certain date or have a certain number of words written in a certain amount of time, then set that goal. However if this seems a little overwhelming to you, don't do it. Take your time, take as long as you need to write. When it's done it's done. Just write.
The second piece of advice I have for you was a tip my ex-lecturer, author Caroline Smailes, gave us during one of our seminars. I had a very bad habit of being hung up on editing. I would finish 1/2 chapters then go back an edit, write another two chapters then go back to the very begin and edit again. After a while this takes a toll on your writing, and a year later you're still nowhere closer to having a complete first draft. Caroline's advice was to just keep writing, forget about editing no matter how badly that third paragraph in chapter seven needs to be edited; it will still be there when you've finished your first draft and can finally go back an edit. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this until she said it, but I took that advice in and applied it. Here we are, first draft completed much quicker than I had anticipated. If you were like me, constantly prioritising editing over completing a first draft, I highly recommend Caroline's advice (thanks Caroline!)
To make my last tip make more sense I need to explain the architect vs gardener theory to you. As a writer, you are either an architect, gardener or slight mixture of both. Architect writers plan everything about their novel before they begin to write it, from world-building, to plot, to every single character and their purpose in the story. Gardener writers get an initial idea and begin writing without a clear goal in mind, they nurture the story and see where it goes. A mixture of both means you have a sort of plan set in place but you are not dead-set on it and if something changes during the writing process that differs from your initial plan that is okay. I'm a mixture of both. I know what I want to happen here and there, but I let the story decide how and where those points connect. Most of the time I think of new plot points at the most inconvenient moments, whether that be at the shop or on a long car journey. Something that helped me was having a specific note on my phone where I would jot down all my new plot point ideas so when I sat down at my laptop to write I hadn't forgotten them.
What are your top tips for people trying to finish the first draft of their novel? Anything you wish you knew when completing your first draft? Let me know! As always you can find me over on instagram at @EcologicalMegWrites. I look forward to reading all of your novels.
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