Conquer your fears and write that book!
In the fall of 2016 wide eyed me decided she would finally have the guts to try something new. Writing a book. Nearly two years later, I'd find myself with my first complete and edited novel. At the time I thought it was amazing, so I hastily emailed the entire manuscript to my friends.
One friend read it. And I don't blame the rest for not. Looking back on it, not only was the manuscript ridden with typos and poor grammar, but it lacked a compelling hook which would draw readers into reading it in the first place.
However, at the time I questioned why I devoted such a large amount of effort to writing a novel no one wanted to read. Soon, the questions came from my relatives too when I didn't pursue publishing. My doubts continued when I reread some of the pages, which I had printed out for the first time, and saw how much the novel seemed to lack. Why had I wasted all this time writing an amateur first novel, which was not good enough to hold the attention of readers or get published?
Then everything changed. I decided, for some insane reason, to write a second novel. One which I'm currently pursuing publication for. And boy am I glad I wrote my first novel, as terrible as it was.
Five Reasons To Write Your First Novel
#1 Novels Are the Best Teachers
I'm going to say it right now. The best way to learn how to write a novel is to actually write a novel. Yes, writing a short story or poem can help hone your skills while reading craft books can provide information but ultimately neither will teach you the same skills and give you the experience that writing and editing a novel will.
As such, the most helpful thing I did to prepare myself for writing a novel (a good novel that I'm proud of) was to actually write a novel. While as a newbie jumping headfirst into the world of crafting plots and spilling out words, my writing was far from perfect, it taught me so much about novel writing. Without the experience of writing and editing my first novel, I wouldn't be able to write the book I'm currently working on.
So write that awful book. Right now it may seem like a waste of time or like the words on the page aren't matching the images in your head, but in the future you'll thank yourself for doing the ground work to improve your writing.
#2 Something is Better Than Nothing
I've found many writers to be so afraid of writing a novel that they never actually write one! For me, this manifested in the form of spending endless time fleshing out my first story's world, often adding intricate and frankly irrelevant details which would never appear in the book. Similarly, I've encountered writers who insist they're not "ready" to write a novel and as such try to meet impossible standards or experience certain things that will somehow prepare them better for writing a book.
All of these problems stem from the same core flaw. Perfectionism. We somehow think that our first draft of our first novel should be a masterpiece and as such push off writing it until we think we'll be ready. The truth is no amount of unnecessary details or unusual hurdles will make us ready to write the perfect novel we envision. Because it's outright unrealistic to expect the first draft of your novel to be a masterpiece, especially when you've never written a book before.
But, like I mentioned earlier, the way to become a better novelist is to actually write a novel. As such, when it comes to novel writing something is always better than nothing. Writing that bad first novel is worth so much more than an idea floating around in your head because it will teach you how to become a better writer.
#3 It's Fun!
I think that as writers we tend to become so wrapped up in our heads that we forget we're writers. Writers who love writing! Yes, writing a book isn't going to be fun all the time but it's still writing. When writing a book we finally get to explore the ideas that we're so passionate about and watch our characters grow and mature. As such, it can be a very rewarding and exciting process to write your first novel and finally be capable of finishing the story you've envisioned in your head.
#4: Coooonnffiideeencee
Although I would later laugh at my first novel, writing it improved my confidence. A lot. By writing it I ultimately proved to myself that I was not only capable of writing a book but also taking my writing seriously. Plus, how many people can say they actually finished writing a book? Not many. So that within itself is an impressive feat!
#5: Learning What's Right For You
Writing your first novel is a great way to figure out if you're actually passionate about writing books. One of the best things writing my first novel did for me was that it showed me how much I loved writing books and gave me the dream of someday seeing my work in book stores.
Beyond that there are so many aspects of novel writing that vary from writer to writer. Are you a pantser or plotter? What are your strengths as a writer? Your weaknesses? Which critique partners work best with you? By writing a novel you can learn a lot about your writing style and what works best for you.
In Conclusion
Get out of your head and write that novel! Writing a book taught me a lot about myself both as a writer and person all while improving my skills immensely. So don't doubt yourself or worry. Focus on writing a book that you're passionate about!