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LM: #297: How to finish your novel
Maybe 2025 is the year you write your novel. I have a hack to make it easier.
The tough thing about writing a novel is, you’re already on a computer enough. Presumably you need to make a living and aren’t assuming your novel will be a smashing financial success. So how can writing your novel be a priority?
If you’re writing a novel, hopefully you’re also reading novels. So to finish your novel, make writing your novel as much as possible like reading one.
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Take some section of your usual reading ritual, and turn it into a writing ritual – a writing ritual as much as possible like your reading ritual.
So if you often curl up with a novel to read at night or on a Saturday morning, sit in that same reading spot. Yet instead of reading a novel, write one. Write whatever entertains you. Make writing a novel like reading one.
To make writing more like reading, write by hand, in a small notebook. I really like these notebooks (Amazon), because they’re only 68 pages long. So you fill one page at a time, and one notebook at a time. I’ve made it to the second notebook!
If you think it’s crazy to write by hand, it’s not. Neil Gaiman writes his first drafts by hand. He describes the process as like throwing mud at a wall, then seeing what shapes it makes.
Which is also a wonderfully low-pressure way to think about your first draft. Make writing as unpretentious as possible. I try to use the cheapest pen I can find, just because it makes it feel more casual.
Once your first draft is done, sure, you’ll have to spend some time on a computer, to transpose what you’ve written and make some edits. But writing like you read might be all the momentum you need.
Book: King Dork (Amazon) is a coming-of-age novel in the modern-day Catcher variety.
Cool: Sustainable Containables (Amazon) are LFGB-certified (I’ve confirmed) silicone containers that won’t leak phthalates into your food.
Best,
David
P.S. In case you missed it, I talked to behavior-change expert B.J. Fogg about how to build good habits.
