Stop Treating Novel Writing Like It's A Sprint

As we've now been catapulted across the other side of the calendar to a fresh page many of us have started to think about our new year resolution.

Sure we probably should have thought about them before the year began, but many of us were so busy still trying to complete the resolutions from the past year that we couldn't yet spare a thought for any new ones we wanted to make. 

Unsurprisingly there are two resolutions most writers will have in common. As much as your average list will contain things such as eating healthier and exercising more, the writer will have goals such as writing more and finishing writing a novel. 

As with those other resolutions these have probably been recycled from past years in the hopes that this will be the year they are finally completed.

Writers all over the world have sat down at their desks today with the plan of writing their novels, they opened up their word processors and some may have even begun typing up their first draft with the words flying onto the page at record speed. 

But if you check in with these same writers in a few weeks or a month or so and ask them if they've gotten around to writing that novel they will in turn give you a hundred and one excuses as to everything that has come up in that time to make it so that they simply did not have the time, ability, or energy to write. 

This is because they decided to treat writing their novel like a sprint - dashing across the pages and going for the fastest speed. 

However - 

Writing a Novel is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

It might be odd to think that writing and running can have so much in common, but four major things bring them together and when applied can make the goal of writing a novel this year a surefire thing. 

Endurance Over Speed 

Sure writing a novel as fast as you can is going to make sure that you complete your goal, but if you go and lace up a pair of running shoes, walk out your door, and just start running - how far are you going to make it? 

Sure if you're in good practice and you've run consistently in recent history then this is going to be no problem for you, but for the rest of us? Well, we might not even make it down the block as we're going to run out of energy, it's going to be hard for us to breathe, and we're going to end up turning around and going home. Probably choosing not to run the next day out of disappointment at our skills or just being too tired from pushing ourselves too hard the first day. 

Writing a novel is a commitment for the long haul with each word you write being a step forward toward completing your goal. If you go for speed you'll burn out and give up. 

Consistent Progress, Not Quick Bursts

If you were training for a marathon and you only had an hour each week on just one day to run - well your progress isn't going to be as much as the next person who has twenty minutes to run every other day or so.

Finding a rhythm and making steady progress is going to help avoid that feeling of burnout we just talked about and allow the writer to find their stride, moving at a pace that works for them so they don't fall behind.  

Mindful Planning vs. Impulsive Starts 

If I was going to train to run a marathon I would first need to make sure I had all the tools necessary at my disposal. Shoes, shorts, headphones, and a path plan so that I'm not out running with no idea of what distance or pace I am making. 

Writing a novel is not something that will have much success if approached with the same impulsiveness of me walking out of my house to run without my shoes on. 

Make a plan for when and where you're going to write as well as what you are going to write. Even if you are not a plotter you will still benefit from having a single sheet of paper with some relative ideas on it about the novel you plan to write just so you don't forget or you need something to reference every once in a while. 

Embrace the Journey Over Fixation on the Finish Line 

While there is an argument that finishing a first draft as fast as possible can be beneficial so that you can move on to the next step, writing a novel is itself a journey where the process is as significant as the completion.

The novel you are writing is going to be with you far past that first draft as you move on to editing, formatting, feedback, more editing, more feedback, and about a hundred other smaller steps that need to be completed here and there. 

Sure there is a finish line at the end, but there's no deadline that you need to rush toward.

Marathons don't have to be run, you can walk them as well.

So take a walk with me through the pages of your novel, one day at a time, and by the end of the year, you just might have two novels under your belt as you'll be able to use all you've learned to help you with the next step in your journey. 

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Best of luck in all that you hope to achieve and accomplish this year. 

I know you can do it. 

Now go get to writing. 

With love, 

B.K. xo xo

Want to write with me live? I'm now on Twitch! Come join me in some writing sprints every Wed-Thurs-Fri-Sat at 10:30 pm EST

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