How to Finish Writing Your Novel

Writing a novel isn’t easy, but the first draft is for you. You know it doesn’t have to be perfect, so why does it feel so hard to finish your manuscript? You just spent a long day at work and the last thing you want to do when you get home is to keep using your brain and think of clever things to write in your novel. 

You could get up early every morning and write for an hour, or 20 minutes. A lot of writers do this. But then when will you run? You relish your morning runs! You just want to finish your manuscript. You’ve already gotten seven chapters written – or 18… Where did the momentum go? Why do you feel stuck and unmotivated? Is it writer’s block?

The best way to finish your manuscript is to think about training for a race. When I ran my first 5k, the only training I had done was in my college jogging class. Race day came and people were walking faster than I was jogging! So a year later, with no other races under my belt, I wanted to run a marathon. You can call me crazy. It’s okay.

But this time, I was running with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Coach Scott created a training plan for everyone. Every Saturday, we ran on the Mountains-to-Sea trails to prep for our big marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. My first 4-mile training run was torture. It was the longest distance I had ever run before. But I finished. And I celebrated every small victory. Before long, I thought a 12-miler was easy. When race day came, I was ready. I ran (and walked) the whole race. It didn’t matter how long it took me – because I finished. That was my goal. To finish the race (or my manuscript).

I don’t want to see your half-finished novel shoved into a drawer never to be seen again. I don’t want you to feel like a failure. Giving up on your writing dreams is not an option. Your novel deserves to see the light of day. Imagine seeing your book on bookstore shelves, signing copies for your most loyal fans, and receiving emails about how much your readers loved your story. In order to get there, you have to finish your manuscript. Here are three ways to do that.

Schedule Your Writing Time
When I was training for my Alaska marathon, Saturdays were reserved for long runs. I ran 2-3 other days during the week, usually between 2-5 miles. You need to schedule your writing time like you would schedule your long runs.

Choose at least one day a week, up to five max (but only if you think you’ll actually show up), to work on writing your novel. 

Put the date and time on your calendar. Show up. Write. Here’s another tip to help you look forward to your writing time: use all five senses. Instead of dreading your “long run” writing sessions, the five senses will root your behaviors in pleasurable activities and help cement it as a new habit.

1. Taste. Have a special treat such as coffee, herbal tea, hot cocoa, a special smoothie, a piece of chocolate. Whatever you love that you’ll have only during your writing times makes a great treat.
2. Smell. A hot beverage might double as taste and smell, but it doesn’t have to. You can also burn a candle, gather your favorite flowers, or wear one of your favorite perfumes or cologne.
3. Sound. Create a music playlist for your writing times. It can be music that energizes you or instrumental music that relaxes you. It can even be a “soundtrack” for your novel. If you don’t like to write with music, you can get a candle with a wooden wick that sounds like a crackling fire. Or use a White Noise app to choose your favorite background sound (ocean waves, seagulls, campfire, rain).
4. Sight. Choose a special trinket such as a figurine, a small stuffed animal, or an item with personal significance and place it near you when you write. It will give you good vibes and enhance your brain’s feel-good chemicals. It should give you inspiration or just simply bring you joy.
5. Touch. If you like to write your rough draft in a notebook, use a special writing utensil and use a special journal. Pick a place to go every week. Our long runs were always on the Mountains-to-Sea Trails, even though we did different portions each week. We always knew where we were going. Sit in a special chair, at a specific desk or table, a hammock, a couch, or even a park bench. Maybe you have a writing hat, a writing hoodie, or a writing scarf. Pick 2-3 things and use it every time.

The key is to make each of the items a special and unique treat specific to your writing time. Then you will look forward to it more and more until your manuscript can carry the momentum forward on its own accord. The idea is to make it a habit so that you’ll keep writing even when you feel stuck.

Create a Plan for Your Story
Now that you have a habit for your writing time with a specific day, time, and place to help you finish your manuscript, what happens when you still feel stuck? You need to create a plan for your story. When you create an outline for your novel, you’ll know where you’re headed. 

If you don’t yet have a full 11-point plot outline for your story, at the very least try to come up with the five main plot points:

1. The Signup
2. The Gunshot
3. The Halfway Point
4. The Wall
5. The Finish Line

A training plan for running a marathon includes a schedule with a time and a place. But another important element is the plan for the actual race. Who doesn’t love a good course map when deciding whether or not to run in a race? Same thing for your readers. They want a good plot – a good story – to unfold before them. Your plot outline is the course map for your novel.

When you know where you’re headed, it makes writing more fun. You can still be creative and flexible and let your characters talk to you. But you’re not dreading every mile wondering when the next water station is. When you’re writing with a plot outline, you’ll usually know the next scene you need to work on. That keeps momentum and excitement levels up, which helps you finish your manuscript.

Celebrate Your Writing Progress
No matter how small your success looks after each writing session, celebrate them! Making progress in meaningful work is one of the best ways to boost positive emotions and ongoing motivation. Studies show that the more frequently people experience positive feelings associated with motivation and progress, the more long-term productivity they’ll create.

The progress principle implies that when you focus your efforts in places where you see progress and celebrate them, you’ll create more progress. When you celebrate your achievements, you’ll increase your confidence, motivation, productivity, and overall joy. The way you celebrate success is actually more important than how you handle your struggle because celebrating every small win reinforces your positive behaviors and helps you create habits that lead to success.

Every small win counts. That might look like showing up to your writing place three days in a row. Or writing a paragraph during your lunch break or a sentence at a stop light on the way to work. Every scene you write deserves a celebration. Every chapter. Every character you flesh out. Every plot problem you figure out. And of course at the end of running a race, there’s a finish line, a medal, an awards celebration, an after party with cold water, food, and friends.

How can you celebrate your writing efforts? Brainstorm a list of all the things you enjoy. Things that motivate you. Typically, rewards fall into 1 of 6 categories: money, food, time, physical, people, and words. Make a plan. Choose the rewards ahead of time so you know what you’re looking forward to. Or if you love surprises, put all your potential celebrations in a jar and randomly draw one out after every writing session.

1. Money. Save money. Put a dollar in a jar every time you sit down to write. Ten dollars for every scene you write. Every time you finish a chapter, go buy your favorite snack to replenish your 5-senses writing time. Buy a special pencil or pen or journal. Buy a writing hoodie, or a candle. 
2. Food. Reward yourself with new snacks for your writing time. Even if you don’t eat while writing, you can begin or end the session with a small treat. If your writing time is before your evening meal, then your reward can be to eat your dinner.
3. Time. Spend extra time with your spouse, your children or grandchildren, or with a friend. Play a short 20-minute game. Surf the internet. Spend 15 minutes on social media. Put a penny in a jar for every paragraph you write and for every penny you collect, that equals an hour. When you earn 24 pennies, you get to go on a short overnight stay somewhere. 
4. People. Time and people often go hand in hand. Spend 30 minutes on social media connecting with friends. Go to lunch with a friend. Gather your kids and dance around the kitchen table to one of your playlist songs.
5. Physical. Go for a run. Enter a race. Do a chore. Have sex. Hug your kids. High five a friend. High five a stranger. Do 10 jumping jacks. Jump up and down with pure joy and giddiness. 
6. Words. Sit in gratitude. Write in your journal. Create a writing session gratitude journal. Shout hallelujah. Yell, “Woo-hoo! I did it!” Use #amwriting on social media and share your win for the day.  

Be creative. Use your imagination. But celebrate all your writing wins - no matter how big or small. Continue the process even after you finally finish your first draft. Rejection? Celebrate! Agent request? Celebrate! When you schedule your writing time, use a plan, and celebrate your progress, you’ll finish your novel manuscript before you know it!

Keep writing, keep running.
XO, 
Christie :)
P.S.
How many unfinished manuscripts do you have? Let me know on the Writers Who Run Facebook page.