What Does it Mean to Finish Your Story?

One of the biggest challenges writers face (aside from Writer's Block) is “finishing their story.” But what does that actually mean? You know the feeling of telling a few people that you’re working on a book and then every time you see them, they ask, “So how’s your book coming along?"

And you usually respond something like this, “Oh, pretty good, I’m plugging right along.” Or maybe more like this, “Good, but SLOW. I’ll get there eventually.” Or if you’re lucky, something like this, “Actually, I just finished it!”

But what does finishing your story actually mean? There are three definitions of finishing your story. Let’s dive in.

Finish Your Story Definition #1: Finish the First Draft

More often than not, this is the definition most people associate with finishing a writing project. And rightly so, it’s a major accomplishment! So first off, congratulations! Yes, be sure to celebrate. But finishing the first draft of a writing project is just that – the FIRST draft. You’ll still need to revise it, edit it, submit it, edit it some more, publish it, and then finally promote it. ​

If you’re struggling with finishing your first draft, it could be due to a few different reasons.

1. Not enough discipline. You’re not scheduling any writing time for yourself.
2. Your story is missing something (usually plot or characterization).
3. Fears. Fear has a bad habit of stopping progress dead in its tracks. Try using crystals to help combat your fear.
4. No support. One community you can join is the Facebook group, Writers Who Run.
5. Editing as you go. You know what I always say: write first, then revise, edit last.
6. Writer’s block. My favorite way to combat: go for a run!

The Writers Who Run App can help! It provides discipline by tracking your progress and letting you see and celebrate daily wins. It provides a supportive community of fellow Writer-Runners. And offers the best antidote to writer’s block: running! Join the waitlist for the app.

Finish Your Story Definition #2: Revise Your Novel

​Once your first draft is finished, and you’ve celebrated, it’s time to revise your novel. That’s the second definition of what it means to finish your story. Revising your novel allows you to move forward in the publishing process, whether that’s the traditional route or if you decide to go indie. Because nobody wants to read the first draft of a story in its published form. You. Must. Revise.

If you’re struggling with revision, one of the major culprits is not knowing what revision actually is. Revising your novel is way more than making a bunch of simple edits. Another major culprit is that your plot may be lacking one of the 11 stages of a well-structured story. Maybe you’ve revised the setting, the characters’ motivations, and even played with POV, but if you don’t tackle the plot, your novel will never feel finished. Get access to your FREE Mini Course about plotting and see what your story might be missing.

Finish Your Story Definition #3: A Published Book

If you’ve written your first draft and revised it extensively, likely multiple times, and edited it until the words shine, you’re probably submitting your manuscript to agents and/or editors. Congrats!

But if you’re getting tons of rejections and no personalized feedback, you likely submitted your story before it was ready. That means you need to revise some more. But where do you start? There’s a good chance your plot is still missing one of the 11 key ingredients of a well-structured story. Get started with five of those ingredients in my free MINI COURSE, Plot Outlines Made Easy. 

Just because your book is finished (first draft complete and even revised a few times), if it’s not published yet, it’s still not finished. Just because you have an 80,000 word manuscript complete doesn’t mean that you won’t benefit from a plot outline. Some people have to write the first draft before turning to outlines. Maybe that’s you. If so, definitely check out my FREE Mini Course and get the help you need to stop getting rejections and finally get the YES you’re looking for.

​Keep writing, keep running.

XO, 
Christie :)