December brings the end of a calendar year. Perhaps January starts off that year you plan to use for novel writing.
You know. That idea you’ve kicked around for years saying someday you will write a novel or a memoir – something.
Bad Reason for Novel Writing
You’re tired of your day job. Writing can make you a fortune. All you need to do is write that best seller.
Over a million new books are published every year. The chances of a debut novel becoming that gold mine are so slim it would take a microscope to see them.
Good Reason for Novel Writing
There is that idea you can’t ignore. It’s a plot or a character or a wish to tell your family who you are and where you came from.
This thing is there when you wake up, whenever you stop during the day and puts you to sleep at night. It’s begging you to write it.
Getting Ready
First, you will need a time to write. It can be the half hour before you go to bed or when you get up. Perhaps it is while you eat lunch.
Different people are most awake and ready to write at different times. Find that time for yourself and try to write then. If nothing else, write down notes so you can use them for writing later.
Second, you will need a place to write. This doesn’t need to be fancy or a whole room. It can be just enough room for your notebook or your laptop.
One essential thing in this place is being able to turn off the email, the phone, the interruptions for that bit of time. Once you start novel writing, you want to finish the thought you are working on and interruptions will make it fly out the window often to never return.
Most Importantly
This novel writing is for you, no one else. Yes, readers matter once the novel is done, but the writing is for you.
And expect that first draft to stink. That’s what rewriting fixes.
