NaNoWriMo if fully underway and I’m roughly 9,000 words behind. Luckily I’m finally feeling better. With the slow start I figure if I write 3,000 words a day I will catch up by the end of the week.

So why push myself to get this next story written? The answer is simple; it’s to get the story out of my head and on to paper. Then the hard part begins, I can begin the editing process. This was something that I unfortunately learned the hard way.

My earliest notes for my novel were from 2006. I would start writing the story, and then stopped to start another project, and then I would start again. This cycle continued till 2013. That’s when I started to work solely on this project. I didn’t finish the first draft till March 2015. The first draft took me roughly 18 months to finish.

When I finished the first draft something clicked inside me. I wanted to see my book finished and in print. While finishing the first draft was a great accomplishment, I feel that taking a year and a half to write it is unacceptable. Looking back I wish I was as dedicated to my writing as I am now.

By finishing your first draft it changes the outlook of your writing. It shows you that being a novelist is possible. Soon after I finished my first draft I had the opportunity to listen to handful of published writers speak. They all spoke on the importance of getting the first draft. If you want to be a novelist, not just a weekend writer, you need to write nonstop till that first draft is done.

Take me for example. It took me 18 months to write the first draft. Once it was completed it only took me 6 months to finish the second draft. Your first draft is your jumping off point.

Learn from my mistake and don’t take forever to finish that first draft. Write it, and write it fast. Get those ideas out of your head. Make the story come to life. The story doesn’t have to be perfect, that’s what editing is for. Just make sure you don’t start editing until the first draft is completely done.

NaNoWriMo Progress
Book 2 First Draft
5321 Words