How to Create Unstoppable Writing Momentum and Finish Every Book You Start

Author: Sandy Vaile 


In the 17 years since I began writing fiction seriously, I've learnt a lot about the benefits of consistency in finishing novels and building an author career. Creating a consistent writing habit not only gives authors a real chance of finishing their books but enables them to do it without losing all hope and quitting all together. 

Writing a novel is a loooong process that requires significant effort, persistence and resilience. I'm sure we all know someone who has been writing the same book for 10 years (maybe we are that person), and sympathise with how soul-crushing the whole process can be if we don't see results. 

Writing consistently is a challenge ... enter confusion, overwhelm, procrastination and self-doubt. The problem is, the longer we go without writing (I mean actually progressing our book, not moving commas around), the harder it is the pick up the pen again, get into our character's personas and remember the whole plot. 

There are five things you can do to break the cycle of not finishing books, and you might be surprised what they are.

First of all, I want you to know that you're not the only one struggling with these things. All authors - yes, even multi-published and famous authors - suffer with imposter syndrome, wondering if they are a good enough writer to finish this book, and hating the whole project so much they consider giving up. 

But ... 
Successful authors don't give up!

So, what can you do to prevent yourself from slipping into the hole (or to give you some purchase to climb back out)? 

1. Stop believing the myth of inspiration, so you can write consistently, not just when the muse shows up. 
2. Start building a writing habit, because forward motion builds confidence and creates results. 
3. Trust your process, so you can quit second-guessing yourself and write your vision. 
4. Stop shying away from meaningful tasks, which leads to finished stories that resonate deeply. 
5. Get expert guidance early on, to avoid costly mistakes and inefficiencies.  ​

Stop believing the myth of inspiration

​Humans are wired to choose the path of least resistance, so the moment the muse deserts us and writing gets hard (or we perceive it this way), our primitive brain panics and says, "Writing is making you feel panicky = danger. Stop!" 

If you are waiting for inspiration to strike or the muse to whisper the plot solution in your ear, then I have bad news for you ... 

You won't suddenly be hit by inspiration, run to your computer and have brilliant words fly from your fingers all day. It's writing, not magic. 

The role of inspiration in writing a novel is grossly over-stated. You see, we only feel motivated after we have taken action.
What we need is something to get us moving every week.

Once the initial flurry of creation and excitement of a new story passes, we need something more substantial and repeatable to make us write. 

Each time we do write, we are creating a writing habit. 
The sense of accomplishment we get from seeing our words on the page, motivates us to do it again, and again.
​
So, don't wait another moment for inspiration! Make a time and sit down to write, no matter what. ​

Start building a writing habit 

The only way to create a writing habit is to actually write, and do it regularly.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean daily. Your writing habit might be on the weekends, three times a week, 15-minutes sitting in the doctor's waiting room, or 30-minutes after the children go to bed. Whatever works for you is right.

The key is to schedule it, commit to it, and do it over and over again. 
Many writers find a simple routine helps train their brain to recognise writing time, so they can focus, which might involve sitting in the same place, playing music, lighting a candle, making favourite hot drink or threatening the family with death if they disturb you. 

Just the action of writing a single paragraph is a start. Tomorrow you'll be able to write two paragraphs, and three the day after. You've got this. 
 
A fantastic way to stay motivated is to draw on the enthusiasm and inspiration of other authors - find your tribe. I'll let you borrow mine.
If you're a female author looking for a nurturing community, join the lively discussions and free events in my Facebook group. ​

Trust your process 

Embrace the chaos of your own process. Sure, it might not feel like you have a process, but you do. It's built into the way you think, come up with ideas and problem solve. It doesn't matter if it's messy and inefficient, it's just the way your brain gets ideas out and shapes them into something others can understand. 

Stories are like jig-saw puzzles, only we don't have the picture to work from. We have to test different pieces in different places until we find one that fits.
A story is like a second-hand woollen jumper; a little frayed around the edges, with pilling on the cuffs and a random button sews around the collar. It might not be the flashiest thing, but it is beautiful in its uniqueness, and entirely yours. 

Carpenters all have different skill levels, but they all trust their tools to shape and smooth a piece of furniture. The same way authors all have different skills and visions for their books, but they all have to trust their own writing process. 
​It won't be exactly the same as what other authors do, and that's okay. ​

Stop shying away from meaningful tasks

When the going gets tough ... that's when procrastination sets in, because it's easier to avoid a problem than solve it. Sometimes we even tell ourselves we're not procrastinating, because we're busy doing something with our story. But is it the big thing that will help us push it closer to conclusion? 

Avoiding the hard tasks is just another way of procrastinating. 
What we need to do is face those difficult problems head on so we can move past them and get back to enjoying our writing. Imagine how amazing you're going to feel once you finish your first draft or finish your revisions or publish that book! 

It can be soul sucking to try and try to solve a problem without success. 
Sometimes we're afraid to ask for help because we feel like we should be able to figure this out; after all, it seems like every other author has got it all figured out. Or maybe we simply don't know where to turn for help. But when we don't solve those big story problems, we end up spiralling around the drain of incompletion, procrastination and inch closer to giving up on the project all together.
Now that would be a terrible shame. 

It's so much easier to write another part of the story or play around with revisions than to try to figure out where to plant a clue or how the heck the protagonist is going to get out of their current predicament. But when you sit down and journal about it, brainstorming all the different directions you could go (just talking it through with yourself) and really stick with it, you'll be amazed by the ideas that will flow to you. 

Even if the solution doesn't appear right away, by pondering the problem, your subconscious will work on it in the background, and then you'll be washing dishes or showering and voila! a solution pops into your head that you hadn't considered before. ​

Get expert guidance early on 

We all love short-term gratification; however, writing a novel is anything but a short-term project. 

By writing regularly and solving the big problems first, we will have heaps of small wins to celebrate regularly and that will help keep us motivated. 

A fiction coach can help you to:

• Build a writing habit by finding a way to work that suits you and hold you accountable for completing writing tasks regularly.
• Help you find and trust your writing process by helping you make the right decisions, which will give you confidence in your skills and story. 
• Identify and solve the big problems first, with expert guidance, so you can get back to enjoying your writing sessions.  

These things will all help keep you moving forwards with your novel and ensure that you have a cohesive and compelling story you will finish and will be proud to publish. ​

Find out more about working with Sandy Vaile

If you want to get unstuck and turn your messy manuscript into a completed contemporary novel that publishers can't resist, then book a time in my diary to see what support is going to help you the fastest, and if we're a good fit to work together.
(No hard sell, no scary questions, just a friendly chat between authors.) ​