How To Finish Writing Your Book

I hope everyone had a relaxing Labor Day weekend!

Today I want to talk about something very near and dear to my heart, and that is: Finishing Writing Your Book. If you'd rather watch the video on this topic, feel free to click play below. Otherwise, read on!


We all know that writing a book is hard. Having written three of them myself, I can tell you that it’s not an easy journey. It’s one filled with trial and error, self-doubt, and criticism, yet it’s also filled with a-ha moments and a great sense of accomplishment. Nowadays, it’s not enough to start writing a book. When you think about it, pretty much everyone starts writing a book, but there are very few who actually finish.
I’m currently going through a “non-finishing” phase for the third book in The Alpha Drive series. (I know, I know, don't hate me!) I know exactly how I want it to end – I have it all plotted out and ready to be written, but for some reason, I keep putting it off. I honestly think it’s because I’ve grown so close to these characters over the past four years and I don’t want the series to end. I don’t want to say goodbye to them just yet. And I know that if I write the ending to the final installment, it will be over. I won’t write about those characters ever again and that’s truly terrifying. And really sad.
So obviously, that’s one reason to not finish writing your book, but there are a number of other reasons we, as writers, don’t finish writing our books. Maybe we lose interest in the story. Maybe we took a writing break that was a little too long and the thought of reading through what we’ve already written to refresh our memory is overly daunting. Or maybe we honestly have no idea how we want our story to end.
So what can we do to ensure that when we set out to write a book, we finish what we start? Try following these 4 foolproof steps to ensure your book isn’t another half-written story thrown into your ever-growing slop pile.
1.       Have a plano   I’m sure all the pantsers are running for the hills right about now.  I will tell you right now that having a plan will actually help you write a better book faster. I’m not talking about some crazy detailed schematic for every scene in your book. I’m talking about a basic plan that will help you to keep your head on straight when your ideas have you spinning in eighteen different directions. So what should be in this plan? You should have these 7 things:·   A premise or logline: You need to write down the main idea of your book. Just a couple of sentences. Keep it short and sweet.·   A synopsis. Write 500 to 600 words that tell the story from beginning to end. Hint: this helps because then you HAVE to write down the ending of your book!·   Differentiator: Write one paragraph stating what is unique about your book.·   Target Audience: Who will be attracted to your book? Try to describe them as a single person to help you get a better idea of who you’re writing for.·   Competition. Write down three books that are comparable to the one you’re writing.·   Marketing Tactics. What will you do to market your book? Will you hire a marketing expert? Will you use social media? Will you run ads and giveaways? When? How often? Knowing how you’re going to market your book is just as important as writing it!·   An outline. This can be as detailed or as brief as you want, but at the bare minimum should give an idea as to your beginning, middle, and end.2.       Know the consequences and write them downo   To avoid procrastination, it can be helpful to create your own painful consequences when you miss deadlines.o   If you have weekly deadlines, make consequences for yourself if you miss them. I found some interesting ones online that I’d like to share. For example, if you miss your first deadline, you have to delete your favorite game (or social media site) from your phone and not reinstall/access it until the book is finished. If you miss your second deadline, you have to give your phone to your spouse (or lock it up somewhere) and buy three pints of Bluebell ice cream for the people who work in your office. If you miss your 3rd deadline, send a $500 check to the presidential candidate you despise.o   Okay, so some of these are pretty severe, especially that last one, but I think you get the point of this exercise. If you create consequences for missing your deadlines, and those consequences are things you really don’t want to do or don’t want to live without, you’ll be surprised at how focused and productive you’ll become. o   You have to actually stick to your guns on these consequences though, and enforce them, otherwise they won’t work.3.       Accountabilityo   Have people to hold you accountable to your writing goals, whether it’s your significant other, a close friend who supports your writing journey, a family member, or a writing buddy. It is good to be around people who are struggling with the same problems you are – the writing community is a great place to connect and to not feel so alone during the writing process. These people will support you, and by spending time with other writers and listening to their ideas and what they’ve learned from their mistakes, you’ll only become a better writer. These people can hold you accountable and help motivate you to hit that word count goal, or even better, surpass it!4.       Set your intentions each and every single dayo   I am very much a visual person, so imagining where, when, and how much I will write everyday really helps me to actually get it done. During the week, I usually imagine myself at the Starbucks across the street from my office with my laptop and a venti chai tea latte during my lunch hour, notebooks strewn open with my ten different colored pens, listening to ODESZA through my headphones, just typing away. During the weekends, I usually imagine this same scenario, just at Barnes & Noble.o    Creating that visual image of yourself writing can be surprisingly motivating. Studies show that if you set an intention and imagine your environment and time of day, you are much more likely to follow through with your goal. An example to envision is: Each morning before work, I will write 750 words at my favorite coffee shop.
So let’s try this out with a little assignment. Wait . . . You’re giving us homework? Why yes, I am! 
When writing a book, it can be tempting to just dive in with little to no thought and start writing. And sometimes this is necessary just to get started. However, you will likely save yourself time and create a better story if you settle on a solid premise before you start writing. Your premise acts as the foundation of your book. For fiction, your premise is also called a logline, a one-sentence summary of the protagonist, main conflict, and setting. So grab a piece of paper and use this formula: 
The character + their goal + the conflict that character will go through + the result that comes from overcoming the conflict
Once you have your logline written down, I want you to take another piece of paper and write one to three sentences describing how your book will end. And if you’re not sure yet, then write down the different ideas you have for ways your book can end. You now have the basic premise of your story, as well as the end, and all that’s left is filling in the middle. Trust me, once you know the end of your story, it makes it much easier to figure out what should happen in the middle to lead up to your grand finale. 
Think about it this way: If you don’t know the ending, then you don’t know what it is you’re writing up to!
So there you have it, 4 foolproof steps to ensure you finish writing that dang book. That’s all that I have for you guys today. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to check out my debut novel, THE ALPHA DRIVE, on your way out. As always, I will see you in the next post!


Until next time,