6 Tips to Help You Break All the Rules of Writing

It can be easy to lose steam when you’re working on a long writing project. Today, NaNoWriMo participant Lolita shares some thoughts on how to stay passionate about your novel by breaking all the rules:

I’ve often heard the advice that before you start writing, you should know the end already. You should have bullet points or boxes to tick for everything that happens. That you shouldn’t repeat words like “said” too much. My advice is: forget all the ‘should’ and ‘shouldn’t’s’.

I wrote my first two drafts by hand before I typed the second draft on the laptop, making changes as needed until it became my third draft. My thoughts flowed better from pen to paper than from hands on the keyboard (and still do). My first draft was written without bullet points or boxes to tick; there was no end in sight.

I just wrote because it felt good and because I enjoyed myself. 

1. Write because you want to, not because you have to. 

If you have a passion for something, then it’s not work, it’s play. And that’s the best job you can have. Enjoy yourself first and foremost. Then see what you have to work with (second draft and after). As for repetitions, I don’t worry about that until my fourth draft at least. I don’t actively look, but if I notice something that bothers me, then I work on that. Thoughts, dialogues, tiny moments of everyday life will tell you more about your characters than any list ever will.

2.  Keep copies of everything.

Keep copies of everything, from your notes on random papers to the ones in your notebook, as well as each draft. Always. If you work on the laptop then make copies of each draft before you make any changes to it. Print draft one, two, three… fifteen.

3. Don’t believe everything you read. 

Take advice (even mine) with a pinch of salt. For example: I read before that a successful writer will need about four drafts before their book feels finished. BUT it may or may not be the case for everyone. 

4. Keep a notebook handy. 

Keep a notebook by your side when you write as well as when you edit. Take notes on descriptions of characters, important things that happened, with whom and where. Make notes of things that don’t make sense or that you should develop. Feel free to wait before you delete a section of your work to be sure that you’re fine with your own decision.

5. Find a different point of view. 

Personally, I don’t find it comfortable to share my work with writing groups. A good alternative is to confide in a close friend who enjoys reading and would understand you without judging. Chat about challenges you have with them, see a different point of view. You don’t have to use those discussions in your book. But opening up those conversations keeps your brain active on ideas you may not have had otherwise. Make notes of discoveries you find, and see where it would fit in your draft.

6. Take your time. 

If you don’t feel like editing today because you had a crappy day, then don’t. Once in a while, you can get away and do something else. If you’re anything like me, you’ll still be able to think about your story even while shampooing your hair. And most importantly, just write, be passionate about what you’re writing about and enjoy yourself.

Lolita is a French native living in the UK for the past ten years. Mother of two and working in a library, she writes fantasy fiction and paints in her spare time. In a life where we live fast, she wants to read books where heroes (males and females) are not perfect and take time to learn to become better. Lolita is still working on her first novel and hopes to publish it this year or next. You can follow her on Twitter or her blog.

Top photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.