L. MacNaughton
This is the hardest thing to do, but it's imperative: finish writing what you start.
I’ve done some highly unscientific research at the local bookstore and discovered that 100% of all published books are finished.
It's too easy to get stuck in the middle of a manuscript and stop writing. Remember, the first draft of anything is just that: a first draft. You’ll make it better in the second draft, and in the third, and so on. It’s like a sculpture: once you have the basic form worked out, you can keep chipping and polishing until it’s beautiful.
Plus, the more you write, the better you get. As the pages pile up, you'll get more skilled at the craft. The learning curve for your first novel is usually so steep that by the time you get halfway through, you think to yourself, “Wait, now I know how to do this better! I should go back and fix all of that stuff I wrote earlier!”
Don't do it. It's a trap.
Just keep going. You’ll need every last bit of creative strength to reach the end of the novel. Don’t squander your energy on perfecting things that you might delete later. It will never be flawless. So just concentrate on finishing.
First, get it written — then later you can get it right.
You can't get published if you don't finish. So keep writing!
I’ve done some highly unscientific research at the local bookstore and discovered that 100% of all published books are finished.
It's too easy to get stuck in the middle of a manuscript and stop writing. Remember, the first draft of anything is just that: a first draft. You’ll make it better in the second draft, and in the third, and so on. It’s like a sculpture: once you have the basic form worked out, you can keep chipping and polishing until it’s beautiful.
Plus, the more you write, the better you get. As the pages pile up, you'll get more skilled at the craft. The learning curve for your first novel is usually so steep that by the time you get halfway through, you think to yourself, “Wait, now I know how to do this better! I should go back and fix all of that stuff I wrote earlier!”
Don't do it. It's a trap.
Just keep going. You’ll need every last bit of creative strength to reach the end of the novel. Don’t squander your energy on perfecting things that you might delete later. It will never be flawless. So just concentrate on finishing.
First, get it written — then later you can get it right.
You can't get published if you don't finish. So keep writing!
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