The process of writing a novel sounds mysterious, difficult and like a long journey to most writers who have never written a full novel before. It’s not as hard as you think – and most writers who have a good story to tell can learn how to write a novel in just a few weeks to months if they approach the story and writing process the right way from the beginning.
Here
are some of the most common mistakes that writers make while writing
and how you can learn to avoid them for a faster, better
writing process and a story that actually gets finished.
A
Mountain from a Molehill
There’s
an expression about making a mountain out of a molehill, and this happens
all the time with how writers approach their fiction. A novel can
seem big and intimidating to most writers – and this can sometimes
mean that they never finish The Big Project and have a lot of
false-start manuscripts buried away somewhere.
Don’t
worry about the size of your manuscript. First, focus on telling a
good story. Whether that story fits into one page or one hundred is
something you can worry about later.
Some
stories will insist on being a novel, others work better when they’re
shorter. Let the story and the characters guide you to where
they should go. Proper outlining is also a huge help for any
writer.
Unnecessary
Detail
A
lot of newer writers (and many other experienced ones) will go into
far too much detail about things that have no impact on their
characters, their story or their plot. You don’t need to describe the
grass or the scenery for ten pages when it takes five to say it well.
Readers can always, always see when you’re stretching it just
to keep them busy.
Don’t
insult your readers with any unnecessary details your story doesn’t
really need.
Also,
never be afraid to cut out any unnecessary detail during the editing
phase!
Repetition
for Words
Repetition
is common, and it’s something that you’re likely to spot later. Words
that are used too many times in a row get annoying to any reader.
Often there are far better ways to say it if you just put a
little bit more thought into the sentence or paragraph.
Getting
Stuck on Spelling
Don’t
you just hate it when you’re right in the groove of typing a good
story and you suddenly make a spelling error and have to backspace?
This can make you lose your typing speed (and sometimes the entire
flow of what you were working on).
Here’s
the trick: You don’t have to fix spelling mistakes immediately. Even
though it’s often a compulsion for writers to do it, spelling
mistakes can be fixed later. You should never interrupt the
flow of good writing.
Missing
Your Own Plot
Have
you lost the plot? If you’re writing any fiction, it’s important
to make sure that you never do. Outlining is a huge part of the writing
process, and one you should pay attention to so
that you know where your story will start and finish.
This
gives the writer more of a sense of direction, and it stops you from
coming up with half a manuscript and then realizing you have no idea
where you’d like to take your story.
Always
outline and always make sure that you have all the plot details
and twists worked out before you write a single word of your story
down. Foresight can be a great thing for writers, and readers will
appreciate the effort when it gives them a great story.