Writing a Novel: The Gift of Bad Writing

I’m a firm believer in being efficient. Why waste time when a little planning can make such a positive impact? I’ve repeatedly seen how having an organized computer, workspace, or schedule frees people to be more productive and creative. There is, however, one area where I’m learning it pays to be inefficient—writing a novel.

For years, I thought of story ideas but never managed to complete a manuscript. I’d sit down to write and get frustrated. The words on the page didn’t match the beautiful story in my head. I’d write a few pages or paragraphs, then spend the rest of my time editing. In the end, I had some nice scenes but no completed novels. Sound familiar?

Some of you may have just finished NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Did you notice how freeing it was? The only way to write 50,000 words in one month without tearing your hair out is to let go of your internal editor. You have to write fast in a just-get-the-story-on-the-page kind of way. If you stop yourself by thinking that sentence isn’t right, you’ll never meet the goal.

When people finish NaNoWriMo, their stories generally aren’t ready to send to a publisher, but that’s not the point. They’re complete stories, and there’s a lot you can do with those.

When asked, many authors will tell you they make 3 to 4 editing passes once their manuscripts are drafted. For newer writers, it may take that many passes just get it readable. Our drafts may overflow with dialogue and need more description, or they may include too much telling and need dialogue to improve the pace. Then there are editing passes for grammar, point of view checks, and a host of other ways to improve our stories.

The point is this: Efficiency would tell us we need to create a system to handle these editing issues up front. Surely, if we just write better in the beginning, we’ll get more done. Right? Experience tells us differently. When we get bogged down in making our writing stellar from the beginning, we might never get past those first pages.

If you’re struggling to write a manuscript, give yourself a gift this season— write badly (at least on the first pass). Get the story down. It’s okay if it’s rough or fragmented. The point is, it’s written. Editing will make it pretty, but we can’t edit what we don’t have.

NaNoWriMo may have been in November, but that doesn’t mean you can’t start your own writing month right now. Don’t go into the new year with big dreams and the same unfruitful habits. Try something new. If you need to start a writing routine, check out my November #WorkSmarter Series Developing a Positive Routine at TheEfficiencyAddict.com. And if you’re looking for a way to write quickly and complete a full manuscript, see last month’s Almost An Author article—Writing A Novel in Three Steps.

Merry Christmas, and may the joy of the season inspire you with stories to bring hope to the world. —The Efficiency Addict.