10 Tips for Writing a Novel Fast(er)

Writing a novel is a long game, no doubt about it. But I’ve helped many writers get to THE END, and I know there are ways to shorten the curve. I’ve listed my favorite get-your-novel-written approaches below. From first concept to first draft, these tips will help writers get their novels onto the page.

1) Think “draft,” not “polished manuscript.” We read other authors’ published novels and see that they proceed from cleanly edited start to well-honed end. So it’s natural to imagine our book-writing process should follow suit. We decide to create a polished novel—complete with sharp prose, fully developed characters, and beautiful images—as we go.

But it’s actually much more effective—and ultimately less time-consuming—to write our novels as a series of two or three drafts. On the first pass of your story, I suggest you start rough and continue that way to the end. From this, you’ll learn a lot about what needs to be added or deleted in your second draft. Next, revise to fulfill what’s missing from your vision of the book. And save the polishing for your final version.

2) Save editing for later—after your draft is done. This tip will help you accomplish the initial rough-and-ready first draft process, mentioned above. Rather than stopping to tweak grammar or manage a particular sentence or wrangle a bit of dialogue, keep the words flowing! It’s important to get your story DOWN, and broad strokes will help you do that. You don’t want to risk losing your story-telling traction for an errant period or awkward bit of description. You can always come back and fine-tune later.

3) Make margin notes while you’re writing your novel. Rather than editing as you go, add margin notes to your document. When you revise, these will act as a sort of breadcrumb trail to remind you what you thought might improve a scene, character, or plot thread. And it’s far quicker—and less of an interruption to your creative mojo—to make a general note to consider later than it is to halt your momentum to wrangle a specific passage.

4) 1000 words a day will get you there—fast! Does 1000 words seem like a lot? Too much?! (Especially when tip #8 says limit writing time to an hour a day?!!) What if I remind you that 1000 words is actually only four lit-industry standard pages? Does that make it seem more doable?

If you’re willing to take the challenge, 1000 words a day (even with weekends off), will net you a complete draft fast! Depending on the length of your manuscript (between, say, 70K-120K words), you could be ready to revise in two to three months. Yay, for you!

5) Create a road map for your novel (aka, an outline). Know where you’re taking your characters before you pack their bags and hit the draft-writing road. Even just clarifying the major plot points you want to hit will help. However, the deeper and more detailed your outline, the more quickly and effectively you’ll be able to complete your initial draft.

Some writers fear that mapping out any sort of outline will make their story feel contrived. My work with novelists has shown otherwise. Honestly, the outlining process can be just as creative and deep as any other aspect of writing your novel.

5a) “I’m a pantser,” you say? Okay! Go ahead and pants your way through your first draft. Before you revise, though, analyze the main points of your characters’ journey. If your story feels either too flat and uneventful or too busy and chaotic, outline what you have. That outline should help you see how to reorganize your next draft for better flow, or more suspense, or stronger character arcs.

My book, PLOTTING YOUR NOVEL WITH THE PLOT CLOCK, is a quick read and explains a basic approach to outlining your novel.

6) Hop around! As you write your draft(s), you don’t have to proceed from start to finish. Instead, take the advice “Pick Only Ripe Apples,” from the book LIFE, PAINT, and PASSION, by Michele Cassou and Stewart Cubley:

To keep your process flowing, to feel the enjoyment of creation, you first need to go where it is easy. Easy means ripe. Go where you are attracted, be it toward a detail or large shape. While you work on the part that is easy, other parts will mature in you, and they will be ready and waiting. You move step by step, from the easiest to the easiest. It is never tedious or tiring because there is no need to force anything. Depth resides more in surrendering to spontaneity than in hardworking struggle.

Apply this advice to writing your novel. When you sit down to your computer, consider which scene might be the most interesting to write. Follow your instincts. No need to pick up where you left off, if that’s not what’s most appealing at the moment. And if you’ve created an outline, you’ll never get lost in the dark woods of your story!

7) Limit yourself to a single point of view. Sure, there are times when one point of view (POV) won’t get the job done. But a single POV story can be quite compelling—and surprisingly complex. Many of literary mystery-writing phenom Tana French’s best-selling novels are written from a single point of view—IN THE WOODS, for example, and BROKEN HARBOUR. These are psychologically rich books which have won critical and popular acclaim.

And, notably, for the purposes of this article, a story told through a single point of view has less work to do. In contrast, it simply takes more time to both organize multiple POV characters and make sure to create an for each one. Want to fast-track your novel? Try focusing on a single POV character.

8) Keep your writing sessions to one hour. I know, I know! It can be a huge accomplishment to carve out the time to write and put your butt in the chair to get it done. And I’m suggesting you stop after just sixty measly minutes?

Yup. I am. During a painting workshop, the instructor, well-regarded artist Nicholas Wilton, suggested we limit our painting sessions to an hour. In his experience, he said, that’s when we’re most creatively effective. And after experimenting, I found this to be true. As I enter the second hour of painting or writing, I tend to get circular in my thinking and tight in my expression—neither of which is conducive to making fresh and exciting work.

While your mileage may vary, give Nick’s idea a try. At the very least, a ten-minute break every hour may revitalize you and your writing.

9) Take a walk every day. Many writers and creativity coaches swear by their daily walks. Julia Cameron, author of THE ARTIST’S WAY, makes a thirty-minute daily walk a staple for folks wanting to maximize their creativity.

Why? Walking gives us an oxygen boost. Also, if we take our walk off the treadmill and out into a park or neighborhood, we’ll see interesting sights—simply a small change of scenery can enliven our brains. Finally, oddly-but-reliably, taking a walk can help us solve a story problem. Often, I’ve set out for a stroll feeling stymied by a stuck place in my writing, only to return with the solution in hand. I have no idea how it happens. I just know that when I have a problem—literary or otherwise—walking smooths it out in almost miraculous ways.

10) Commit to writing a novel in November. Why, November? Because, NaNoWriMo! “NaNoWriMo,” short for National Novel Writing Month, is a month-long, nationwide novel-writing fest that takes place every November! Participation is free—and the buzz you’ll get from knowing you are part of a coast-to-coast cadre of novel writers can fuel your writing with more juice than anything from the menu at Starbucks. (Though, coffee. Yes.)

For more ideas, check out these two articles: “How to Write a Novel” and “Plotting Your Novel: 5 Fabulous Tips.”

Would you like to discuss your book with a top writing coach?

I’m available to be your professional writing coach. Schedule your free consultation and check out “Should I Hire a Writing Coach” in THE WRITER magazine.

A book coach can help you transform your dream of writing a book into a hardcover (or paperback) reality! As a professional writing coach, your book coach knows a lot about how to write a book, for sure. For instance, if you’re writing a novel, she can show you how to fix your plot problems. If you’re writing a nonfiction book, she can explain the best way to organize your ideas. And if you’re just getting started? Your coach can even suggest ways to carve out the time you’ll need to write your book.

But no matter how skillful your book coach might be, it’s your input that will really make your writing coaching relationship bear fruit—and by “fruit,” I mean a completed book! Here are five of my best tips to help you make the most of your book coach’s expertise.

Tip #1: Name your goals. When you first hire your book coach, let her know your goals for your book. For instance, do you want to write a memoir and self-publish it to share with family and friends? Or are you writing a nonfiction book to establish your expertise in your field? Or maybe you’re writing a novel that you hope to have published traditionally.

Depending on your book’s genre, and your ultimate goal for it, it might take anywhere from three months to three years to finish your book! For example, writing a novel or a memoir typically takes more time than a self-help book or a personal essay collection. And self-publishing is a much quicker route to seeing your book in print than querying agents and getting a traditional publishing deal.

Once you help her understand just what you want to accomplish, your coach can tell you about how long it will take to complete your book. With that time frame in mind, you and your book coach can schedule regular progress check-ins to keep your book on track.

Tip #2: Take the time you need. Sure, you want to get your book finished as quickly as you can. That’s a given. But you also want to enjoy writing your book as much as possible—and create your best work in the process! To do so, allow yourself the time you need between writing coaching sessions. Don’t rush to meet your writing coach’s expectations. Just explain your other obligations to your book coach—then organize your coaching schedule so it supports your day-to-day life as well as your writing life.

Tip #3: Ask all your questions. Before each meeting with your book coach, prepare a bullet list of your current questions and concerns. One week, you might be wondering about the big, BIG picture: “Is my book really worth writing?” Another week, you may be worried that the plot of your novel isn’t dynamic enough or that you’re taking too long to get to the important elements of your memoir. Whether you want to discuss your book’s next steps—publishing, copyediting, or getting fresh eyes on your writing—or hear what your coach thinks about your current rate of progress, ask her!

Writing can be a lonely business. And, especially for a first-time book writer, the process can seem tedious or baffling or even terrifying! With seemingly infinite choices to make at every turn, it’s natural to wonder whether you’re taking one step forward or three steps back.

Trust that your coach will be truly interested in your questions. At each meeting, she’ll want to hear exactly what’s helping you feel confident, as well as where you’re getting stuck. You’ll be surprised at the helpful strategies she’ll have up her sleeve. As a professional writing coach, she’s gotten hundreds of writers through the tough stuff and back on track. And you, my writerly friend, will benefit from all her experience. If you just remember to ask.

Tip #4: Know that resources abound. No matter the genre of your book or where you are in your book-writing process, there are heaps and heaps of golden resources available to you. From books on plot to YouTube channels dedicated to explaining how to get an agent, you can find information to complement or even enhance all that you’re learning from your book coach. But you don’t have to dig blindly through Amazon’s lists to find the good stuff. Oh, no! Your writing coach has a list of relevant resources—book titles, bloggers, classes, podcasts—at her fingertips, and she will be delighted to share them all with you. Because the more you know, the more you know. Right?

Tip #5: Be an advocate for your ideas. Your book coach is awesome—I know she is! But sometimes she may miss the mark. She may question what you feel is a foundationally important idea about your book, leaving you to feel that you have an adversary, not an advocate. If this happens, though, stand up for your idea! Explain to your writing coach why the concept is important and ask her to help you figure out how to include it in a way that enhances your book, rather than undermines it.

For instance, writer Peg Love had an unconventional approach to joining two genres: Women’s Fiction and Thriller. Before she came to me, she had worked with four developmental editors on her novel. Each one of them was concerned about the same thing: whether the two aspects of her story could combine to make a seamless whole.

I also wondered how Peg could bring her characters’ vastly different experiences together in a way that a reader would find both believable and enjoyable. Peg and I really liked working together, but I continued to feel uneasy about having two genres in one book. After much discussion—and with Peg sticking firmly to her position—we found ways to integrate the two story lines and make them work. Woo-hoo!!

In a blog post about writing coaching, Peg referred to our experience this way:

Through my many [editorial and coaching] sessions I’ve found these attributes to be what makes, for me, a great writing coach: She’s an advocate—a champion of the work and an ally to my goals. When she pushes back on an idea, but changes her opinion after being led through my thought process, I know I have an advocate. She has the breadth of a developmental editor and the depth of an investigator, willingly jumping in to help me untangle weak points and suggest strong threads to braid into the story.

My work with Peg made me a better coach. And I hope sharing her story—and all my other tips—will help you in your relationship with your coach. As I read back through what I’ve shared here, I see a common theme: While your writing coach is a professional with wide knowledge of the literary industry, she’s not the author of your book—or the authority of your experience with her. So, take a page from Peg’s (metaphorical} book. Throughout your book-writing journey, keep the reins firmly in your own hands. Own your process, ask questions, state preferences, and stand strong for the book you want to write. Your coach—and your future book—will thank you for it.

Need help with your book? I’m available for book coaching! And check out “Should I Hire a Writing Coach” in THE WRITER magazine.