If you’re writing a novel, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut. You may not realize that you’ve been writing the same thing over and over again until, one day when you’re trying to edit or revise your work, all of those repetitive patterns start to stand out.
And if you think about it for more than ten minutes, it’s pretty obvious what those patterns are: they’re just excuses for not finishing your novel!
So today I’m going to talk about some ways I’ve learned that can get me unstuck from these frustrating traps so that I can finish a draft as quickly as possible.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| Strive for concise storytelling. |
| Focus on engaging readers without unnecessary length. |
| Prioritize pacing to maintain reader interest. |
| Evaluate plot elements for relevance and contribution to the narrative. |
| Quality matters more than sheer word count. |
| Trim scenes that don’t advance the plot or character development. |
| Consider the impact of pacing on reader immersion. |
| Craft a compelling story that resonates within a reasonable length. |
| Balance detail with maintaining momentum. |
| Create memorable characters and meaningful plot arcs. |
Don’t Write A No-Conflict Story
The hero has to be in trouble. The hero has to be in conflict. The hero has to be in a situation where they are learning something, changing, growing, and/or doing something that makes them better at what they do and more confident in themselves as people.
The reason why this is so important is that every story needs conflict for there to be drama or tension in the story. If there’s no dramatic tension or conflict then it’s just not interesting enough for readers who want their stories filled with tension and excitement!
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Say What You Need To Say And Move On
Writing a novel is not about word counts. It’s not about how many pages you have or how long it takes to write one. It’s about saying what you need to say and then moving on.
I see so many writers obsessing over the length of their first drafts, but this can be counterproductive if you allow your anxiety to paralyze you from actually finishing the story!
Don’t worry about how long it takes for your first draft that will come later with revisions and editing.
For now, just focus on telling your story as best as possible in whatever time frame works best for you (and remember that speed doesn’t necessarily mean quality). Once that first draft is complete, then we’ll talk edits!
Think About The Characters’ Backstories. Then Leave Them Out Of The Novel
When you’re writing a novel, think of the characters as people who exist in the present. What are they doing right now? How do they feel about what’s happening?
The most important thing to remember is that your readers don’t care about what happened two years ago or three years ago or seven years ago they only care about what’s happening right now.
If you’re writing a memoir, it’s okay to write about the past if it helps inform your story and make things relevant for readers.
A good example would be if someone had an important relationship with their grandmother that ended in tragedy when she died from cancer when they were young children; this could help explain why they behave differently than other people as an adult.
If you have time machines available, then by all means go back in time and write about those experiences! But otherwise, stick with what’s currently happening in front of our eyes here on Earth.”
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Know What You’re Doing With Your Dialogue
There are four things you need to know about dialogue:
It should be realistic and believable. If your character is a poet, she shouldn’t say things like “I’m just so tired” or “I love you.” She would say something more poetic, such as “the sky looks like a wounded bird” or “it’s raining cats and dogs outside.”
Dialogue should be written in a way that makes it easy for the reader to follow along without getting confused or lost in it but not too simple either!
You can use punctuation marks like periods (.), commas (,) and question marks (.?), but these are only used if they’re needed for clarity; there should never be more than one period at the end of an exchange between two people talking together face-to-face in real life.
So don’t overdo those exclamation points either! Make sure all words are capitalized except for proper nouns when you’re starting out working with dialogue because this will make everything easier on both sides
A ‘Day In The Life’ Section Is Usually Unnecessary
One of the most common mistakes new writers make is to include too much detail in their stories. This can be especially true in the beginning, when they’re still trying to get a feel for how much description is enough.
Sometimes it seems like we’re always telling you not to do something, but this is just because we want you to write better than us! So here are some things that don’t need as much attention:
Describing scenery – If your novel takes place on Earth (and most do), then there’s no need for paragraphs about what everything looks like; readers know what trees look like and how tall buildings are.
Describing characters’ clothing – You don’t need to give every piece of clothing that your hero wears an entire paragraph of description; instead, just say something like “he wore jeans” or “she had on a black dress.” Readers will fill in the rest.
Describing characters’ thoughts and feelings – We’ve all heard it before: Showing isn’t telling!
That means showing us what people are thinking and feeling instead of just saying so don’t tell us that someone feels sad by saying “he felt sad,” show us through his actions or dialogue instead!
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If There’s No Conflict, Your Protagonist Isn’t Learning Anything
If you’re writing a novel that takes place over one day, the time frame should be obvious. If you’re writing a novel about a relationship that lasts for years and years, then your reader needs to feel that sense of time passing.
The most obvious way to do this is by giving each season its chapter. Instead of having one chapter called “Spring,” you could write something like:
- “Spring came early this year.”
- “The leaves were green and new.”
- “I felt hopeful.”
That’s not going to be interesting, though! After all, spring comes every year it doesn’t mean anything special or different from any other season…unless there’s conflict involved!
Make Sure Your Plot Isn’t Around 5000 Words Longer Than It Needs To Be
The other day, I was talking to a friend who was trying to write her first novel. She told me that she had written the first draft of her book and it was now over 80,000 words long.
“That’s way too long!” I said. “You have to cut out a lot of stuff and make sure your plot is around 5000 words longer than it needs to be.”
My friend stared at me as if I had just asked her if she wanted fries with that burger or not (spoiler: she didn’t). “But what about all my ideas? The story doesn’t make sense if I don’t include them all! What about all those awesome twists?
They’re so cool! How can I leave them out? Wouldn’t people expect them from my book at this point? And what about my character development arcs and how they relate to each other through subplots…it would be such a shame not having those included as well…”
The journey from idea to novel involves refining and shaping concepts for maximum impact. Dive into our exploration of how novelists generate story ideas to gain a deeper understanding of how to transform initial sparks into cohesive narratives that fit the desired length.
Make Sure Your Villain Has Something Interesting To Do In Every Chapter, Otherwise, They’re Just Eating Scene-Space
One of the most common problems that I see in novels is that the villain is just sitting around and eating scene-space.
The villain should be active and doing things, but what they’re doing needs to be related to the plot or your protagonist.
If your villain is lounging around on a tropical island sipping daiquiris while people bring him food on a silver platter, he’s not relevant to anything except trying to decide whether or not he wants another drink.
If your antagonist has nothing important going on in every chapter, then he can be excised from your story without affecting anything and you should do just that if possible!
Cut Out The Padding. You Know Where It Is
When you’re done with your first pass, you’ll want to reread your manuscript. You’re going to be looking for the pad padding. This is when writers add unnecessary words or scenes to make the story longer than it needs to be.
Some examples:
Delete unnecessary words and phrases like “he was upset because…” or “she thought that…”
These can be easily replaced by simple verbs such as “was” and “thought”, which can just as easily convey the same information without superfluous verbiage taking up space on the page (and in your word count).
Delete unnecessary scenes by cutting out any action that doesn’t move the story forward. If there are multiple scenes where nothing happens but characters talking about what happened before.
Remove them all together and put their dialogue into one scene instead (or better yet delete all of those conversations entirely). Remember: every scene should have a purpose for being there other than adding length to your novel.
If you find yourself needing more character development than what’s already present in your story, consider cutting out one of those characters instead of adding another layer!
That way each remaining character will have more room for growth throughout the book without having too many characters competing for attention from readers’ imaginations at once (or worse yet your own).
It’s easier for readers to connect with fewer characters anyway especially if those few characters do all they need them to without getting bogged down by extraneous details like backstory explanations.
Or supporting cast members who don’t serve many purposes beyond “being there” when needed later on down line…or even earlier as we mentioned before!
Don’t Have A Character Talk About A Problem When They Could Be Solving It Instead. (If they do both, the problem has to be very serious)
You should never have a character talk about a problem when they could be solving it instead. The problem needs to be serious, and the character needs to be in a situation where they can’t solve it. If not, then your story won’t have any tension or conflict.
For example:
A man’s dog has run away, and he spends his day talking with people and calling animal shelters before giving up and going home without any resolution. (Not interesting enough)
A man’s dog has run away, but he also knows that someone is trying to kill him at work because they’ve been stealing his pens since he got there 5 years ago so now he doesn’t have any way of protecting himself from them except for this one weird trick.
Where if you say “I’m sorry” three times fast with your eyes closed while standing on one foot with both hands behind your back then whatever happened will go away forever even though no one ever seems interested in doing this.
Even though no matter how many times I ask them about whether or not this is true everyone always just says “No” like why would someone who wants me dead tell me something like that?
Becoming a better writer requires understanding the nuances of storytelling, including managing the length of your work. Delve into our collection of secrets to becoming a better writer to refine your skills and ensure that your novel captivates readers without becoming unnecessarily lengthy.
Think About Every Word You Put On The Page – This Will Help The Book Go Faster And Keep It From Being Too Long
This is a big one. As you’re writing, ask yourself: do I need this word? If yes, are there synonyms that would make it sound better? Can I just cut this out altogether?
These small considerations will save you a lot of time in the long run. It’s not like your audience can tell the difference between “fast” and “quickly,” but if you use words that are more specific or descriptive, it’ll make your writing flow better.
If a character is ‘regrouping’, find a way for them to do that by actually doing something else.
Most characters in books sit around and think about things. They are ‘regrouping’.
You don’t want your character regrouping to be just sitting around thinking about things. Find a way for them to do that by actually doing something else.
In one of my novels, I have a character who is an undercover cop and he’s been on the job for a while now, so he knows how to deal with stressful situations like interrogations or fight scenes or whatever (this isn’t the main plot of this book).
But what if he runs into some old friends? Or has dinner with his wife? Or goes shopping at the mall? These are all things he could do while still being relevant to the plot (he needs new clothes; his wife wants him home early because they’re going out later).
Some Readers Have A Hard Time Reading Novels Of More Than 100k Words. Try To Make Yours Less Than That If You Can
You should not write a novel that is longer than the average reader can read in a day. They may be able to read yours if they power through it, but it’s going to be difficult for them and they probably won’t enjoy it as much as your writing merits.
Don’t write one too long either: no more than the average reader could read in a week or two. This is particularly true considering how many books people abandon (and thus never finish) after just a few pages or even a chapter or two.
Finally, don’t write something so massive that its length will cause someone to put off reading it for more than a month at best or never get around to reading it at all!
If you are writing fan fiction, remember that the characters are recognizable without lengthy descriptions and use words sparingly.
If you’re writing fan fiction, try not to spend too much time describing the characters. You don’t want them to sound like the original characters and you also don’t need to spend a lot of words on their appearances.
Use words sparingly; just enough detail so readers can easily picture who is speaking or what they look like, but not so much that it stops the flow of your story.
Conclusion
We hope that this article has helped you to understand how to write shorter novels. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below and we’ll try to answer them for you.
Further Reading
Explore more resources to enhance your novel-writing journey:
How to Make Your Novel Longer: Discover techniques and strategies to effectively extend the length of your novel without compromising its quality.
What to Cut When Your Book Is Too Long: Learn valuable insights on identifying and trimming unnecessary elements from your novel when it becomes too lengthy.
What Not to Do When Writing a Novel: Delve into a comprehensive guide that highlights common pitfalls to avoid while writing a novel, including those related to length and pacing.
FAQs
Got questions about novel writing? We’ve got answers:
How can I effectively manage the length of my novel?
Balancing the length of your novel involves careful consideration of pacing, plot complexity, and character development. Ensure each element contributes to the overall narrative and supports the story’s core themes.
What should I do if my novel is too long?
If your novel exceeds the desired length, evaluate subplots, descriptions, and scenes that may not contribute significantly to the central plot. Cutting extraneous content can tighten your narrative and maintain reader engagement.
Are there techniques to extend my novel without sacrificing quality?
Yes, consider expanding on character backstories, exploring additional subplots, or introducing more intricate world-building elements. However, ensure that any additions align with the story’s themes and enhance the reading experience.
How do I decide what to cut from my novel?
Identify scenes or passages that don’t advance the plot, reveal character traits, or contribute to the story’s development. While it may be challenging, trimming non-essential content can lead to a more focused and impactful narrative.
What are common mistakes to avoid when writing a longer novel?
Avoid overloading your novel with excessive descriptions, lengthy exposition, or tangential subplots that detract from the main storyline. Maintain a balance between detail and pacing to keep readers engaged from beginning to end.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.