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What Stops You From Finishing Your Book?

By on September 5, 2019

Finishing your book isn't easy. There is nothing more frustrating than starting your book, full of excitement and expectation, only to run out of steam before you have finished. Unfortunately, this is the most common problem for writers. The number of would-be authors out there that can’t quite get their novel to the finish line is easily as many as those that do.

So what are some of the main obstacles that get in the way of writers completing their novels? Let’s take a look at some of them, and what you can do to help yourself:

Finishing your book - what gets in the way?

Writing multiple things at the same time

If you are struggling to finish your book, make sure that you aren’t trying to do too much at once. It can be tempting to try to juggle multiple writing projects at once. However, this does make it much harder to complete anything. If you can give your undivided, undiluted attention to your novel until it’s done, you have a much higher chance of successfully finishing it.

Starting without making a plan

If you want to give yourself the best chance of completing your novel, then being organized is imperative. Plan out your plot, and sketch out chapter outlines. Do your research and organise your ideas. If you do, you’ll feel much more confident that you have a good structure in place. Then all that is left to do is flesh it out.

Only writing when ‘in the mood’

While it’s nice to be able to write when you are all fired up, and feeling passionate, creative, and full of ideas, this really is a luxury. If you want to get to the finish line, you need to have a strict writing schedule and stick to it. No matter what.

Being too hard on yourself

Sometimes writers can be their own worst enemies. If you want to complete your book, you need to accept that you might not feel like the most excellent writer. You may not be sure that your story is being told in the best way. However, there is time to go back and edit, once you have gotten the first draft down, so go easy on yourself.

Editing on the go

While editing as you go can be an effective strategy for some writers, if you are failing to get your book done, you might need to ditch this technique. Instead, concentrate on finishing your novel. If you don’t, you can get too bogged down in the editing process. You may never make any progress with your book.

Striving for perfection

It’s also important to be honest with yourself. Are you being too much of a perfectionist? Try to let this go. No manuscript will ever be perfect, even when it’s gone through the entire editing process. The sooner you can let go of the idea of perfection, the more likely it will be that you’ll indeed be able to get on with finishing your story.

So there you have it. By working hard and not letting these hurdles prevent you from achieving your goals, you can ensure that you follow your dreams. You'll never give up and get that novel finally finished. If you do, we can guarantee that you’ll be so glad you did!

So now that you know what stops you from finishing your book, why not learn how to kick procrastination to the kurb!

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bethany cadman
Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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