How Long?

My first attempt at writing a novel was abandoned at about 60,000 words. It turned out it just wasn't a novel.....more an exercise in applying backside to chair and fingers to keyboard.

My second attempt was derived from the first inasmuch as the setting was the same. It took about a year and a half from start to a complete first draft. Then there was another six months of editing. And then another nine months of further edits. Cripes! I could've had another 3 children in that time. It's been through four full drafts in that time. Plenty of people do more....

My third attempt, which is what will be my second novel, is progressing much faster and I should have a first draft by Christmas. Partly this is because it's been easier to plot (or I've got better at it) and partly it's because I'm not juggling it with a Masters.

It's all very personal. I pushed on with my second attempt even when it felt hopeless but somewhere inside I knew it was a runner. I didn't get that feeling with the first.

Carmelita, I said this somewhere else earlier: writing is hard graft. It takes persistence to conquer the self-doubt that likes to rear its head all too often. You have to have faith in your craft, and it helps if you have strong emotions about your characters (love or hate, it doesn't matter; you've just got to have a sense of them as real people).

I've been rewriting a novel that I wrote ten years ago. Granted, I've had time off for a shoulder injury (caused by too much mouse-work followed by knitting!) which has taken 15 months of physio, but what I thought would take a quick tweak and a fast turnaround has taken all of those 15 months and more. The end result is far better than the original, so I think the effort put in is worth it.

Rewriting and editing are at least 80% of the process. Somewhere in the middle of that process you are going to have a real slump in interest, confidence and belief. The end seems to move further away the more you do, and that is soul-destroying. But if you hang in there - maybe take a break and write something else (important to keep writing) - you will see your way forward.

If you can't see what's niggling you, why not put a section of it on the Shared Work section here and see what people think?

There's a reason why we all have a drawer-full of false starts; and the chances are, amongst that collection there will be at least one piece that merits further attention. It's just having the distance to be able to see it.

Another thing you can do is to sit down and read your WIP in one sitting. You usually work on it piecemeal, and this whole-novel approach really does help you to see the progress of the story, and where/if it falls down. Read with a red pen in your hand - you may spot points to revisit, and you'll never remember them afterwards.

If, after reading it that way, you decide it really isn't worth continuing, you have your answer. On the other hand, if you realise that in parts it's the best thing you've ever read (let's not be modest here!) while in others it's tripe, then you know you've got the spark, and you can work on it.

As to how long it takes to write a novel - how long is a piece of string? Everyone is different.

Keep writing, and good luck!

Hi Carmelita,

I don't think there's a right answer to any of these questions. As I haven't yet finished a novel I can't answer the first, but I have given up on one, so I'm at least able to answer the second.

Before I do, I just have to say that this is a huge learning process, not just for me, but for anyone who undertakes it. I'm not sure how many novels you have to write until you master the craft, or if it's at all possible to master the craft (10,000 hours according to Malcolm Gladwell, but I don't know if that rule is applicable to novel writing), but as far as I can tell, this is a never ending learning curve that probably only starts to flatten off after many years of writing. But that's a needless digression: I'm bored and looking for distraction as I wile away the last few days in my current job!

My first attempt at a full novel was a kid's book (aimed at 8 - 10 year olds, about a girl who found a pair of shoes that allowed her to travel through time - inspired by my then 10 year old step daughter). That book evolved into a very different book as I stumbled upon an idea that was irresistible and much more exciting to my highly fickle mind. In turn, that book was abandoned when I accepted the unavoidable realisation that the characters were flat and lifeless, bereft of soul and personality and riddled with cliches. On top of that was the fact that the story lacked clear structure and seemed only to meander slightly vaguely through a series of events that didn't amount to much at all. I made this realisation after 50,000 words and about 6 months of writing. I might go back to it again, but a new story has taken over my mind and I'm trying my best not to become too impatient and lose faith with it.

If you're enjoying the process and you think the story is worth pursuing then don't give up. It may take you years, or you may have only a few months left, but only you can know if you are able to finish it. Perhaps you should put it aside for a while and work on something else, you might find that you'll return to it with renewed enthusiasm that you had lost along the way.

There seems to be a common theme of novelists losing confidence in their stories. As hard as it may seem, you need to accept that this is normal and try your best to work through it, even if that means taking a break and returning to it at a later date. There's no answer to how long it takes to write a novel, but you will know if your idea is worth pursing or if there's something else pressing at your finger tips that you'd rather put your efforts into instead. Everything you've done so far will count towards everything you do; even if only to tell you what to do differently next time.

Sorry for going on... I may have mentioned that I'm bored!

Mark.