Another Way To Fail At Writing A Novel
Another surefire way to fail at writing a novel is to convince yourself that your first draft must be perfect. Agonize over every sentence, every word choice, every comma. Rewrite each paragraph a dozen times before moving on to the next one. If a scene isn’t flawless, delete the whole thing and start over. After all, if your first draft isn’t a masterpiece, what’s the point?
While you’re at it, make sure to compare your fledgling work-in-progress to the polished, published novels of your favorite authors. Clearly, if your rough draft doesn’t measure up to their final versions of novels you love, you must be a talentless hack. Might as well give up now and save yourself the embarrassment of finishing a subpar book.
Oh, and don’t even think about asking for feedback or support. Writing is a solitary endeavor, and if you can’t do it all on your own, you’re obviously not cut out for this. Critique groups? Beta readers? Writing communities? Pshaw! Those are for people who actually stand a chance of succeeding. You’re here to fail, remember?
Lastly, if by some miracle you do manage to complete a first draft, be sure to stuff it in a drawer and never look at it again. Revisions are for the weak. If your book isn’t perfect the first time around, it never will be. Better to let it molder in obscurity than to put in the hard work of polishing it up.
There you have it, folks.
OR you could follow this one simple piece of advice: I RECOMMEND LOW EXPECTATIONS. Know that your first draft will suck, like almost everyone else’s does, and write it anyway. Get it on paper. Then revise and revise until you make it the best you can and let it go and move on to the next project.
