How To Build Your Novel: Step 5, Start framing, move on from beginning
So you’ve started your novel. Congrats! The foundation is laid, and the first chapters are taking shape. Now comes what might be the hardest part for discovery writers (and even those using outlines): continuing.
I’d say a lot of writers have a crisis once they’ve got a beginning and start moving toward or into the middle of a novel.
This is where many novels die. Not because the ideas aren’t good, but because the middle is hard for every writer. Some writers, especially less experienced ones, think what they need to do is go back to the beginning and revise. WARNING, THIS CAN BE FATAL. These writers often get stuck in an endless loop of rewriting the first chapters instead of moving forward. Think Groundhog Day for writers.
Let’s be clear: momentum is everything for discovery writers.
Every single day you write, you have two choices—move forward or circle back. Moving forward builds your novel. Circling back often kills it. (Again, this is a rule that can be broken once you know what works for you, but I would be wary of circling back, especially if you’re an inexperienced writer. The way is fraught with dangers.)
So let me make the argument for pushing forward. When you’re discovery writing, you don’t yet know what your story is truly about. Each new scene you write teaches you something about your characters, your world, your conflicts. If you keep revising the beginning, you’re working with incomplete information. You’re trying to perfect a foundation for a building whose final shape you don’t yet know.
Clearly, this is risky and likely counterproductive. And, as previously mentioned, fraught with peril.
So how do you maintain that crucial forward momentum? Here are some potential strategies.
Low Expectations. Anne Lamott famously coined the term “shitty first draft,”. Most writers write a crappy first draft. Give yourself permission to write badly. Perfectionism is the enemy of discovery. Your only job in draft one is to get the story out, mess and all. You’ll fix it later. So yes, for the first draft think low expectations! [I can’t overemphasize the importance of reverse engineering for discovery writers. More on this later, but it is just one more reason to keep writing. Reverse engineering works best when you have a draft done and an idea, however rough, of your entire story.]
The Note-and-Move-On Method: When you realize something earlier needs changing—maybe a character’s motivation or a plot point—don’t go back to fix it. Instead, make a quick note (I use bold text inside brackets like [FIX: Sarah needs to know about the key before this scene]) and keep writing as if you’ve already made that change. Your future self will handle it during revision.
The Daily Target: Set a word count or time goal for each writing session and stick to it. I like to write around 2,000-3,000 words a day. In later drafts, I might get even more because I’m revising rather than writing something new. This can take me between 2-4 hours. If you’re a new writer, think more along the lines of 500 words a day. Pick what works for you. If you write 500 words a day almost every day, you have a draft in less than six months. If you write 1000 words a day, you'll have a draft in 2-3 months.
The Placeholder Technique: When you hit a scene you don’t know how to write yet—maybe it requires research or you’re just not sure what happens—insert a placeholder. Something like [SCENE: Karen confronts her boss about the missing files]. Then skip it and continue with the next scene you do feel ready to write. If more comes to you about the scene, add it as you move forward. If not, wait until draft two. Also, I use the same technique for notes to myself about something I need to work in or something I need to reveal later or whatever. This note strategy helps keep me engaged and thinking about the connections in a story.
The “What If?” Escape Hatch: When you’re truly stuck, ask yourself, “What’s the most interesting thing that could happen right now?” Not the most logical or the most expected—the most interesting. Then write that. Discovery writing is about following energy, not logic. You can make it logical later. REALLY. Even if you don’t know how you’re going to make something work, you can often find a way. Typically, if you’re like me, you’ll keep thinking about solving a plot problem and eventually something will come to you. Usually when you’re taking a shower or bath or walking the dogs or driving or in bed and can’t sleep (possibly because that damn problem is keeping you awake).
The No-Rereading Rule: This one is for the perfectionist. Don’t reread if you’re going to be tempted into rewriting. There are people who rewrite their first chapter again and again and again. Maybe it becomes a very good first chapter after weeks or months, BUT the writer who does this seldom moves on to chapters 2,3,4, let alone chapters 20, etc.
The “Sketching” Approach: When you’re uncertain about a scene but know you need something there, write it in “sketch” form—bare-bones action and dialogue without detail or polish. Getting the scene’s skeleton down lets you move forward, and you can flesh it out during revision.
The hardest part about discovery writing is trusting that your subconscious knows where it’s going even when your conscious mind doesn’t. There will be days when you feel completely lost in your own story. That’s normal. Use the sketch approach or the placeholder.
Then there’s the dreaded middle of the novel where discovery writers earn their stripes. Without an outline, you will hit points where you have no idea what happens next. You will be tempted to go back to the beginning and start over with a “better idea.” Resist this with every fiber of your being.
What To Do When You’re Stuck.
When working on some novels, I’ll come to a point, say about page 150 ,where I’m convinced I've written myself into a corner. Nothing makes sense. The plot seems unsalvageable. I considered trashing the whole manuscript. Instead, I force myself to write one more scene. Then another. And another. By page 200, I’ve discovered a thread that ties everything together in a way I never could have planned. But I would never have found it if I’d gone back to page one. This doesn’t happen every time I write a novel (thank God) but it has happened several times.
What about the days when you sit down and absolutely nothing comes? We all have them. On those days, give yourself a ridiculously small goal. Write one paragraph. One sentence, even. Often, that’s enough to prime the pump. If not, try writing a scene you know happens later in the book. The key is to write something that moves the story forward, even if it’s not always a chronological scene.
Remember this: your first draft has one primary job—to exist.
That’s it. It doesn’t need to be good. It just needs to be complete. Once you have a full draft, especially a first draft with an ENDING, no matter how rough, you have something real to work with. You can’t revise what isn’t written.
So, frame your novel one scene at a time. Keep moving forward. Trust that the structure will emerge, even if you can’t see it yet. And remember that every successful novelist has felt the way you may feel at some point in your novel writing—lost, uncertain, doubtful. The difference between success and failure? The success kept writing.
That’s what separates the novelists from the dreamers who would love to write a novel some day. Not talent. Not inspiration. Just the simple, stubborn act of moving forward, one word after another, until you reach the end.
The view is worth it once you get there. If you do get there, celebrate yourself. You have done something 95% of those who talk about writing a novel never do. You’ve written a first draft from beginning to end. Congratulations!
