Write Your Novel This Year
Nail the daily writing habit and keep on going
You want to write that novel you have been thinking about and talking about for years? Forget the fancy tricks and tools. Don’t buy a new computer, tablet, or notebook. That is, to use a very old cliche, putting the cart before the horse. (One more thing, don’t use old cliches.)
There is only one thing you must do. You must write. Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables, knew how to do it:
“When Lucy Maud Montgomery sat down to start writing “Anne of Green Gables” in 1905, the P.E.I. author had to dip her pen in a bottle of ink every few lines, said author Carolyn Strom Collins.
“She worked in odd moments and perhaps late into the night,” said Strom Collins, also a scholar, from South Carolina.”
1,000 words a day
At the beginning of 2019, my goal was to stop being precious about writing fiction and develop a daily habit. Here are the steps I took:
- Box up all the scribblers, notebooks, loose-leaf paper scattered around the house.
- Place the box near my desk.
- Set a daily word goal of 1,000 words.
- Choose a time that would not and could not be disturbed: 8 am
