Valiant Writers: Stay in the Chair

Many newbie writers (and even more frustrated writers) want to know: How long does it take to write a novel?

The answers vary, depending upon which author you ask. But one answer is universal, and I’ve repeated it often as of late: Writing a novel will take as long as it takes.

And sometimes, the result won’t go any further than your laptop. Kinda depressing to think about, huh? I’m having to face this possibility every time I sit down to edit and rewrite and further edit my current WIP that is going on 2 ¾ years now. My one claim to “I finally made it as an author” fame will be three years old in October, which leaves me with a heavy question: Have I failed as a writer?

This answer, too, varies. If I listen to the publishing and writing world, yes, I am a failure. To make a sustainable career out of writing novels, I need to produce more books, with each book producing more followers and fans, and thus producing more sales (hopefully). Taking three or more years to write each novel is not the way—we’re told—to achieve that career.

If, however, I listen to Someone who knows me better than I do, who knows how He wants to form me, where He wants to bring me, what He wants to teach me along the way, then no, I’m not a failure. His plans and hopes and dreams for us often look much different than what society tells us.

I spent my early years as a writer bopping from one half-finished manuscript to another to another, until finally I settled on one story that fueled me with enough passion that I worked on it for over seven years. After completing it, I queried several agents, but to this day, the manuscript resides in a file, on a memory key, unpublished. At the time, it hurt to think about all those years, energies, and efforts I had “wasted” pouring into a story that nobody else would read. But I knew it was time to stop working on it because I had stopped caring about my main characters. I had stopped caring about their story and the theme. It wasn’t until after I shelved it that I realized the manuscript was a stepping stone, meant to teach me about the writing craft in a way no book on the craft could. We learn by doing, right?

So, I took the lessons I’d learned about writing and funneled them into a new story. A fresh story. One that, coupled with some timely lessons from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), grew into my debut novel.

But my learning days weren’t over. During my attempts to write the sequel, I’ve had new lessons thrown at me. At least I now know enough to know I’ll never know it all. 😉 I’ll always be a student. Is it time, then, to shelve this WIP and work on a new one? Not yet. Because I still feel strongly about my characters and their story. I still feel strongly about my theme. I still get giddy when I think about how the story ends. And because every time I want to give up and I pour my frustrations out to God, demanding, “Why is this so dang hard for me?!”, He walks me back from the Pity Party ledge and infuses me with a new idea about whatever scene or plot hole has me stumped, and I get back in the chair.

How long does it take to write a novel?

As long as it takes.

So, get back in the chair. Until you quit caring about your characters or their story or your theme, stay in the chair. You might need some rope to tie you down. You might need a well-placed threat. You might need to corral some cheerleaders to give you an emotional injection once in a while (okay, maybe every other day), but stay in that chair. By grit. By determination. By resolution. Despite the inner critic, in spite of the negative thoughts, undeterred by depression (all three of which I’ve dealt with and still deal with, to a degree).

And if you’ve given it your all, but the WIP still doesn’t go anywhere; if you’ve given it your all, and God says, “That’s enough”; if you’ve given it your all, and you realize, “This is enough. I want to do something else,” THEN you can get up from that chair. No failure. No judgments. No guilt. Simply new lessons learned.

How long does it take to write a novel?

That’s for you to decide. 🙂