What I Learned from One Month as a Novelist

This definitely wasn’t the outcome I was expecting

My month long experiment of living like a novelist has come to a close and I have learned A LOT.

I don’t want to be a full time novelist

Yeah, this surprised me too.

I like writing. I want to write my book. What I don’t want is to sit for hours at a time writing one thing, allowing my entire life to be consumed with writing the book. I do much better writing in smaller, random splits and switching between fiction and non-fiction (blog-style) writing. This goes against so much advice (e.g. focus on what’s essential! Have a routine and write for a set time every single day! You need to sacrifice all other things if you want to write!). Howeverrrrr, I don’t care what everyone else says. I’m okay with slow progress if it means I’m still able to enjoy the process rather than feeling resentment towards a project I chose (I mean, seriously, this is an optional project lol). I will write this book at my own pace and I’m not going to put a time constraint on it. Plus, I write much better when I live a little life first, when action leads to new ideas.

I have to remind myself it’s a first draft

The only way I made any progress during a writing session is if I constantly reminded myself that I’m writing a first draft and not a finished product. Otherwise, I just sat and I questioned every single thought before it went on the page. I had to remove judgement from my writing and tell myself that anything that is “bad”’ can be made better later. Also, “good” and “bad” are SUCH subjective terms!!!

Write down every random idea

I keep a notes app on my phone and any time I think of a fun word, a line of dialogue, or a possible plot point, it goes in the note. Even if I don’t use everything, there is usually some nugget of information that is the perfect fit for a part of the story.

Don’t be too attached to your ideas

If you acknowledge you are writing a first draft and you acknowledge you are writing down every idea, you also have to acknowledge that not all ideas get to stay. This is easy for the “bad” ideas. It can be tough to scrap “good” ideas though. I had the most difficult time with this when it came to my main character’s name. I was so convinced I had the perfect name and then, as I wrote, it didn’t feel right for the character, so I changed it. I hope I now have the perfect name, but I’m trying not to get too attached in case I have to change it again.

The best strategy is the one you follow

Many people have said it and I’m going to say it again: The best way to write is one word at a time. You can try every single strategy in the book, but at some point you have to admit that you’re procrastinating. Just write.

My favorite part of the month was writing for Substack

While I did enjoy moving my novel from my head onto paper, and reacted giddily when I found a perfect plot point, I felt most connected to the writing I’m doing here. I’m sure there are a number of reasons for this (I’ve made a commitment to posting every Tuesday so it feels more serious, I’m writing about lived experience rather than inventing a story, so it feels easier to write, I’m writing as me rather than as different characters, I have a more immediate finished product rather than bits and pieces of a story, etc.), but the reasons are ultimately irrelevant. What matters is what brings me joy. My feelings toward this column for the month of February have encouraged me to keep going with this plan of choosing a new lifestyle each month and writing about the process. I will continue to work on my novel, but I’m not going to obsess.

This brings me to my next point…

March will be the month of living as a “Travel Writer”

!!!! Wait wait wait, give me a chance here. I shall explain:

I know it might seem redundant to pick another writing lifestyle (I promise I will throw in some variety in the upcoming months), but I loveee travel and food and my last vacation really solidified that I would very much enjoy writing about my experiences. I don’t want this to be simply “I went here, you should check it out.” I want to write about why travel evokes such emotion and why I don’t see travel as just something to flaunt as a status symbol. I want travel stories.

What is going to be tricky is how to accomplish “being a travel writer” and “writing about learning how to be a travel writer.” I have two ideas on how to accomplish this:

Option 1: Keep Tuesdays as the days I write about what I’m learning, keep Fridays as the random Flutter Report, and add in a third day where I post a travel article

Option 2: Keep Tuesdays and Fridays the same, use Notes to write shorter bits about travel, and at the end of the month post a “magazine” with my travel stories

I’m leaning toward option 2, but I’ll admit that is a much larger commitment. This first week I will use to research and I’ll let you know next week what I officially decide.