If Not Now, When?

3 Steps to Start Writing Your Novel Now

Last week, I listened to Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis. I’m trying to use my time in the car or doing chores around the house to listen to audio books more, and though I can’t get into fiction audio books, nonfiction works for me. It’s an inspiring read, and I definitely recommend it. As a writer herself, I found most, if not all, of her advice in the book related to writing.

One of the parts that stuck out to me most was when she was talking about working towards our goals and asked the question, “If not now, when?” It’s such a simple question, but such a profound one. If now isn’t the time to pursue our goals, then when will be the time?

I hear from a lot of people who dream of someday writing a book that “now just isn’t the right time.” Work is demanding, their kids are young, their parents need to be cared for, their husband just had surgery…the lists go on and on. And I get it, some seasons of our lives are busier and more chaotic than others. But the problem with putting off chasing after your dreams until the timing feels right is that the timing likely won’t ever feel exactly right. There will always be something that could take our attention away from writing. We’ll always feel like there’s more we could learn to prepare for actually writing a book. There will rarely, if ever, be a time when the stars completely align and the timing is just right.

But here’s the thing, the time is going to pass whether you’re writing or not. Will there be periods in your life when you’re able to write more often and easier? Absolutely. But just because you might be in a phase of life where you’re only able to make slow progress towards your writing goal doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue it at all. Slow and steady progress is still progress. And even if a year from now you only have a quarter of a manuscript written, that’s a quarter more than you have right now.

So, how do you get started writing your book now?

1. Be Honest With Yourself

The problem with excuses is they don’t usually feel like excuses when we’re giving them. “The dog ate my homework” is an excuse. Having two young kids, a full-time job, and no energy left to spare is a fact. And this is why it’s easy for us to get caught up in believing we have no time to write. Because the reasons we give for not being able to are valid. That’s right. I’m not here to tell you your reasons aren’t true or even genuine roadblocks to writing. But, at the end of the day, roadblocks aren’t the same as the road being completely closed. There are ways around the roadblocks if we get creative and are willing to be persistent.

Countless authors have written books with young children pulling at their arm. Thousands of books have been written in the morning hours before day jobs begin. While I don’t have hard and fast data, I’d imagine most books are written in the space between other obligations rather than by writers who have the luxury of sitting home eight hours a day and typing out prose. If there’s a will, there’s a way. But the first step to finding your will is to be honest about what you’re really capable of and what you might be using as an excuse to not write.

Writing a book is a daunting goal for many. It’s a huge goal that many dream of achieving, and while it sounds like a fun, creative task, it can also feel incredibly scary. The what-ifs start running through our minds: what if I’m not a good writer? What if people laugh at me? What if I share my writing with someone and they tear it apart? There are so many what-ifs that it’s often easier to tell ourselves we don’t have the time right now to write a book than to face potential criticism by attempting a task we might “fail” at.

So, the first step is to be honest with yourself about the reasons you’re giving for not being able to write a book at the moment. Is there more beneath the surface that you’re not acknowledging? Is the real answer “I can’t write because I’m busy being a stay-at-home mom to my three children…but also, what if no one likes my book?” It’s challenging to be this honest with ourselves, for sure. But if we can be honest about what’s really stopping us from writing, then we can take steps to get past those roadblocks.

2. Accept That It Might Take Longer Than You’d Like

Our society today is very focused on immediate results. We want the diet that works the fastest, the quickest way to pay off our debt, the fastest way to the career of our dreams. But the truth is, good things take time. Writing a book requires not only the time to actually write the words and then revise the words (over and over), but it also requires time dedicated to learning. We need to learn about writing craft and what makes a good story that works, and if our goal is to publish, we need to learn about publication options and what each one entails. It takes time even if there’s nothing else we need to focus on.

So, add in some of the challenges people often give for not being able to write a book right now, and it’s going to take even longer. But, as I said before, the time is going to pass anyways. A year from now, we’ll still be a year from now. Whether you spent that time writing a book or not, the time will be gone. You may wish you could write a book in six months and have it published in a year, but that may not be a reasonable time frame for you right now. But maybe in one year you can write half of a manuscript and spend some extra time exploring publication options and making some decisions about which path to pursue. That’s still a lot closer to your goal than you are right this moment. If you’re willing to accept that it might take a bit longer than you’d like but you’re still making progress in the right direction, then it will be easier to view your ten-minute writing sprints that produce 150 words as progress toward your goal rather than a waste of time.

3. Utilize Resources

The best decision I ever made for my writing career was to surround myself with other writers. From the time I was a child writing stories freehand in notebooks to my mid-twenties, I didn’t know any other writers. I’d tried out some writing communities online, but none of them really clicked. I didn’t know any other writers in “real life.” None of my friends were writers. I felt like I was writing in a vacuum, unsure if I was doing it right or even how to learn more.

But then I joined the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and found an entire community of like-minded writers who were serious about their writing. There were writers at all stages, from beginner to multiply published. And they freely shared their knowledge, tips, and advice. They willingly exchanged manuscripts with me to give me feedback and so that I could see their stories and learn from what they were doing. I eagerly signed up for workshop after workshop and attended webinars. I soaked up all this knowledge, and then I sought out other writing groups and communities and learned from them as well.

Not only do writing communities offer the ability to learn about your craft, but they also offer support, encouragement, and a regular reminder that writing a book is a worthy goal and one worth fighting for the time to achieve it. If you surround yourself with people who are also working towards this goal of writing a book, you’ll be more inspired to work towards that goal as well.

Other resources that are incredibly helpful are craft books and magazines. I’ve long been a subscriber of Writer’s Digest, and not only are their articles extremely helpful, but the monthly reminder in the mail to write was the encouragement I needed before I found my online writing communities and friends. Craft books can also be useful in helping you gain the knowledge you need to write better stories.

A final resource you might consider is engaging the services of a book coach. Working with a book coach can help you with this entire process, from being honest with yourself about what’s holding you back from pursuing your writing goal now to actually getting the words down on the page and sticking with it until you write “The End” on your manuscript.

So, my question to you is this: if you’re not going to write your book now, then when will you? Writing a book is hard, there’s no question about that. But if it’s a dream you have, then it’s worth carving out the time and the energy to work towards achieving it, no matter how slow and steady you need to work. Another takeaway from Rachel Hollis’ book was this: consistency beats intensity. I believe this is especially true for writing. Creating a consistent routine that yields steady progress will bring greater results than writing in random bursts with higher word counts. Your dream of writing a book is worth fighting for, and there’s no better time to start than the present.