Why You Can’t Finish a Novel

If you’ve been trying for years to complete just one draft of a novel, imposter syndrome has likely set in by now. Writers all around you are talking about revisions and second drafts and you’re sitting in a corner with a half a dozen first drafts, none of them actually finished. It’s not uncommon to start wondering, “Am I really a writer?”

The first thing you need to hear is this: You can finish a novel. You just haven’t yet.

Let’s talk about why so we can start working on getting past it.

The Joy is Crumbling

Those who become writers are often inspired to do so because they read something that sparked joy in their soul. Most writers fall in love with story before they even write their first sentence. The emotional rollercoaster, the unexpected twists and turns, the excitement to read “just one more chapter.” For writers, the love of story morphs into the desire to create it.

It’s born out of joy. And with joy comes the feeling that we can do anything. We have no reference point for the journey ahead, so we view it through a rose-colored lens. There’s this naive perception that it’s going to be fun and fulfilling and easy. And it can be. But it’s not only those things.

Many writers can last for years before the reality check sets in. They may write short stories or dabble in a few different novels, but the lack of completion doesn’t bother them because it’s new! They fall back on their inexperience and remind themselves that it’s okay to experiment when you’re learning.

But over time, the writer’s joy starts to crumble. They’ve put in the time, the practice, the dedication…and something just isn’t working. By now, surely I should have finished something right? What’s wrong with me?

Those self doubts kill your joy, and they become the first hurdle standing in your way of ever finishing. And now you’re feeling pressure to just get it done so you can finally feel like a writer. That’s hurdle number two.

Self doubt + pressure = mental burnout.

Worse, there are more hurdles yet to come.

Your Inner Editor Has Emerged

If you’ve been struggling to finish a novel, you might have concluded at some point that it was time to ask for help. That was definitely a good move, but it comes with a lot of conflicting emotions.

On the surface, you might feel anxious and terrified that it’s no good, but there’s a small part of you buried deep that fantasizes about a glowing review and endless praise. And the truth is until we get that feedback, we can pretend it’s the latter as long as we want. Once the feedback is in, that perfect picture we built up will be shattered by even the mildest of criticism.

It’s a moment of growth in your journey as a writer, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. Your perfect story is no longer perfect. You now have concrete evidence of it.

The good news is that critique (assuming it’s constructive and well-intentioned) can help you learn how to self edit so you can get better. The bad news is that it also teaches you to be critical of your own work. In other words: the birth of your inner editor.

Now anytime you write something, a voice in the back of your head is constantly intruding, reminding you of all the potential mistakes you might be making, whether the reminders are valid or not. Because your brain has now decided that if you can anticipate all possible flaws, you can fix them. And if you fix them, no one can ever say it’s bad, and you’ll never have your perfect vision shattered again.

It sounds logical, but we all know that’s illogical, right? Because stories are subjective, and it is impossible to not only anticipate but to fix every problem every reader will ever have with it. But our brains don’t always take that context into consideration when learned behaviors like this form.

Nevertheless, that inner editor’s constant intrusion is exhausting, and it starts to generate resistance to even sit down to write at all.

Hurdle number three has officially arrived.

The More You Try, the Harder It Gets

Our brains are wired for survival. When you fear something, it’s because there is a conscious or subconscious perception that whatever this thing is will hurt you. These perceptions can be learned by first-hand experience or observation. Either way, the fear is designed to protect you. Don’t do this; it will hurt you.

The more times you start and stop a novel, the more your brain starts to learn that this process is hurting you. Why? Because each time it happens, you get discouraged. You feel like an imposter. You feel insecure. Your brain wants to protect you from those feelings, so it produces this fear of trying.

Enter hurdle number four.

Compared to the others, this hurdle is actually probably the easiest to jump over. The problem is that if you can’t get over the other hurdles, you still won’t finish. And that fear of trying again only latches on harder.

How You Overcome It

There are tangible strategies that can help you develop the discipline you need to finish a novel. You’ll find tons of advice on this all over the internet. Those tips can help you, but not if you don’t understand where the problem comes from.

Awareness is the first step to overcoming something.

If you’ve read this far, you’ve already taken a giant leap towards conquering this issue. Because by now, hopefully you understand that the way we feel has nothing to do with our worth as a person. In this case, your self doubt, the internal pressure, the inner editor, the fear…none of that makes you any less of a writer. These are all just feelings that have been born out of experience.

Don’t resist these feelings and don’t get mad at them. They’re trying to help you in their own well-intentioned way. But these feelings are often short-sighted, and they can’t see beyond the short term. They don’t understand that some discomfort now can create more happiness down the road. So you have to remind those feelings of that.

Whenever you notice one of these hurdles preventing you from moving forward, stop and say to it: “I understand where you’re coming from, but trust me. This is going to work.”

Not only have you addressed where that negative feeling is coming from, you’ve articulated your own confidence. You may not fully believe it yet, but verbalizing it or thinking it gets you one step closer.

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It’s easier said than done to work through these types of roadblocks, and sometimes you can’t do it alone. These are the exact types of problems I can help with through my writer coaching service. I offer free consultations and one-time 30-minute sessions for $40 and 60-minute sessions for $70 plus a sample review of your writing. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.