The one thing I wish everyone knew about writing a novel
Here’s the thing I wish every writer knew — especially those just starting out, or those in the middle of a project, stuck and circling, desperate for clarity:
Most of the answers you’re looking for aren’t somewhere out there — they’re in the writing itself.
I know this might sound frustrating, even maddening, but bear with me.
When you’re unsure how to move forward with your writing, the instinct is to reach for certainty. A clear plan. The right answer. We humans tend to like those things. They make us feel safe.
Many writers have brilliant ideas and excellent writing skills, but are blocked or struggling because they’re trying to figure it all out first.
They want to know stuff like:
Where’s this story going?
What’s the right point of view to use?
Should this be present tense or past?
How do I deepen this character?
What happens in the next chapter?
All crucial questions. And I do believe that we need some clarity and direction in order to make a start – I’m a ‘planner’, after all. But here’s what I’ve learned — through writing multiple books, and guiding many others to write theirs:
You don’t find all the answers before you write.
You find them by writing.
Not sure which character’s voice is right for this scene? Try out the options.
Can’t decide if your novel works better in past or present tense? Try both and see what feels most natural or exciting to you.
Unsure what a character would do next, or how a subplot should unfold? Don’t wait until you know — dive into the uncertainty and see what emerges.
Try This: Treat your writing like a series of experiments. Low-stakes, playful and private.
This approach can feel counterintuitive at first, but good writing often starts with questions, experiments, trial and error. Yes, we need to make some basic technical decisions (POV, tense, narrative voice etc.) but those aren’t set in stone. You’re allowed to write things that don’t work. You’re allowed to scrap whole chapters. That doesn’t mean you’ve wasted time — it means you’re doing the essential exploratory work. It doesn’t need to be polished. It doesn’t even need to be good. It just needs to exist.
This is where real progress happens. Not in thinking endlessly about your book (but not actually writing it), or planning it to death, or Googling whether third person limited is better than first person present. The answers you need will come from the doing.
When you give yourself permission to stop needing all the answers first, you loosen the grip of perfectionism. You make space for discovery.
And here’s what often happens next — maybe not immediately, but soon:
A line surprises you.
A character says something you didn’t plan.
A solution comes to you while chopping onions or driving to work.
You sit down to write and suddenly know exactly what comes next.
This is your subconscious at work. This is creative magic doing its thing. But it only happens when you’re engaged in the process. When you’re showing up — not just thinking about the book but actually writing it, getting to know your characters and bringing them to life. The only way to do that is to write them.
So, if you’re stuck right now, and you’ve been trying to think your way to a solution — I invite you to stop thinking and start writing.
If you’d like support as you take those first steps (or next steps) into your novel — if you’d like someone to help you build confidence, find that elusive clarity and direction, and connect with joyful experimentation in your writing — I can help.
You can explore my coaching services here, or book a free call to see how we might work together.
Till next time, keep scribbling!
P.S. Did you miss this?
The replay of The Inkwell Salon is now available here. Join me and our special guest Essie Fox for a frank conversation about writing, publishing and building a life as a writer. For Inkwell members only.
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I did exactly this with my current wip. Wrote the first scenes in third person. Took the dog for a walk. Came back and wrote the first scene in first person and - the difference!
Well said, it's a get-out-of-jail card for me, thanks!