How I Wrote a Novel, While Working Full Time

It was not easy, but you can do it too

cover of my book

This week, I achieved a goal I had almost come to believe an impossibility. I published my first novel.

I did this while working a steady full-time job, of forty hour work weeks. The key to successful completion of the task, was hard work, and consistency. If you’ve been wondering how you too can write a novel when you just don’t seem to have time to focus on something so complex, allow me to give you a couple pointers on just how to go about it.

First, have a good idea. If you don’t have a good idea, think of one. This is completely subjective of course. Most people believe they have a good idea for a book already. You’ll find this out if you ever write one and tell people about it. Within five seconds, they’ll say, “I have a pretty good idea for a book, too. Just never had the time to write it down.” Whelp, here’s the hard truth: No normal person HAS the time to write a book. They MAKE the time. So, make time to write that idea down.

For me, I allowed my idea to ferment in my head for about a year. I stewed on it. I ruminated. I pondered. I visualized certain scenes over and over. I did this until the idea was so large and so vivid in my mind, it was either going to come to life, or it was going to die. Personally, I’ve had several great ideas for books over the years. Most of them died. This time, when November came around, and I saw people making their declarations for NaNoWriMo, I said to myself, time to either shit, or get off the pot. I sat down, and I got to shitting.

There are different opinions on this, but I think it’s only logical to draft a rudimentary outline of your story idea. Take that idea that you’ve been stewing on for months, and flesh it out some. Map out the basic plot structure, the characters, and scenes you wish to see. This way you’re not flying blindly. The blank page can be a very intimidating foe. If you approach it with no tangible point of entry, you may find that the emptiness of that open white space blocks you. So, know at least two things going in: know where you want to begin, and know where you want to end. These things can change over the course of your progress, but at least coming to the project with an idea of them gives you the ability to…