You know the one.
The idea that’s been rattling around your head for months, maybe years. The characters who occasionally show up when you’re doing the dishes. The plot twist you thought of at 2am that still gives you chills. You’ve told friends you’re thinking about writing a book. You may have even opened a Word document and written “Chapter One” before quietly backing away like it might bite.
Here’s the good news: you’re not lazy, broken, or secretly uncreative.
You’re just stuck at the hardest part: starting.
Let’s fix that.
1. Start Ugly. Stay Honest.
One of the biggest traps new writers fall into is the myth of the perfect first line. The idea that if you can just write a knockout opening, the rest will flow.
Spoiler: it won’t. And it doesn’t need to.
Start writing anyway. Badly if necessary. Sloppy, clunky, unpublishable? Great. Because once something’s on the page, you’ve got clay to shape. No one carves a statue out of thin air.
Give yourself permission to write the kind of first draft that never sees daylight. It’s not supposed to be good. It’s supposed to exist.
2. Define “Finished” — Your Way
Not everyone wants to write a 100,000-word epic with three timelines and a dragon rebellion. Your novel doesn’t need to be the next Booker Prize winner or Netflix adaptation. It just needs to be done by your definition.
That might mean:
- 50,000 words and a beginning, middle, and end
- A complete draft, no matter how messy
- A short novel or novella that tells the story you want to tell
The key is to give yourself a clear, realistic target. If “write a novel” feels overwhelming, try:
“I want to write a complete story between 30,000–50,000 words that I can edit later.”
Clarity beats ambition every time.
3. Don’t Wait for Time — Make It Small
“I just need a few free weekends to really get into it.”
No, you don’t. Those weekends rarely come — and when they do, you’ll want to nap or watch something with dragons.
What you need is 15–30 minutes a day, consistently. That’s enough to build momentum. That’s enough to form a habit. And that’s definitely enough to start hearing your characters again.
Set a time, stick to it, and treat it like brushing your teeth. Maybe even literally pair it with brushing your teeth — one, then the other. (Not at the same time. That’s weird.)
4. Planning vs. Pantsing? Just Pick a Direction
If you’re a planner, sketch out your structure, plot points, or character arcs. If you’re a pantser (a seat-of-the-pants writer), just write the scene that’s loudest in your head. The trick is not to get paralysed by labels.
Try asking:
- Who is my main character, and what do they want?
- What gets in their way?
- What’s something that could go very wrong?
You don’t need all the answers — just enough to walk into the fog and find the next step. And if you’re somewhere in the middle? You’re in good company.
5. Use Tools That Work for You — Not Against You
Don’t get caught up in choosing between Scrivener, Word, Notion, or carving scenes into driftwood. Use what feels natural. And if you need help organising your chapters, characters, and plot ideas, I’ve built a free planning dashboard just for that. (Yes, shameless plug — but a useful one.)
You can start writing in it right now, set goals, and even drag scenes around once the story takes shape. No pressure, but it might help clear the mental clutter.
6. Ignore the Voice That Says You Can’t
That voice will tell you:
- “It’s been done.”
- “You’re not a real writer.”
- “You’ll never finish.”
That voice is afraid — of failing, of succeeding, of change. But you’re not writing for that voice. You’re writing for the part of you that gets excited when your main character makes a terrible decision. The part that feels something when a sentence clicks. The part that keeps imagining a story even when you try not to.
Final Thought: Start Messy, Start Small, Just Start
You don’t have to know how it ends. You don’t need to believe you’re good enough.
You just need to start. And today is as good as any day.
Because in a year, you could still be saying, “I’ve always wanted to write a novel…”
Or you could be editing the one you finally wrote.
