3 signs you're writing a novel readers will love

Also: your first draft will be shitty, and that's perfectly okay.

When you decide to start writing a novel, most likely you did some research online into best practices.

You learned about outlines, character sheets, and different worldbuilding techniques. Maybe you created a Scrivener file for your novel and started filling in the Research section.

You probably mapped out your week and blocked out time that you would devote to writing. You told your friends and family that you’re starting to write a novel, and asked people to check in with you after a couple weeks to see how things were going.

You filled out a 5-page character biography about your protagonist, determining her eye color, favorite ice cream, and childhood wound. You spent several hours thinking about the magic system in your novel and started writing a history of the world so you could explain why your protagonist has magical powers but her best friend doesn’t (it has to do with family lineage, of course).

And then finally, after hours of prep, listening to fifteen different writing podcasts for motivation and inspiration, and scrolling through countless Facebook groups for writers, you’re ready to start writing your novel.

You sit down at your computer or your notebook and start the first chapter. The words are coming out somewhat easily, though you don’t like all the phrasing you’re using. You’ll fix that later.

You get a good chunk of words written on the first day, and even the second day. You think you’re making progress, and you decide to read over what you’ve written to make sure it hasn’t veered off too much from the outline.

And then when you read over the first two chapters, you stop in your tracks, because this is actually…pretty shitty?

But you did all this prep work! How did it end up so bad? Your protagonist is a jerk, your world sounds like a carbon copy of Hogwarts, and nothing has happened in the first two chapters. You may as well throw out the manuscript and start over.

I beg of you, please don’t do that! What’s happened is that you’ve come up against hte first hurdle that all writers face in their writing journey: your first draft is shitty. It’s nothing like the books on your bookshelf, and you’re convinced that you are a hack with no business trying to write a novel.

Of course, what you don’t realize is that all first drafts are shitty. (There are a select few in the world for whom this isn’t the case, but let’s not worry about them.)

No amount of prep work ahead of time is going to change how shitty your first draft is. You need to get to The End, then let your inner editor come out and fix that first draft. But without a frist draft to fix, you’ll never end up with a polished book that readers will love.

When you start writing your novel, it can be hard to know exactly what you need to write something that readers will love.

Is your outline detailed enough? Do you know enough about your main character to make them interesting? Is your story world engaging, or will it be confusing to people?

Those details are important to figure out, but often they can get in the way of making progress in your novel because you’re so focused on doing things the “right” way. 

But actually, there are simple signs you can look for to help make sure you’re on track with writing a novel that readers will love.

1. You’ve got a main character with a clear goal and a clear conflict standing in their way.

2. There’s a clear cause-and-effect trajectory that will keep the reader moving along to the end.

3. You’re writing what you love to read.

And honestly, the third point is the most important—if you love what you’re writing, others will love it, too. 

It may take some editing and revising to strengthen the story, but that can all come later. 

Your goal with the first draft is to have a main character with a clear goal and conflict standing in their way, scenes that cause the next one to occur so the reader is carried along through the story, and to end up with something you loved as you were writing—your passion for the story will translate over to your readers.

Even if you read a craft book that said you need a detailed biography of your main character before you can finish your novel—some people find value in taking detailed notes about their characters before they write, but if you’re spending all your time planning and not actually writing, then that isn’t a tip you should follow. Your goal should always be to keep writing forward in your novel. Accept that it will be messy, and focus on getting to The End.

In 1:1 coaching, I’ll help you see the signs that you’re writing a novel that readers will love so that you can finish your novel with confidence. Book a consultation call to learn more.