The Writing Coach

Literary Consultancy and Coaching for Writers from Jacqui Lofthouse

The road to completion

There are times, for all writers, when the idea of completion seems like an impossible dream.  A book-length writing project is no small undertaking and completion takes determination, guts, persistence, passion, inspiration and simple hard work.

We can’t underestimate the importance of completion.  If we don’t complete our writing projects, we can’t expect publishers to show interest in what we do.  Especially in the world of fiction-writing (where it’s highly unusual for an incomplete book to be commissioned), an idea is just that – an idea.  We need to prove to publishers – and to our ourselves – that we are finishers.

Of course, completion doesn’t just mean reaching the end of a first draft.  That is a real achievement in itself – but it’s not the finish line.  It is something to be celebrated.  But it’s also a milestone, not the final destination.  When we talk about completion, what we really mean is a revised, polished manuscript which has been through at least a couple of drafts and a proofread.  Sometimes it means more than that.  My most recent novel has reached what I thought was ‘final draft’ stage on three occasions!  Only on the third ‘final draft’ – after I’d made extensive revisions based on the feedback of my agent and a novelist friend, did my agent and I agree that it really was publisher-ready.

As my own fourth novel goes out into the world – and as The Writing Coach’s new membership group The Completion Club launches on 1st June, it’s time for me to reflect on what it took to reach completion – and what I have learnt along the way – which is a lot!  Indeed, I think I’ve had a steeper learning curve with this novel than any other and I’d like to think that I can use what I’ve learnt as I move into book number five and as I work with our members as they too work towards completion.

So here are a few points I’d like to share about completion – I do hope you find some of them useful as you work on your own writing projects.

  1. If you are at the beginning of a writing project – ask yourself whether this is something that you feel deeply passionate about and committed to. Are you writing this because the story fascinates you?  Because you find the subject matter deeply intriguing?  Because you are obsessed by a particular character?  Because you have a structural idea that demands to be explored?  Or are you writing this for reasons that aren’t entirely authentic?  If you have doubts, stop and consider them thoroughly before continuing.  It’s often best to shelve a project that you aren’t deeply engaged with, rather than forcing it through to completion.  If you have doubts or lack passion, it’s going to take you a lot longer and it’s going to be difficult to keep returning to the work. When you are passionate, the blank page will draw you.
  2. Why not use the ‘Pomodoro Technique’ whereby you work with a 25-minute timer, just to get you going… You may argue that such ‘tricks’ are not conducive to serious writing, but for those who are procrastinating, they are simply triggers to get you into the work, to overcome creative block and to force you to create.  If you’re not blocked and not having trouble committing to regular writing, you’re free to skip this advice.  But if you’re not working at all, I’d say 25 minutes on your project is better than nothing at all… and often leads to a longer, more engaged writing stint.  Regular work is the only thing that will, in the end, guarantee completion.

  • Take yourself seriously as a writer.  If you don’t take yourself seriously as a writer, no-one else will.  If you are going to complete, you need to move from being someone who would like to be a writer to someone who is deeply engaged in a writing project.  Consider yourself a professional from the beginning. What does this mean?  It means that if you need to research, you book in a time to go to the library and really focus on getting that work done.  At the same time, it is important that you don’t start to use research as a procrastination tool. Separate your writing and your research times and make sure you put time in the diary for both.  Taking yourself seriously may also mean that you think about developing a web presence.  You can build an audience, even as you work on your book.  It is also vital to read widely and analytically.  Consider reading Francine Prose’s book Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them. If you establish serious habits – both in your writing and your reading – then you will not only be more confident in what you will produce, but you can be more certain that the work you produce will be of a higher standard and that you will finish it.
  • Remember that if you just keep putting one word in front of another you will finish.  There is nothing ‘magical’ about finishing.  But there is something powerful in learning that you are the kind of person who can commit to a longer work and keep going.  I remember when I worked on my first novel, I began with a short story.  I realised that the work was too complex for a short story however; it needed to be a novel and once I realised that and kept writing, I began to be empowered by the number of printed pages in my file. First it was twenty, then thirty, then one day it was fifty and I said to myself, ‘wow, if I keep going like this, I really am going to write a novel.’  In the end, that novel – though it was never published – secured me a place on the MA programme at UEA and got me my first agent.  There is a very real argument for printing up your work and keeping it together in a single file.  It looks much more impressive than a computer file and watching your work grow can encourage you to keep at it in the long run.
  • Jacqui with members of 'The Completion Club' at our recent May 2011 meeting.

    Seek support and community.  Over the years, I have found the support of fellow writers invaluable in helping me to commit to the writing life and to finish projects.  First, I had my co-students at UEA.  Then, in later years, I joined a local writing group which still meets today on a fortnightly basis, a group of six women who meet regularly to discuss our writing work.  When we began, only two of us had published fiction.  In the ten years since we have been meeting, every member of the group has gone on to publish their work in book form.  I think that says something about the doom-and-gloom statistics that are often quoted to us about the odds of getting published.  Last year, I was privileged to witness the mutual supportiveness of members of The Completion Club, an online group which I created here at The Writing Coach.  Each week, via our online accountability post, members encouraged one another to keep at it, producing regular work.  Three members of that group went on to get literary agents during the course of the year and three had definite interest from publishers.  As this year’s new Completion Club launches on 1st June, I’m really excited to think about the level of support that the group will give to one another and I’m getting my Completion Club Shelf ready for the books that the club members will produce!  The club is open to new members at any time of the year, you can just jump in whenever you find us!  Whether you choose to join our club or to seek support from a local creative writing group or a couple of writers that you already know, I do encourage you to find a writing community who will encourage you to grow and to be productive as a writer.

    • Most importantly of all, if you want to be one who finishes books, do think very seriously about committing to the writing process rather than concerning yourself too much with the marketplace at this early stage of your career.  Whilst it is vital that you do keep an eye on what is being published and what publishers want, it is also key to develop your own voice as a writer.  As Philip Pullman said at last year’s ‘Shakespeare and Co Literary Festival’ – “Before Harry Potter, nobody was saying ‘We’re looking for ‘the next Harry Potter'”.  At the same time, JK Rowling knew what audience she was writing for – she understood her reader.  It’s all about balance in the end – balancing originality with market-awareness and your own passionate interest.  If you can do all this and put words on the page, day after day, Black on White, then you’re half way there…

    Have you ever completed a writing project and if so, what can you share about what you have learnt? And if you want to complete but haven’t yet, what are the biggest challenges you face? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

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    Comments

    2. Jacqui Lofthouse

      Tony, we’re going to have to turn that around! I challenge you to cover two blank pages in prose… (before you know it, two will become three, we won’t be able to stop you…)

      Reply

    4. Jacqui Lofthouse

      I suppose both might spring from a lack of confidence in some way or lack of conviction that one will be able to finish perhaps? I think it must be different in every case; so many different things can get in the way of writing that its difficult to be prescriptive. Not starting is more likely to be from the doubt you describe and not finishing might more likely be that one doesn’t have the doggedness to keep going so persistently with a single work. One has to be driven to finish I think; to have done enough work thus far that one genuinely believes that the piece has something to say and contribute… and this developing conviction then drives you.

      Reply

    5. Evelyn

      Hi Jacqui,
      It’s nice to hear from you again. So glad you have your book finished and started another. Well done and good luck with the one just published.
      Hope you had a nice break.
      I’m still at my first book, it’s tuff going, I’ve about 140,000 words done but need a lot of editing. Editing I have done on the chapters I am now calling finished(for the timebeing, that is. Chapters-one,two,three,four,five,ten, eleven,twelve and thirteen. I’ve read and reread what I have written and to me it is getting better as the time goes on. My fear is that it is going to be a long first book and will need a 2nd and 3rd to complete the whole story. Sometimes I fear that I’m wasting my time. Will anyone want to read it? I ask myself. Where will I get an editor, a publisher? These are the worries I have. I stay focused as much as I can and infact my writing is all I think about. I look forward to your fortnightly inspirational tips and just hearing from you helps a great deal. Thank you.

      kindest regards

      Evelyn

      PS. I have’nt forgotten that I said I would join the Completion Club. I just feel I have still to much to write to think I could finish it in a year. Although I would love to! Bye for now. Evelyn

      Reply

    6. Michelle

      Jacqui, is the completion club only for writers who will reach the end of their project within a year? I’m much closer to the start than the end of my (rather research-heavy) novel, but I think I might still benefit from the kind of support and sense of accountability the completion club provides…

      Reply

    7. Jacqui Lofthouse

      Hi Evelyn and Michelle,

      Yes, I’ve been unclear – The Completion Club is not only for writers who wish to complete within a year. The old-style club was set up that way, but the new-style club takes a more sensible ethos (perhaps I should edit the copy to reflect this!) which is that the club is giving you the tools to become a regular writer who is both confident and productive – in other words, giving you the tools to complete your writing projects – whether that takes a year or longer. What is important is that you become more serious about your writing and you also have a clearer sense of direction. You become a regular writer and one who knows what is needed in order to complete. It’s about sustaining a writing life in the long term. Michelle, yes, the accountability is a key part to it for so many members – the weekly checking in with progress makes an enormous difference.

      Evelyn,thank-you for your kind comments and I’m looking forward to making the newsletter more regular, in its new form. I’m glad it makes a difference to you. Those are big questions, but the truth is that through getting feedback and having writing colleagues, you can gain a clearer sense about who your readers might be, what might interest the reader and how to make it stronger so that readers (and agents and editors) will pay attention. Good to hear you so serious about your writing project!

      Reply

    8. Evelyn

      Thanks Jacqui,

      Yes Jacqui I’m totally serious about my writing. I started with your thirty day course away back in October 2009 and am still using it. I read it over and over again and the Black on White as well, I’m learning something more everytime I read them. They’re great.

      I’ll take your advise and join the club at the end of July / beginning of August. So far I have’nt let anyone read my work. I have a bookclub I attend every week and they do give me encouragement but so far they have not read it.

      I realize I need feedback but I don’t have the confidence to let someone read it just yet.

      I’m still having difficulty with getting my own voice in the book. I find I jump from the first, second and third person. Also it’s hard to get a name for my characters that suit for more than a chapter. I keep changing them. But in saying all that; I do enjoy writing, and have finished editing the 2nd draft on a few chapters. I feel that I am getting somewhere with it now. This is all thanks to you Jacqui.

      kindest regards

      Evelyn

      Reply

    9. Michelle

      Thanks for the clarification, Jacqui. I may join in the autumn, once I know whether I’ll be starting my creative writing MA this October or October 2012. If it’s the latter I’ll almost certainly join the completion club.

      Reply

    10. Jacqui Lofthouse

      Thanks Michelle and great to hear you are going to be doing an MA in Creative Writing. Evelyn, thanks for your kind comments and I’m delighted that my work has made a difference to you. Look forward to possibly having you in the club. Good to know that your second draft is coming along…

      Reply

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