Writing advice

How to finish writing a book (all the way to The End)

So, you’re writing a book. It’s brilliant. The words are just falling from your fingers. And then something happens: a problem in your story, or your life and you lose momentum. Or perhaps you just get The Fear: a whole book is too big, and The End is too far away to see.

Here’s the good news. Finishing a novel isn’t about talent, inspiration, or waiting for the muse to show up. It’s about process and habit. Get those two things right and we can guarantee you’ll reach the end. We’ve put together this advice to walk you through exactly how: the planning, the routine, and the mindset that carry a book over the line.

Why most books are never finished

Most unfinished novels aren’t abandoned because they’re bad. They’re abandoned because their writers get stuck in the saggy middle, where the excitement of the opening has worn off and the relief of the ending is nowhere in sight. Writers stall for three predictable reasons:

  1. They don’t know what happens next.
  2. They don’t have a routine that survives a busy week.
  3. They let perfect get in the way of finished.

We’re going to tackle all three in this post. Plan so you always know what happens next. Build a routine that bends instead of breaking. And keep going, imperfectly, until you type the last line.

Should you plan your novel? Or ‘plotter vs pantser’

In writing circles, an often-asked question is: are you a plotter or a pantser? A plotter plans the story before writing it. A pantser makes it up as they go, flying by the seat of their pants. Both can produce wonderful books.

While many successful authors do just see where their characters take them, we strongly recommend planning your story first, because characters have a habit of leading you down dead ends. A plan means you always know where you’re going. As you write, you’ve already done the hard job of working out what happens next. Getting from point to point feels manageable, and you’re far less likely to discover an unfixable plot problem 60,000 words in.

While we recommend planning in detail, even a single page outlining your opening, your inciting incident, your midpoint and your ending gives you the signposts you need to keep moving.

A couple of terms:

The inciting incident: the event near the start that knocks your protagonist’s world off balance and sets the story in motion. No inciting incident, no story.

The midpoint: a fundamental shift around the middle of the book that significantly changes the story and raises the stakes for your protagonist. The midpoint is key to balancing a story’s pacing and it stops the saggy middle from sagging.

Build writing habits that actually stick

Ernest Hemingway used to write naked, in morning’s first light, standing at a lectern. This is not something we advise. Do set yourself a writing routine that works with your life, and get comfortable writing anywhere, anyhow and anywhen. Don’t burden yourself with restrictive writing rituals that give you one more excuse not to start.

The key to finishing a book is simple to say and hard to do: keep going until you reach the end. A routine is just the scaffolding that makes that possible. Here’s how to build one.

How to set realistic writing goals

  1. Find the time: Look at your calendar. When can you schedule weekly writing slots? Remember, this is something you really want. Could you sacrifice an hour of sleep here or there, a gym session, a lunch break? Protect those slots like appointments, because that’s what they are.
  2. Set your goals: Review your writing speed and set word count or chapter goals per week. Weekly is more forgiving than daily; a missed Tuesday doesn’t sink the whole week.
  3. Be realistic: Look at your year. Plan around busy periods at work, holidays booked, family commitments that will interrupt your routine. Set your target dates for your milestones (the inciting incident, the midpoint, Draft One) with real life factored in.
  4. Be ambitious: Momentum is everything. Ask yourself: could I push a bit harder? Maybe book a few days’ holiday and write a chunk in one go? A burst of progress can turn a ‘when I get around to it’ book into a real one.

How many words a day should you write?

There’s no single correct number to aim for, but here’s a useful benchmark: many successful commercial fiction authors write around 1,000 words a day. Some write far more, over 8,000(!), and some write fewer but never miss a day. What matters isn’t hitting an impressive figure; it’s choosing a number you can sustain, week after week, without burning out.

A quick bit of maths to illustrate this point. At 1,000 words a day, a typical 90,000-word commercial novel will take about three months to write a first draft. Skip the weekends and it’s closer to four or five months. Either way: steady beats spectacular. The writer who gets 500 words down on the page every day finishes long before the one who waits for a free weekend that never comes.

Write anywhere: making use of dead time

You might work best in the mornings, in your favourite chair, with a particular mug to hand. Lovely. But you want to finish this book, and the truth is it doesn’t much matter what time it is, where you are, or what you write with.

Try to always have a phone, a laptop, or a pen and notebook with you, and take advantage of dead time: the train to work, the doctor’s waiting room, the ten minutes standing at the school gates. Two hundred words snatched from a commute still count. Over a month, they add up to two chapters.

What to do when you reach The End

Typing “The End” on a first draft is a genuine achievement, celebrate it properly. Then know this: a first draft is meant to be imperfect. Its only job is to exist. Everything that’s wrong with it can be fixed in the edits, and editing something is infinitely easier than editing nothing. Remember this as you write your first draft: write now, edit later.

Give your first draft a little breathing room, maybe leave it in a drawer for a week or two, before you read it back with fresh eyes. The book you finish is never quite the book you planned, and that’s exactly as it should be.

You’ve got this

But the most important thing? Self-belief.

People have written books before. You can be one of those people. You have a story to tell. One word at a time, tell it.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to write a book?

For commercial fiction, a first draft of around 90,000 words typically takes three to six months at a consistent pace of around 1,000 words a day. Your writing output will vary with your routine, your plan, and your life, but a keeping a consistent weekly target is the single biggest factor in making it to the end.

What’s the difference between a plotter and a pantser?

A plotter plans the story before writing it. A pantser writes by instinct, discovering the story as they go. Most writers sit somewhere in between, and we recommend at least a light plan so you can keep the pacing and tension of your novel high and avoid writing yourself into dead ends.

How do I stay motivated to finish my novel?

Protect regular writing slots in your calendar, set a weekly word-count goal you can actually hit, and use dead time rather than waiting for the perfect moment. Momentum builds motivation, not the other way around.

How many words should a commercial novel be?

Most commercial fiction lands between 80,000 and 100,000 words, though this varies by genre – psychological thrillers and cosy crime novels tend to be shorter whereas historical fiction is often a little longer. Set your overall target early so your weekly goals add up to a finished book.

Want a step-by-step process for planning, drafting, and finishing your novel?

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