I learned quite a few of these lessons while writing book one of the Max Hamby series.
10 Lessons I Learned While Writing My First Novel
by Emily Wenstrom
1. Everything will take longer than you expect.
And that means everything. Think you can whip through that revision in a few weeks? Try a few months. Plan on querying agents by the new year? Maybe by the end of next year.
Art simply doesn’t play nicely with timelines. So instead of expecting it to cater to yours, plan on needing more time than you think you need.
2. If you love an idea, trust it.
You know what I’m talking about, right? That totally-in-love feeling you get about an idea every once in a while.
Not the kind where it sparks and then deflates seconds later. The kind where you think about it all day and it keeps you up at night and maybe even enters your dreams. When you love a story idea that much, that’s an idea to run with.
3. The most important question is “What if … “
This simple question got me over every hump of writers block while writing my novel. What if the hero is too desperate to listen? What if the villain is right? What if I finish this whole bottle of vodka?*
*NOT REALLY OKAY.
You can read the full article here:
http://thewritepractice.com/first-novel/