I was anxious to write a novel. And I was tired of putting it off. Spend time creating an outline? No way! I despised outlining in college. Write a synopsis? A what? No, I wanted to begin writing--actually writing. I'd waited long enough.

I took the project by storm. Committing to spend at least an hour a day in front of the computer, I tackled the project. Week after week the manuscript grew thicker. I had my good and bad moments.

I didn't write the book in a linear fashion. Instead, I let the characters decide what scenes to show me on a given day. The words flew across the pages. Hey, this novel writing isn't so difficult, I thought. It just takes motivation, some time, and WA LA!

Wrong.

Six months and 85,000 words later, I sat at my cluttered desk with a cold mug of coffee, and typed the last sentence. You'd think I'd be elated and want to make copies for my friends to read. But I was less than elated--I was miserable. I loved my characters, the story, and several of my scenes. But many were loose and disjointed--not to mention useless. The novel was chaos.

Nearly two years later, I'm pretty close to my final draft. But it's been a very difficult two years. After--sometimes during--each edit I've had to put the manuscript aside for a while. It made my eyes (and mind) bleed. I wanted to scream at it. It was killing me. The story just wouldn't come together. There were so many pieces, and they were everywhere!

Now, after more than a fair share of heartache, frustration, and time, the scenes are tighter, the characters are better developed, I know my character's features down pat (Carrie no longer has blue eyes in some scenes, green eyes in others), and the plot (though the novel is primarily character-driven) is clear of holes. Most importantly, all my loose ends are finally tied.

So...what lesson did I learn? Never write another novel.

No, that's not true. I learned there's no substitute for planning. I've already begun planning novel #2. I have a partial outline, a synopsis, character collages, collages of their homes and the cafe where my protagonist works.

I know the characters better than I know some of my friends. The plot is defined and strong. And I'm doubly excited about sitting down to write it because I have a trusty roadmap that will guide me through the creative process.

I will never again get lost inside my own novels. Never again will I spend nearly two years editing any of them. It's unnecessary. Though some writers are comfortable writing without a plan, I'm not.

Besides, the synopsis has been kinda of fun. I know...I know. That sounds like a long-shot, but really, all the brainstorming I've needed to do to write it has taught me a lot. And it sure beats the endless process of editing. Not that I won't need to edit--editing is terribly important. I just won't need to spend two years doing so.

Some writers do quite well without a roadmap. I'm just not one of them. Are you? How do you approach writing your books? Have you learned any difficult lessons? Our readers would like to know! Send an email to editor@writersbreak.com with your story, and permission for us to publish it in a future issue of Writers' Break.

Enjoy today's issue. And happy writing!

Best,
Jen
Editor, Writers' Break
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