Finding the Courage to Finish Your Manuscript

Most writers who are attempting to capture something longer than a blog or essay have been told at some point “You should write a book!”

It is often why someone is toiling away at 60,000 words trying to capture the memories, stories or ideas that inspire our friends and family to encourage us to write it all down.

When we first sit down to compose, however, we rarely have any idea how difficult that will be. We don’t yet know that grammar and sentence structure are the least of our worries. Looming down the writing road are much bigger bumps like plot, character development and story arc. Even when writing nonfiction, an aspiring author must concern themselves with all the elements of creating a “page-turner” if they ever hope to attract readers.

That is why finishing a manuscript and seeing it published requires uncommon courage. It took first time author, Madeline Miller, ten years to write Song of Achilles. At the time she was a high school Latin, Greek and Shakespeare teacher, and I imagine she had to steal moments between classes to work on her book. After five years she tore up that version, and started over completely. Her dedication paid off and the book was published in 2011 winning the 17th annual Orange Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for the 2013 Chautauqua Prize. Madeline spent  another seven years before finishing Circe which would go on to become a #1 New York Times bestselling title.

Seventeen years of active writing for two books can seem overwhelming and likely, there were years of dreaming about becoming an author before Madeline Miller actively started trying to write Song of Achilles. Who has patience to chase a dream that long even if it ends in the ultimate success of becoming a bestseller? We often think of writers who are on the NYTimes list as having instant success so when we sit down to write, it feels it should all come faster or easier. 

The truth is writing is always a marathon not a sprint. If you are chasing the book dream for instant fame or fortune, you should understand that is about as likely as being signed to play in the NBA. Writing is not a lucrative hobby and the chance of getting a book deal is unlikely. But the chance of you knowing much more about yourself as you put your stories on the page is very real and very rewarding.

Of the writers I know personally who have finished manuscripts, there were two main strategies they used to complete their first drafts. My friend and fellow published author, Kate Rademacher, calls them “cracks” and “canyons.” 

Writing in the “cracks” means committing to small increments of time or word count every day to make progress on your manuscript. Let’s say you pledged to write just twenty minutes a day every day for two months. At the end you would have a least half of a working draft for a manuscript in only 6o days. You could also commit to a word count—1000 words a day—every day for two months. This would give you around 60,000 word (typical book length work) at the end of 60 days.

Writing in “canyons” is taking a deep time out to commit to composing a manuscript. Think of this as picking one weekend a month for six months where you took deep dives into your work. Friends I know have rented an airbnb, borrowed a friend’s condo or simply locked themselves in their own guest bedroom over a weekend to make serious progress. (The photo accompanying this essay was taken at a great, affordable, place to escape to write called Well of Mercy in North Carolina) Employing this strategy over several months would result in a beginning book-length work in four to six months depending on your productivity level—and your ability to stay off the internet or resist sightseeing.

Committing to either of these to answer the challenge “You should write a book!” takes uncommon courage. Writing is not something you can do with others. You will be showing up for yourself again and again. You will be wrestling words onto the page with nobody watching. You will be finishing chapter by chapter with no one paying you or offering you a prize. It is a slow, steady, uphill climb but like a mountain summit, there is a pretty great payoff at the end. 

When you can look back over 250 pages and see how far you have come, it is a pretty incredible and rewarding view.

Whether you ever make a bestseller list or receive a royalty check, that view alone is worth the climb.

—Kathy

Kathy Izard is the author of The Hundred Story Home,  A Good Night for Mr. Coleman and releasing in May 2021, The Last Ordinary Hour. Kathy teaches writing and publishing workshops on www.womenfaithstory.com. Learn more about Kathy’s books on www.kathyizard.com.