Writing Your First Novel: 10 Tips That Actually Count

Write the book you want to read — not the one you think you should write

The most common mistake among debut authors: they write the book they think will land well. The book agents will love. The literary work with cultural relevance that wins prizes.

The result is usually a book nobody wants to read — including the author. And an author who doesn't want to read their own book cannot finish it.

Write the book that keeps you up at 2 a.m. because the story is starting to grip you. That is the only reliable motivator across 100,000 words.

Plan — but not too much

There are two camps: the plotters and the pantsers (from "flying by the seat of your pants"). The reality: most successful authors are both.

As a debut author, I recommend: plan broadly, write in detail. That means:

• Know your novel's ending before you begin
• Know the three to five major turning points
• Know your protagonist deeply enough to predict how they react
• Leave the rest open — and discover it as you write

Why know the ending? Because without it, you eventually lose your direction. That is the moment most novels die — deep in Act 2, with no destination on the horizon.

Set a daily word goal — and keep it small

"I write 500 words a day." That sounds modest. But 500 words daily adds up to 182,500 words in a year — that's two complete novels.

The problem with large word goals: they feel demoralising when you miss them. And you miss them when life gets in the way. A small, consistent target beats a large one you occasionally hit and frequently miss.

The 300-word rule: Even when you have no time, no motivation, no mental space — write 300 words. That takes 15 minutes. You can always find 15 minutes. And once you've started, you almost always write more than 300.

The first draft can be bad — it SHOULD be bad

Ernest Hemingway supposedly said: "The first draft of anything is garbage." That's not an excuse — it's permission.

The first draft is not a finished book. It's the raw material you shape into a finished book during revision. Its only job is to exist.

The most lethal thing that can happen to a debut author: they write chapter 1, find it not good enough, revise it. Then again. Then again. And never reach chapter 2.

Write forward. Correct nothing in the first draft. Mark weak passages with [REVISE], but keep going. Revision comes later, once the whole book exists.

Write even when you don't want to

Waiting for inspiration is the luxury problem of the author who never finishes. Professional authors don't wait for inspiration — they sit down and write. Sometimes inspiration arrives mid-session. Sometimes it doesn't. Either way, 500 bad words beat zero perfect ones.

The inner critic is loudest at the start of a writing session. It whispers: "This isn't good enough." "This makes no sense." "Start over." The only way to silence it is to keep writing words. It quiets the longer you go.

Read widely in your genre — and read deliberately

You cannot write well what you haven't read well. That's not an opinion — it's neurology. The brain learns language through exposure. The more thrillers, fantasy, or romance novels you've read, the more naturally you write in that genre.

Reading deliberately means: when a scene particularly impresses you, analyse it. Why did it work? What technique did the author use? How did they dose information? How long were the sentences in the action scene?

This is not copying — it's learning a craft. No musician learns without models. No painter without masters.

Don't tell anyone about your book — not yet

That sounds strange. But there's a psychological reason: when you tell someone about your idea and receive enthusiasm back, your brain can feel as though you've already reached the goal. The dopamine hit you would have earned through writing arrives early — from talking.

The result: you're less motivated to actually write the book. Write first, talk later. Only once you have at least a third finished should you tell a trusted person — without the risk of deflating the pressure that keeps you going.

Use software built for novels — not documents

Microsoft Word and Google Docs are not built for novels. They're built for documents. When you're on chapter 47 and need to find a detail from chapter 12 — good luck.

Specialised writing software like EPOS-AI organises chapters, stores character profiles and remembers the context of your story — across the entire manuscript. That sounds minor. It's a massive productivity multiplier once your novel crosses 80,000 words.

Push through the middle problem

Almost every debut author experiences it: the first quarter flows. The final quarter too. But the middle — Act 2, from 30,000 to 60,000 words — feels like wading through mud.

This is normal. The middle is structurally the hardest because it has neither the surprise of the opening nor the momentum of the final stretch. It is where writer's block is born.

The solution: ensure your middle has its own internal structure. There is a midpoint — a scene at the centre that changes everything. There is rising complexity. There are small victories and larger defeats. It is not a stretch to survive — it is the core of the book.

→ Related: Overcoming Writer's Block with AI

Celebrate the ending — then start the second draft

When you've written "Page 342, Chapter 38, The End" — celebrate that. Genuinely. Most people who want to write a novel never get here. You've done something very few people do.

Then set the manuscript aside for at least two weeks. Let it cool. When you return with fresh eyes, you'll see what actually works and what needs revision — without the emotional fog of creation.

And then the real work begins: revision. What were bad words in the first draft become good pages in this step.