Topic: Writing a Novel

Question: What stops you from finishing a novel?

Answer: William Saroyan: “I prefer a pattern of seeing a job  through. In fact, not having such a pattern is what holds many young writers back. Their high standards, the demands they make of themselves, are so great they get a novel about a third done and then give up because they think it’s not good enough. I’ve told every young writer I know to do the job all the way through, even if he thinks it’s no good. Then he’ll have the precedent of having finished a work.”

Comment: Even with shorter pieces like articles, I suggest that writers complete the draft all the way through. Don’t stall by making your grammar perfect. Save that for when you have finished the draft. Otherwise, you might not finish. RayS.

Title: The Writer’s Digest Guide to Good Writing. Thomas Clark, ed., et al. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer’s Digest Books, 1994.