Why am I so slow writing this novel?

This really is a mystery to me. I started writing a follow up to A Taste of Honey, my romantic comedy, more than two years ago. That particular book was a pleasure to write and practically wrote itself. However, its follow up, A Spoonful of Sugar, is hard work. I wrote a follow up to one of my other novels, using two of the secondary characters from the first book as the heroine and heroine in the second. I am doing the same thing now but it's crawling along at a snail's pace.

It's not that I'm not happy with what I've written either or that the plotline so far has holes in it. I just seem to work on it in fits and starts. Yet, with everyone of my previous novels I have got them finished within months if not sooner.

I managed 1000 words the other day, which was great for me on this novel. My record is up to 6000 a day on my others.

At the moment I have left a funky motorbike and sidecar driving female vicar with her toe stuck up the tap whilst she's taking a bath! The hero, Antonio Santini and heroine, Suzie Frampton, have just arrived to rescue her.

Got to get the rev out of there soon. I can't leave her in a cold bath for months!

Does anyone have any idea why I am lagging behind with this book when the story reads quite well and I am enjoying the process but have to keep stopping and starting again?

This is a new one for me.

I want to finish it as one of my fans [yes, I do actually have some!] as just purchased A Taste of Honey and is asking about further publications.

I may have to try going back to pen and paper to see how that goes, instead of sitting in front of the keyboard.

Just write the book

A new writer can worry so much about the technique of writing that they don't actually get much writing done.

Concerns such as: How should I begin my novel? How many words should a chapter be? Do I need to make charts beforehand? Should I outline? Are common questions not just to self but to other writers and tutors.

My main advice about this is if you worry too much about technique it might sap your creative energy.

When I first started off trying to write a novel around ten years ago I had similar questions, but realised one day, it was time to just get on with writing. I already had a plot in mind: a teenager who goes missing after chatting with someone on the Internet. My main character was a detective called, Declan McKeague. A large Irishman, who bungled things up, but was a lovable character.

Initially, I wrote a chapter or two and read them out at the writing group I attended at the local library. They went down quite well, so I wrote more chapters but run out of steam and put that project aside. I never finished the book but I completed 8 chapters of it.

What I had done though in the process was learn a lot about novel writing. How to maintain pace, how to create suspense, craft a scene, etc.

I wrote three trial run novels that way, and to be honest, when I look back on them now, I can see how much my writing has improved! What I'd done without realising it was to give myself a masterclass in novel writing and all for free!

Sure, I read books about the topic but I threw myself in the deep at the same time. That's why I believe that Nanowrimo , National Novel Writing month, is a great thing for new writers. They are forced to turn off their internal editor and get into the process of novel writing to create a draft of 50,000 words within the month of November. Of course, you could do this yourself during any given month, but taking part in the challenge with other writers can help to motivate and inspire you to get that draft down.

Reading books about novel writing and taking courses is a good thing: learning from people who have already achieved their ambition, but there is nothing like getting your toes wet and having a crack at it for yourself. Don't fear failure. Rejection happens to everyone, even the big names out there. Most authors were once in the same position and have probably got drawers full of dusty, flawed manuscripts before going on to get published.

As Nike says:

Just do it!