Writers, stop trying to finish your book. Just Stop. Let me explain how trying to finish might be killing your writerly mojo.

Done Is Better Than Finished

I had a couple of conversations this week with writing colleagues. Some are on deadline, working hard to finish their books. Others have ideas they love but are still figuring out how to begin.

These groups may seem as though they are in very different places, but they share one problem:

They do not have a completed manuscript.

They may have a few sentences here, a couple of chapters there, or even a detailed outline. But an outline is not a manuscript. A collection of scenes is not a manuscript. A beautiful opening chapter is not a manuscript.

I’ve stopped asking if you’re finished.

Finished is a state that is almost impossible to achieve. Even after a book has been edited, copyedited, proofread, printed, and placed on a shelf, most writers can still find something they would tweak.

A sentence could be sharper. A description could be richer. A scene could move faster.

Instead of asking whether a book is finished, I prefer to ask:

Am I done?

Or, more accurately:

Am I done with this phase?

When I begin writing a book, I do a lot of upfront research. I explore the history. I gather enough information to understand the world and begin imagining what is possible. I collect facts, consider characters, and think about where the story might go.

At some point, I will probably create an outline, because I need a place to put all those facts and ideas swirling around in my head.

But eventually, I have to stop preparing to write and start writing.

Then I go for broke.

I write until I reach the end.

I do not encourage writers to revise while trying to complete a first draft. I know some people can write and revise at the same time. I am not one who can do that, and I’m not here to criticize anyone’s process. But sometimes we have to stop polishing and simply push through.

We have to reach the end so we can see the journey our cursor, pencil, or keyboard has taken.

Then we can go back and fix it.

During a first draft, I may leave pieces of research unfinished.

In any particular scene, I may not know what a character is wearing or the color of the walls of a setting. In the earliest version of a book, you barely see any color mentioned at all.

There is no point in spending three hours researching a dress for a scene that may not survive the next draft.

At the first and second passes, I do not even know whether the scene is going to stay.

I’ve learned that my job is not to get everything right.

My job is to get everything written down.

Someone once said that you cannot edit a blank page. That person was extremely wise and painfully correct.

I need words, at least a third of the word count before I think about revising any words.

I need all the scenes before evaluating which scenes stay, get cut or need revising

You need to see your characters moving through the full story before you can fully understand their motivations, goals, and conflicts. Now I do a lot of pre-work and spend a lot of time in each character’s head. But sometimes it’s not working, and it’s hard to know that unless you see a completed arc.

A full understanding of the story your telling comes at the end of writing and you’re in the editing stage.

So first, you have to be done.

In writerly settings, there’s such a thing as pantsing a book, which literally means sitting at the seat of your pants and writing, whatever comes to your head. That’s the anathema to plotting. Plotting requires foreknowledge, knowing every character, every circumstance, every scene, every turning point until you get to the end. It’s structured.

I use a hybrid method—a little bit of pantsing and a whole lot of plotting. Plantsing marries the

two approaches and together we reach the end.

That is the goal.

Get done.

I had a conversation with a friend about the current state of publishing. They were wondering whether they should focus on independent publishing or continue looking for a traditional deal.

I told them the truth: it is rough out here.

Writers have to work harder. We have to work harder to bring our books into the zeitgeist. We have to help readers discover them, understand them, and care about them.

That work exists whether you are traditionally published or independently published.

It is wise to understand publishing trends. It is important to pay attention to changes in the industry and the politics that affect a writer’s livelihood.

But none of that matters very much when you don’t have a completed book.

Suppose everything magically and deliciously aligned tomorrow. Suppose the perfect agent, editor, or opportunity appeared.

Would you be ready?

Could you send the manuscript right now?

Right this minute?

If not, sit down and knuckle down.

Do not worry about making every sentence perfect. Once you are done with this version, you can go back. You can edit. You can move scenes, change characters, strengthen motivations, and deepen the research.

On Sunday, I reached the end of my current work at about 90,000 words. This is the second pass. The first finished at 34,000.

This 90k version is closer to a finished vision. Because I reached the end, I have a better understanding of how the story should flow. I know more about what is important. I can see what’s working, what’s missing, and what needs to change.

Those are decisions I couldn’t make when I was still staring at an incomplete manuscript.

I needed to be done.

So look at the place where you are stuck.

Are you trying to jump too many steps? Are you revising chapter one for the fifteenth time because you are actually afraid to write chapter two? Are you focusing so much on the destination that you have stopped moving through the journey?

The journey matters.

And your story matters because you matter.

Before the summer ends: Turn off the distractions. Skip the unnecessary research. Put placeholders in the manuscript. Let the sentences be ugly. Let the scenes be imperfect.

You will have time to fix later.

You will have time for feedback later.

You will have time for the second pass, the third pass, and the opinions of trusted readers later.

But first, you need something to be done.

So get to the end.

Let’s get that dream book done.

This week’s book list includes:

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott — A beloved guide that reminds writers to embrace imperfect first drafts because you can’t revise what you haven’t written.

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield — Explores the internal resistance that keeps creators from finishing their work and offers a mindset for overcoming it.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King — Part memoir and part writing guide, it emphasizes discipline, persistence, and completing the first draft before polishing it.

Check out my latest “done” release: A Deal at Dawn – Katherine’s lies have been exposed, but the duke has a plan.

And it’s still Pirate Season. Check out the women pirates in Fire Sword and Sea.

Get these books from The Book Worm Bookstore. They have a few signed copies of Fire Sword and Sea and A Deal at Dawn.

You can also try one of my partners in the fight, bookstores large and small, who are in the trenches with me.

You can find my notes on Substack or on my website, VanessaRiley.com, under the podcast link in the About tab.

Hey. Let’s keep rising and creating together. I need you. That is the truth. Like, share, subscribe, and stay connected to Write of Passage.

Thank you for being here.

I want you to come again. This is Vanessa Riley.