Get unlimited access to everything VICE has to offer.

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

Turn off all ads on VICE.com

Exclusive New VICE Documentaries

Member Exclusive Features & Columns

4 Magazines Delivered to Your Door

4 Procrastinator-Friendly Tips for Writing a Novel (From Someone Who’s Been There)

Struggling to start or finish your novel? These 4 practical writing tips will help you finally get some words down on paper.

Share on X (Opens in new window)X

Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

Share using Native toolsShareCopied to clipboard

If you’re a writer or aspiring author, you likely know how intimidating it is to start writing a book. Sure, you might have a million different story ideas buzzing in your mind and characters you’ve already fallen in love with. But do you also have several neglected works-in-progress on your laptop?

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. In fact, I’d like to think it’s a rite of passage for us writers to procrastinate on our brilliant novels. But as an author who has, in fact, finished and published a novel—and is currently writing her second!—I have some fool-proof tricks to share.

Here are four tips for writing a novel—no matter how much of a procrastinator you might be. 

1. Write the Scenes That Are Fresh In Your Mind

Don’t force yourself to write in order. When I wrote my first novel, I started in the middle and worked........

© Vice