I started writing my first novel, several years ago. Since then, I’ve revised, cut, changed the timeline, and rethought some of the characters in my current work in progress (WIP).

Am I going about the process the right way? Perhaps and perhaps not, opinions differ.

Janice Hardy at Fiction University (a favorite of mine) has a thought-provoking post on this today, “Onward…No? Write to the End or Go Back and Edit.” The reasons, she suggests, writers get into the revision and edit mode  include:

• The first chapter isn’t where the story starts.
• The story just isn’t working.
• You’ve decided the story you’re writing, isn’t the real story.
• The character you thought was the protagonist isn’t.
• Or, you’ve studied the craft, learned a few techniques, and want to fix your mistakes.

As part panster and part planner, I’ve experienced all of the above. I do study the craft; I read and sometimes make revisions and edits. I hope my novel will be better for it.

At any rate and well past 30,000 words,  I’m too far to stop now. I plan to see this first draft to fruition.

Want more information on writing a novel, check out these resources:

Janice Hardy’s, Planning Your Novel: Ideas and Structure

Larry Brooks, Story Engineering @ Storyfix.com

C.S. Larkin’s, The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction: Your Blueprint for Building a Strong Story

or James Scott Bell’s, Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story