The Unfinished Scroll: Overcoming the Struggle to Finish Writing Your Novel

I’ll start with a confession I believe many of you will find very relatable–for years, I couldn’t finish writing a novel, manuscript or even just a story. Like many other fantasy fans, I began dabbling in writing in my early pre-teens. I was so inspired by magic-filled lands and the extraordinary heroes that roamed them, that I longed to create a magical world of my own. Each night, I would stay up late, typing away on WordPad (since Word was still a lucrative and alien technology at the time), conjuring fantastical races and strange lands. I’d become obsessed with my made-up heroes and their adventures for a while, only to stop after a few days, never bringing the story to its conclusion.

The digital shelves of my computer quickly filled with documents, but they were all beginnings. I’d get an idea—often in the form of an image that popped into my mind—and feel a desperate urge to bring it to life in the form of the written word. I’d start, get excited, and then drop it.

It became a pattern: I could only write beginnings. A few times I managed to complete a short story, but the desire to write a book—a full novel—remained unfulfilled.

My teenage self, much like a little duckling flapping its tiny wings and failing to take flight, couldn’t pinpoint the reason for this continuous failure. She never studied writing, never attempted to find answers for her questions, and much like a ram I once saw on YouTube valiantly and relentlessly fighting a swing, she just kept charging to no avail.

However, thinking back to these attempts now, I can see a pattern (and I promise to cool it with the animal analogies).

If I had to summarize the three main reasons why I couldn’t finish writing a fantasy novel, I’d point to these culprits:

1. Lack of consistency

2. Self-criticism

3. Insufficient planning

Lack of Consistency

Before we can even start talking about the quality of your writing, your ideas, character development, or world-building—all things that live in your head—we must start with your rear end first. Yes, I’m talking about your butt. You need to sit on it (or stand if you have a standing desk), and just write.

As an undiagnosed ADHD child, this idea felt daunting. I could focus while excitement fueled me, but once I ran out of ideas—I’d lose interest, and along with it, my ability to focus.

Focusing hasn’t gotten easier since then, especially in our day and age of constant distractions and information overload. But it’s a skill you must hone if you wish to ever bring your work to completion.

A common mistake many people make is setting unrealistic goals and trying too hard and too fast. If you’ve never sat down to write regularly, committing to a full hour each day might not be realistic or sustainable.

But you don’t need to spend hours at your desk every day to finish your book. You could start with just 15 minutes each day, or block out some time on weekends, gradually expanding as you go.

Think about what works with your schedule, and set a goal that’s doable—even easy. Once you’ve achieved consistency, you can gradually expand this writing window, but it has to become a habit first. Otherwise, it won’t last.

Self criticism

I’m sure this has happened to many aspiring writers: you start working on a new idea, fill out a few pages with promising new scenes, and maybe even find your flow, losing track of time as you dive fully into the world you’re conjuring. But when you reemerge into reality and read the words that felt so right just minutes ago, something changes.

You felt like you were writing like a pro, but the story that came out might as well have been written by a five-year-old on a sugar high—disjointed, poorly articulated, and nowhere near the quality of the writers you draw inspiration from.

If you’ve ever read Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, you’ll know he talks extensively about the first draft, and this is the key thing to remember about your story—it’s only a first draft.

A first draft will require improvements, modifications, rewrites, and a whole lot of editing. That’s because that’s all it is—not your polished masterpiece, but simply a messy first version.

There’s something liberating about this idea; it allows you to be bad. You don’t have to worry about style or quality. The only thing you need to focus on is progress. You can (and will) revise later.

Sometimes, when I was really stuck, I’d even tell myself to intentionally write a bad scene. It was a fascinating exercise. Knowing I was writing with the intention of being bad silenced my inner critic and let my imagination roam free (and quite wild). At times, that “bad” scene led to better ideas, and other times it didn’t turn out as bad as I expected.

Your inner critic is an important part of your team, but that’s the part of you that needs to wake up when you get to editing and incorporating feedback into your draft. For now, though, they can sit on the bench. Until the draft is done, you don’t really need them.

Insufficient planning

The battle between Plotters and Pantsers has been raging on for ages—thankfully, with zero casualties. A Plotter refers to a writer who prefers the methodical approach, the practice of organized and well structured writing, used by writers who like to plan their work in advance. These writers know who their characters are, what they’ll do, and where they’re path leads long before they’ve written them. These writers approach writing like building a house—they don’t start until the blueprints are drawn and solid.

Their counterparts, the Pantsers, frolic with the muses through the fields of imagination, sitting down with little to no plan, and letting inspiration take them wherever it leads.

In my early writing days, I was a Pantser, becoming a hybrid of the two over time. I might begin with a burst of inspiration, but when that inevitably ran dry, I’d turn to sketching, brainstorming, and forming a plan—no matter how loose or vague.

Now, I’m not here to argue which approach is better or right for you. You might be someone who can complete an entire novel without ever having to plan, caught in the whirlwind of inspiration and feeling as though your characters are writing themselves. If that’s the case—I’m thrilled for you!

But if you’re like the rest of us and get stuck at some point, a little bit of planning might help.

Planning can take many forms: you could sketch, jot down your ideas on sticky notes and arrange them in different ways, make a bullet list, or even map out your character journeys as process flows.

Personally, I feel like I think through my fingers. I start by rambling on the keyboard, talking to myself in writing, asking questions, and blurting out possible answers until I land on something that works. I also use process flows extensively (more on that in future articles).

You’ll likely need to experiment with a few different techniques to find the one that suits you. You can also explore some additional ideas here . But in the end, the goal of your quest should be to find a strategy you can rely on when you hit a creative roadblock.

Conclusion

These are far from being the only reasons you haven’t finished writing your masterpiece yet. There are countless other challenges and solutions that won’t fit into a single article—but it’s a start (and I need to save some ideas for future content).

So take a moment to reflect on what might be holding you back, analyze it, experiment with different techniques to overcome it, and most importantly—get your fingers on the keyboard and write!