How to write a novel in eight months

That’s right: eight months. Less than a year.  

If you’re like I once was – that is, if you’ve spent years thinking about writing a novel but rarely putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard – this timeframe might sound mad. But, as I discovered when I finally gave writing a proper go, showing up to your manuscript consistently can yield far quicker results than you might think.  

Now, having published four books, I’d say a good quality draft (90,000 words or so) takes me around six months to pull together. So, what took me from dreaming about writing to actually doing it? I didn’t undergo an overnight personality transplant or discover a magical wellspring of motivation. (Unfortunate, as that would still be super useful). In fact, I did that most cliched yet crucial of things. I gave myself permission to try.  

As if to signal to myself that having a bash at writing a book was 100% allowed, I signed up for a creative writing course. Ultimately, this made all the difference to my craft, discipline and self-belief – but in the short-term, following a structured programme felt far more comfortable than simply winging it in the hope I’d one day reach ‘the end’.  

If you think you’d benefit from a similar experience, our eight-month Novel Writing Course might be exactly what you need. It’s designed for writers who have great ideas but feel they’re flying blind when it comes to plot-planning, character development, worldbuilding and so on. 

Not ready to commit to a course? With a little planning, plus positivity and persistence, you can still get your book written (or at least well underway) in less than a year.  

Feeling fired up? Here’s what to do next… 

Eight steps to writing your novel in eight months

1. Plan your story upfront

George RR Martin could have written about the bitter divide between House Planner and House Pantser. For the uninitiated, the debate comes down to the difference between people who simply must have an outline before they begin drafting and those with the brass neck to sit down at a blank screen and just… see what happens.  

I joke, of course: there’s no real argument. We writers are a peaceful people, and most accept there’s no right or wrong way to work. Personally, though, I need a proper plan before I get going – and if your ambition is to write a book within eight months, I don’t think risking ‘dead time’ (where you produce thousands of words that may serve no clear purpose) makes much sense.  

If you’re a Premium Member, you can access our Build Your Book Month content for free. This includes a very helpful plot-planning spreadsheet and a bunch of fantastic video lessons on the three-act story structure. (Not a PM? You can buy the content as a standalone course for £99, or join us to get this, plus plenty more writing resources).  

Alternatively, you might want to consider the Save The Cat approach, the five-act story structure or the snowflake method, all of which will allow you to create an overall ‘shape’ for your story before you start writing. However you choose to plan, doing so will effectively stress-test your novel idea, helping you work out whether it will extend into a narrative that’s tens of thousands of words long.  

On the Novel Writing Course, students spend their first month focused on planning their novels, and I’d suggest devoting a similar chunk of time – weeks, rather than days – to interrogating your story arc independently. Imagine the events, twists and turns you’ll include in your plot and work out how they’ll affect the journey your characters go on. Rushing through this stage tends to be a false economy: fail to answer key questions now, and they’ll come back to bite you later.  

2. Consider your novel’s characters, point of view and setting

Who are you writing about? What problems do they have, and how does your protagonist – or their situation – need to change in order for your story to be satisfying? Remember, a novel isn’t really about what happens: it’s about how what happens affects characters readers care about.  

Are you going to write in first person, third person, past or present tense? (You might have to experiment a bit with points of view in order to find out what’s most effective.)  

Where will the action of your story take place? Is there research you need to do, or worldbuilding you need to undertake, before you can start drafting in earnest?  

These questions need consideration both before you begin writing, but also as your story unfolds. Again, the Novel Writing Course offers tutorials and one-to-one support with all this. Meanwhile, if you’re a Premium Member, you’ll find there are multiple masterclasses available to help you.

3. Develop a novel writing routine

If you want to draft a novel in eight months, you’ll need to commit to writing regularly. Establishing a routine you can stick to (at least most of the time) is key, so ask yourself: when do you work best? How many hours per day, or per week, do you think you can spend on your manuscript?  

You might want to think in terms of word count milestones, rather than time spent at your desk – though this can be demotivating on days when the sentences won’t flow! That said, you’ll definitely need to set an overall wordcount goal that makes sense for the genre you’re writing in. If your book is commercial fiction, for example, you shouldn’t be aiming to write a 1000-page tome.  

You might want to put together a novel writing timeline that takes your final goal, plus any holidays or days off writing you’re going to need, into account. This will ensure you stay on track, but also that you keep your workload realistic. 

Whichever way you do it, create a plan that will make showing up to your work-in-progress something that feels natural: automatic. Being enrolled on a course did this job for me. I didn’t want to be the classmate who hadn’t done her homework, so I made sure to show up with fresh words every time I was supposed to! 

Finally, why not incentivise yourself a little? If you’re planning to write first thing in the morning, pair your early start with an extra-swish coffee. Alternatively, if your book work needs to wait until after the kids are in bed, make settling down with it feel like a treat: grab a cuppa, light a candle and settle in.  

4. Don’t be afraid to deviate…

Having a plot plan shouldn’t stifle your creativity. See it as a roadmap for your adventure in story-telling – not a tunnel that offers only one way through.  

It’s not unusual for events to play out slightly differently on the page than they did in your head, or for a minor character’s voice to end up louder than you’d anticipated. Exploring opportunities when they arise – indulging these moments of inspiration – is where much of the true joy of writing is found.  

So, allow for deviations on the road to finishing your story – so long as they don’t take you to a completely random destination! 

5. Push perfectionism aside

If you’re writing to a deadline, you can’t afford to edit every single sentence as you go.  

Resist the urge to perfect each paragraph you produce in favour of pushing forward with your plot. If you must, highlight chunks of text you’re not convinced about so you don’t forget to examine them later – but focus on finishing your book before you worry about making every word beautiful.  

6. Write with authenticity

‘Sticky patches’ in writing often occur because getting the words out feels like pulling teeth. In those moments, I ask myself: am I trying to write something that doesn’t feel true, or in a style that’s not natural to me? 

Finding your own voice is a process, and it’s something we cover in detail on the Novel Writing Course.  

If you’re feeling blocked, try stepping back. Approach the plot point or scene you’re working on afresh. Write it honestly, with no spin – in the way you might if your only aim was entertaining a good friend. See what happens.  

7. Think about sharing your story

Different people choose to use buddies or beta readers at different stages of their writing journey – but constructive criticism can be helpful during, as well as after, drafting.  

As I worked on my first book, I found my friends’ and mentor’s feedback helped me avoid making mistakes that might have tripped me up – but their encouragement also kept me going when writing felt too hard and I lost confidence in myself.  

One of the best things about the Novel Writing Course is the incredible level of one-to-one support every student gets from their personal tutor: more individual guidance than is offered on any alternative out there.  

8. Power through your novel – then pause

The difference between people who write whole novels and those who don’t is almost always that the first group simply refused to give up. There are plenty of talented writers out there who’ll never complete a full manuscript – not because they lack the ability, but because they aren’t tenacious enough.  

With a plan and a writing routine in place, your job is actually pretty simple: keep showing up.  

If you do, in eight months (or within a realistic timeframe that works for you), you’ll have a full draft – a truly incredible achievement.  

When you get there, have a rest. Give yourself a little distance from your draft before diving back in to edit it.  

If they feel ready, students on our Novel Writing Course have the option to upgrade to the Ultimate Novel Writing Programme after spending eight months on their drafts. This involves extra tutoring on self-editing, the different routes into publishing and how to get a literary agent. For Premium Members, there’s Debi Alper’s fantastic Introduction to Self-Editing Your Novel course: the perfect, self-guided route into refining your own work.  

Whatever kind of support you seek with your writing – whether it’s through a course, Premium Membership or engagement with our Townhouse community – I wish you all the best with getting your novel written.  

You really can do it – and in eight months, too!