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Why the First 11,000 Words of Your Novel Are Crucial
No one said writing a novel is easy.
Many writers spend years and years on a single book. Some don’t even finish them. And the ones that do overcome enormous hurdles in the process.
One of those hurdles comes fairly early on: getting to 11,000 words.
Ok, you’re probably asking: why 11,000?
In my experience, the first 10,000 words of a novel are the toughest. This is the lift-off period, the introduction, and you haven’t built momentum yet. The story hasn’t really gotten going, and it doesn’t quite feel like a novel yet.
And usually right around the 10,000 word mark, you start to have doubts. Is this story really any good? Is it worth telling? Should I invest my time and energy in this when I could be telling a different, better story?
Imposter syndrome invades like a tsunami hitting a small village.
I’ve stopped numerous potential novels at the 10,000 word mark. It’s amazing the way an idea I thought was so strong in my mind suddenly seems so weak once I’ve started it.
The scary thing is that your doubts might be correct. The story might be lousy. But more often than not, it…
