Biggest Takeaways After Finishing my First Novel

The process of writing my first novel has come to completion.

I had no doubt in myself for many reasons, but wow, that was a challenging process. Not impossible, but hard work. Now that I’m here, I want to share my biggest takeaways from the experience.

• Don’t share the story too soon.
• The rewrites are your friend, even when they feel daunting at first.
• Don’t over-edit. Maintain your voice and your vision.
• It took me a lot of discipline. That’s an understatement. Making tea and writing my evening ritual was a crutch when I needed it.
• Want it. I wanted it real bad. I still want it real bad.
• Have fun!

We all have our own takeaways. These are just a few that stand out to me tonight. I think I could write a book just on the maturity and growth I gained from writing this novel.

We all have our own takeaways. What did you take away? What’s missing?