How To Finish Your Book

M. C. Oliver

How in the world do you finish your book. How do you finally get that amazing story and characters from your head onto paper?

Here’s how:

I finished my first novel on November 23, 2025. However, this was not my first draft. This was my fifth daft and my fourth rewrite making it my fifth first draft. And it’s a complete mess.

While I take a break from this story, I’ll tell you how I wrote it amidst the blog posts, keeping up with high school, learning to drive, going to American Heritage Girls every other Thursday, and writing a book.

Step 1: Prayer (to the Lord)

The first thing I did every morning from, Monday-Friday, was pray. It was only by God that I was able to keep writing through some of those tough days. God gave me the strength and perseverance to keep pushing. He answered my prayer every single day.

Step 2: Set a Deadline

The second thing that helped me was setting a deadline. At first, I figured I could only finish a chapter a week but that would land me finished by February 2026 and I want to be published by July 2026.

But the first part of this dream was to finish this 5th draft by December 2025. Then I moved it to November 2025. However, that deadline seemed impossible to reach but here I am.

Step 3: Write Every Chance You Get

Finally, I wrote every single chance I got. Over the weekend, if possible. Before school, on the way to church, after returning from school, on the way home from church after I finished my satellite work. Whenever I could, I did.

If you’ve struggled to write your book - or anything really - then pray, set a deadline, and write every moment you can make. Even if it’s only a sentence or two.

Thank you for reading!