Still working

People work at different paces. It's not unreasonable that it would take you over a year to finish. I'm at the six month mark with my WIP and I'm not sure that I'll have a solid first draft when the year is up.

Personally, when I hit the point where I'm abusing myself for something (not saving enough money, not writing enough, not doing enough exercise) I force myself to do something I call making a token payment. I do a little something to keep my mind in the game, even if it's not a major effort. With writing that might mean sitting down for ten minutes and scribbling out some notes about my next scene. The facts of life are such that sometimes all I have are those ten minutes, and making a token payment helps me to stay focused on my goals.

A year doesn't seem all that bad, especially if you're not writing full time. Sorry to hear you've been sick. Hope the health issues settle down for you here in a bit.

How far are you into the project?

Only you know yourself and your circumstances well enough to judge whether you should have been finished by now.

The only way out is through. I think auzerais gave you very good advice. I'm trying to keep some forward motion going every day on my novel, even if it's only a few hundred words. If I keep going, I WILL finish. If I let myself freeze up, it may stall.

I don't know if that sort of mind set will help you or not, but I offer it for your consideration, in case it does.

And FWIW, I've read on a lot of threads that middles are difficult for many authors. So you're not alone.

celticroots said:

It's been almost a year now, and I am still working on the first draft of one of my WIPs. I am about half done with it. For some reason, I've been sick a lot, which made me not feel like working on it.

Still I feel like I should be finished with it and am angry with myself that I am not. I am often way too hard on myself.

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I hope you're feeling well now.

You shouldn't be angry with yourself for not writing fast.
I don't think there's any fixed timescale for writing a novel.

Someone's writing a story their entire life and it turns to be a masterpiece.

Sorry you haven't been feeling too well. Hope you feel better soon.

It may help if the subject matter of the draft concerned is not depressing.

This September will be the 3rd year mark that I've been trying to get to editing my WIP. My dad passed away May 2014 and I just couldn't pick up a pencil. I'm only now starting to get the itch back. So I say " it will come", don't worry and don't beat yourself up. There is no "right" way to do what we do.

Hopefully WLCT said:

There is no "right" way to do what we do.

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This.

There is no 'should'. It takes as long as it takes.

I hope you feel better. Good luck.

I finished my first novel in four months but I haven't been interested in going back to it for over a year now. I think it was a bit of an overload cramming it in in such a short time. The fact that you've been at it for so long at least shows that you are committed to it which means that whenever it does get completely finished it will probably be pretty good.

I spent many years working on my first novel and then got a book deal after less than 10 submissions. There are no time limits. Work on it as long as you feel you need to.

andiwrite said:

I spent many years working on my first novel and then got a book deal after less than 10 submissions. There are no time limits. Work on it as long as you feel you need to.

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This.

Keep in mind that we are all different. This first draft of yours may equal someone else's sixth. But then, I'm back working on the first thing I wrote seriously more than twenty years ago. This is the best draft by far. I'm a much better writer now. If I let the passage of time stop me, I'll never learn if it will sell. (I did write other stuff in between.)

andiwrite said:

I spent many years working on my first novel and then got a book deal after less than 10 submissions. There are no time limits. Work on it as long as you feel you need to.

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Yes, this. celticroots, when you take a long time on a book, your brain has more time to process the story, and make necessary changes to it. Which means your novel will have a better chance of breaking from the gate strong, like andiwrite's novel did.

Feel better soon! I know I can't write whenever I'm sick. As far as how long it takes to write a first draft, who cares so long as it gets done? It's your story, and only you can tell it in your way in your time.

When I get that particular angry feeling and start to punish myself for not being as prolific as I'd like, I consider all the other things I do in my day and this chunk from Stephen King's On Writing:

“A friend came to visit James Joyce one day and found the great man sprawled across his writing desk in a posture of utter despair.

'James, what’s wrong?' the friend asked. 'Is it the work?'

Joyce indicated assent without even raising his head to look at his friend. Of course it was the work; isn’t it always?

'How many words did you get today?' the friend pursued.

Joyce (still in despair, still sprawled facedown on his desk): 'Seven.'

'Seven? But James… that’s good, at least for you.'

'Yes,' Joyce said, finally looking up. 'I suppose it is… but I don’t know what order they go in!'”

Every novel could be your masterpiece. You could spend your entire lifetime writing just one, and that would be enough.