C. N. Garraway

Are you a writer who has never finished a poem, story, or novel?

It’s okay. It’s not a bad thing, because you can finish. Don’t let that overwhelming feeling rob you of completing your goal. You are going to learn how to finish writing projects faster. Once you learn how to finish smaller projects, you can take that skill and apply it to longer works.

Start by Finishing Something

The first thing you do when you write is come up with an idea. Then you start writing. Essentially, you are creating something with a beginning, middle, and end.

But what happens when you never make it to the end? The first thing you can do is finish something small.

Write a five-line poem, even if you don’t like poetry. I suggest this because it’s fast and easy to finish. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just needs to be finished. You can even write a poem about how much you hate writing it! Or, you can write a short paragraph about yourself. The goal is simply to get used to taking an idea and bringing it to completion.

It’s okay to have multiple Works in Progress (WIPs). Writers have ideas, and sometimes you need to put one project aside to work on another. But I believe you should finish something out of those WIPs. Anyone can write, but not everyone finishes. To me, finishing is what truly makes you a writer.

I Had to Learn How to Finish

I used to have so many WIPs, and nothing was ever completed. It was hard to finish projects and find inspiration. After years of collecting unfinished drafts, I had to figure out how to change that pattern.

I learned how to finish by writing poetry. Writing a short poem can be quick and to the point. It doesn’t have to be polished to perfection to exist; it just needs to be finished. You think about what the poem is going to be about, you write what you feel, and you have essentially completed that thought.

Now, you have one completed poem to add to your writing portfolio, even if no one ever sees it. You have created a finished draft. If you decide later that you want to polish it and share it, that’s awesome. You will already have the excitement of knowing that you actually finished something. I’m excited every time I finish a poem. I didn’t just accomplish a task; I released something that was on my mind and needed to be said.

Try Writing a Five-Line Poem

Here is an example of a poem I just came up with off the top of my head:

Elegance dances around her like a mini spark.
It spread like wildfire through her vines.
The heart thumping with erratic precision.
Nothing like the feel of music electrifying your body.
Releasing the need to be free.

See? I finished a five-line poem using just the raw thoughts in my head. Do I know exactly what this poem means or what it’s about yet? No, I have no idea. I don’t have a title for it either. But it is finished. It’s a first draft, and that’s all you want to accomplish at first. You can always come back to it later. Now you can do that again—and keep doing it over and over. You’ll come up with ideas and write faster because it gets easier every single time you finish.

The Lesson of Writing Prompts

I truly learned the art of finishing through writing prompts. Eventually, I even started writing my own prompts. At first, it was a struggle for me to come up with an idea and execute it, but when I finally finished, I was pumped up and excited to share.

The first writing prompt response I created wasn’t perfect, but it taught me how to write short. I used to struggle with writing short stories, so prompt responses allowed me to accomplish two things at once: I wrote a mini story, and I finished a writing project.

I got excited about writing again. I did it again, and then again. Now, it’s second nature to me. I come up with a prompt and respond to it, always looking forward to what I can create next. My writing prompt responses are short scenes, but they are also complete mini stories. They hold a full thought: they start with an idea, develop it, and bring it to an ending.

That is finishing.

You Don’t Have to Finish Everything

You don’t have to finish every single WIP in your drawer. You don’t have to finish your novel today. You don’t even have to write something long. Just start small. Write a five-line poem. Write a short paragraph. Write a mini story. Respond to a writing prompt. Finish a single thought. The more you practice finishing, the easier it becomes.

That is exactly what happened to me. Prompt Fridays and Free Verse Fridays are now the highlights of my week. I get to have fun playing with poems and mini stories while sharpening my craft. Since I started responding to my own writing prompts, I have completed 12 prompt responses.

That’s 12 finished pieces of writing. Maybe they aren’t novels or long stories, but they are finished. And sometimes, finishing something small is exactly what you need to prove to yourself that you can finish something bigger.

So go finish something today. You might be surprised to discover that you had the power to finish all along.

Join the Conversation

So go on and challenge yourself to finish. I believe in you. You can do it! Drop your poem, paragraph, or mini story below. I’d love to see what you come up with.

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