How long did it take you to finish your first novel?

I'm just wondering how long it took everyone to finish their first novel.

I am still yet to finish a full novel

I started writing one years ago in school holidays (I think I was only 10 or 11 at the time - it was about 7 years ago). I actually did quite a bit of work on it. But then once school started back up again, I ran out of time to put much work into it (I did A LOT of activities before and after school), so I stopped. Now, looking back on it, I'm so glad I didn't continue. The writing's not bad, but the characters....blegh! Mary-Sues all the way

During high-school, the only writing I did were short-stories. Again, heavy amounts of homework, as well as hockey, cross-country, jazz band, concert band, clarinet ensemble, piano lessons, clarinet lessons, chess etc, etc, etc all kept me super busy. Hence, no time for full-on story writing

But now that I have had a break before I start uni, I have started my current novel which I'm hoping to finish successfully! Unfortunately over the past few days it has begun falling apart, which is a tad depressing. My mum (who's an artist) is urging me just to leave it and start something else. But I'm quite stubborn and I love this story and I've put so much into it that I don't want to let it go!! So I'm going to try go iron out the problems over the next few days; if that fails, then I may have to consider starting something else. Fingers crossed...

Well, I tried writing my first novel when I was seven, so you can imagine how that turned out XD.

I've never finished one! Like Emma, I got really far on my first but looking back it needs some seeeerious reworking!

It took me 7 and 1/2 to 8 months I think...
That was in year 8. I finished it a year ago so Aug '10 but it was horrendous. I can't even edit it! D: At first it took long to write, but as I got more into it (Halfway point was in June) I began to write loads. (BUT I always have short first drafts. That first draft was 52,000 words and so far on this one.. 36,000 to 37,000 words. A few scenes left.

Year 10 is coming up so I don't know how that'll affect my writing! I also had an argument with my mum who said I was spending way too much time on the computer and that I needed to spend time with everyone else, so that's not helping either.

Mac

I've never finished one either.

Currently, I'm on Chapter Five and in the middle of writer's block. In fact, I'm going to go take a look at that helpful-looking 'writer’s block' post you made. If I were to guess, I think the first draft through may take 1-2 years, but then another year or two of editing. So, all together, 3-4 years. That's just guesswork though. It could very well take 5 or more years

It took me 2 months to finish it. Note that it turned out awful because I was way too young.

Maris wrote:It took me 2 months to finish it. Note that it turned out awful because I was way too young.

How old were you? If you don't mind.

I think I was 10.

Mind if I ask what was it about?

Well... The main character is a teenage girl named April. It starts with her moving away to her grandma's after her parent's house got destroyed by a hurricane or something, and then it just goes on and on like a soap opera.

Maybe you could try rewriting it.

I can't even remember what my first novel was about. Plus, I had a really sucky computer, and I don't think I worked out the keyboard very well at that time XD

Thalia wrote:Maybe you could try rewriting it.

Not a chance.

I think it's like that with every first novel. Mine was about terrorists who kidnap this person and they try to eliminate her friends who saw some events and were a danger to their cause.

Yours sounds much better than mine. Before that one, I wrote a story about a few dogs who were detectives or something like that. *facepalm* It was about 60 pages long.

The original idea might've been all right but when you look further, it's shockingly bad. Horrendous.

Dog detective? Sounds a little bit like scooby doo XD

LOL You're right, it does. But they only got into the business because one of their friends went missing. Turns out he was kidnapped by some rich man and his cats. I can't remember why. There were also subplots. One dog falls in love with another, but she loves some other dog... All kinds of twists.

No matter how ridiculous it is, I think the structure of the plot is better than it is in April's story.

I remember writing a story in year 1. It was really short - only a page or two, and it was about a girl called Emma who was friend with with dolphins and fought against the evil sharks. In the end Emma got to go and live with the dolphins under the sea and they lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

...yay...

Lmao Emma xD
Before my first novel, I tried to write a book about 3 triplets who returned back home from Mumbai when they were 3 after their parents were swept away in flooding caused by monsoon rains. They lived alone and were escaping the police because otherwise they'd get in trouble -.-

And before THAT I wrote about some quadruplets who were kidnapped and thrown into garbage bags and thrown into the sea in Hartlepool. One of them ended up on the Shetland Islands and met someone called Lewis.

And before that, a story heavily based on Fairly Odd Parents, were some kids (same cast as above) who were running away from Vicky, the baby sitter and a monster. She trapped them in the house.

Finally, a random lot of kids who had a brother called Harry who had the worst things happen to him - first his temperature went up to 41 degrees and went down. Then as he was walking, his arms and legs broke which meant he had to be on a wheel chair. After that he was buried alive and was freed after shooting a canon ball through his canon arm (remember Astro Boy?).

Well. All terrible. The last one^, I wrote (didn't finish it cos the laptop burned) when I was 7, the one above when I was 9 and the one above THAT (the mumbai one) was when I was in Year 7.


Year SEVEN? I wrote dumb things like that when I was in YEAR 7?
(I've just begun year 10. As in Freshman year, Hailey. Or Tia )