Writing Tip: How Do I Know When I'm Finished?

Sometimes, knowing when you're finished, and what to do next can be the most paralysing part of the process. This is part one in my thoughts on when you know you're done.

‘A book is never finished, it’s only ever abandoned,’ is something I say to my students on an almost weekly basis. It’s a misquoting of something attributed to Charles Darwin, who was referring to art, in general, when he said it.

It’s easy to edit and rewrite and refine and redefine your work. The more you do, the deeper your thinking gets. The more you do, the better a writer you become. The more time passes, the more you know what you’re trying to say. And so, knowing that you could tinker forever, ad infinitum, there comes a point where you need to abandon what you’re working on.

How do we know when is the right time?

This is something I get asked a lot, in writing discussions, in class, at events. When Nikita Gill and I ran a weekly writing clinic on Instagram Live during lockdown, I think we were asked this question every single week. It’s a common anxiety. And while, it’s so easy to put the answer on you, the writer, to work out for yourself, when you think you’re done, I think it’s worth breaking down for you some thinking on how you can get there.