I’ve been writing on-and-off for the past thirteen years. Mostly fanfiction, and occasionally original stories. Some of them I finished. Others I didn’t.

Then came the idea of a YA fantasy novel.

It started small, with an idea of one book and a few characters. Six months later, I had a 108-word finished novel, an idea for three more books in the series, and big dreams.

Spoiler alert — I never published that novel. It used to crush me, but now I know it was for the best. That novel was too raw and I had much to learn.

Here are the top ten things this journey has taught me.

Writing is full of ups and downs. I don’t know why I never experienced it before writing my first novel. Maybe I felt it in small doses.

But when I started working on my first novel, the roller coaster of emotions hit me hard. One day my characters were sophisticated and intriguing. The next day, they became childish and mundane.

I kept looking for things to be perfect. Plot, pace or punctuation — I needed them to be flawless. Not only did it slow me down, it made me doubt myself again and again.

What I wish I knew:

• First drafts are a mess. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a book or a post. You’ll never get it right the first time.

What I should have done:

• Let the inner perfectionist take a few days off, and keep the writing flow. Stop looking for the perfect word. Stop trying to sound smart. Just keep writing.

Sharing

Writing my first book was a tough journey. It took me a while to tell the first person — a friend — that I’d started working on a novel. We barely talked about it.

I told a few more friends, but again — we rarely talked about it. I was terrified people would ask to read my novel. I was terrified they wouldn’t.

I entered a loop of fear, shame and self doubt. The worst thing about this loop? It was lonely.

What I wish I knew:

• Writing can be all-consuming. If you don’t share your struggles with anyone, it will slowly claw your insides. You may not get criticism, but you won’t have anyone to share reaching the milestones with, either.

What I should have done:

• Share, even if the writing it’s not good enough. Stop hiding, and instead, share the struggles and challenges. And each day, celebrate the small victories.

Researching

Don’t get me wrong, I did research while writing the book. Was it a satisfying one? Hardly.

I plunged into writing without any knowledge of the craft or the publishing industry. I had no idea how to query agents, or how a manuscript should look like. I made one mistake after the other. Some of them were easy to fix. The others were too amateurish, I lost my chances with the top literary agents in the world regarding that specific project.

I was fueled by motivation and creativity. While it sounds good, it’s only the basics. A car can’t drive without fuel. But it also can’t drive without wheels, an engine and a driver.

What I wish I knew:

• Motivation isn’t enough. You have to know the craft and the world you’re trying to get into, whether it’s fiction writing or blogging. You have to come prepared to face the struggles better.

What I should have done:

• Research profoundly. Take the time to learn about the field and what it has to offer. Experiment before rushing to get everything published. And most importantly, never stop learning.

Looking At The Bigger Picture

I’m not a patient person. I love to plan and dream like any writer, but I’m anxious to get my goals met. To cross the finishing line.

Or at least, I used to be like that.

I remember the first time I realized publishing traditionally takes time. At least two years. It made me rush things and do things backwards. I edited my book while querying agents. I submitted it to contests when the novel was only half edited.

I made a mess of things.

What I wish I knew:

• Writing is not a sprint nor a marathon. It’s a journey. Sometimes you cross oceans with a reeling speed, and the next, you stop to appreciate the view. You need to have patience for every step you take.

What I should have done:

• Take the time to fully appreciate the journey. Do things in the right way and at the right time. Don’t look for shortcuts or do things simultaneously. Simply follow the writing path wherever it leads.

Editing

I edited my first book for half a year. I had no idea what I was doing at first. I certainly didn’t think it would take this long or multiple revisions.

I didn’t have a plan, either. I knew I wanted to go through the book while querying agents, in case I’d find something I needed to change. But I didn’t really know what I was looking for.

The more I dived into my messy first draft, the more corrections I made. Every time I thought I finished editing, something else came up. And with every rejection I got from an agent, my editing process became more aggressive. As if it would help me get that blessed YES.

What I wish I knew:

• Editing right after finishing writing is a recipe for disaster. Plunging into editing without a plan or goal is a straight road for failure. And editing only once is like taking a lucky shot. It won’t work twice.

What I should have done:

• Take a few months to work on something else. Return to the piece with fresh eyes and an editing plan. A goal in mind. Be prepared to do multiple revisions before publishing, and enjoy seeing it come to life.

Writing Shorter

Remember I mentioned it was a 108-word novel? After editing it, it turned into a 118-word novel. If you ask many writers, they’ll tell you it was a rookie mistake. The main goal of editing is to decrease word count.

It could have been an editing mistake. Or it could have been a writing one. I didn’t know how to say more with fewer words. I didn’t understand the importance of each word.

If you ask bloggers, many will tell you the same thing. People don’t have time to read long posts. Everything needs to be faster, shorter and to the point.

What I wish I knew:

• Knowing how to say more with less is a gift. When you know how to use strong, to-the-point words, your message gets louder and clearer to more people. It’s a tool every writer should master.

What I should have done:

• Practice the craft. Join writing workshops to learn how to write stronger but shorter. Read and analyze how the big writers do it. Keep exercising until it feels right.

Writing Rules

If you know anything about the craft of writing, you know you have to show and not tell. You can’t use adverbs because it’ll make your writing weaker. And don’t even think about using the passive voice. It’s the amateurs’ route.

For rookie Noa, writing rules were sacred. I didn’t dare bend them. I certainly didn’t dare break them or come up with my own rules, even though every great writer does it. In the end, it frustrated me and limited my writing flow.

What I wish I knew:

• Writing rules are great if you’re learning the craft. It gives you a ground to walk on. A back to rely on. But it can also put you into a box.

What I should have done:

• Learn the rules, but also learn when to break them. Test the waters, experiment, and make mistakes. Make new writing rules along the ones that already exist.

Taking Criticism

I used to be terrified of criticism.I kept thinking what people would say about the book. Would it ever sell? Would it be a failure? Will many love it or just a small audience?

I was reluctant to submit my novel to writing contests. I didn’t let anyone read my full manuscript except for a trusted friend. I was consumed with the paralyzing fear of rejection.

Then one of my beta readers said my main female character is a cliché. It devastated me. I didn’t want to work with her again. Only after I calmed down I realized there might be truth to her words.

What I wish I knew:

• Not everyone is going to love your content. You can’t satisfy everyone. Criticism is supposed to help you grow and improve. It’s an opportunity if you take it as one.

What I should have done:

• Embrace criticism as an opportunity to grow and learn. Learn when to listen to criticism, and when to put it aside.

Targeted Audience

I had a huge problem with choosing my book’s category. I knew I wanted it to be a YA novel. But since my main characters were more than 18 years old, it didn’t fit the criteria.

I kept changing their age to fit the targeted audience. And so I changed their background stories accordingly. When I realized I had a bigger problem — my story’s POV – I drew the line and let this project go.

You see, I wrote a young adult book from a third omniscient perspective. Think of The Hobbit. Pride and Prejudice. Any book where the narrator knows all.

Almost no one is writing like that anymore. Especially not young adult authors. Especially not unpublished authors.

The bottom line — my book was never going to sell.

What I wish I knew:

• You may think you write for everyone, but every content needs to have a targeted audience if you want to leave a mark. Your content will be messy if you don’t think of your readers while writing.

What I should have done:

• Think of the reader, who this content is meant for. Decide on a targeted audience and learn its language. But don’t forget to enjoy the writing journey. Your first and foremost audience is yourself.

It took me a while to understand the importance of a hook. How to grab someone’s attention with a mere paragraph. A mere sentence.

There is nothing that helps you understand it better than querying agents. You have only a short letter and five to ten pages of your novel to impress them. That’s why every word counts. Your first lines need to be memorable.

Content creation is no different. You can see it from posts’ headlines and subheadings. You can see it in their structure. They all want to hook the reader in.

I changed my book’s first line at least ten times. It was never grabbing enough. It was never short enough. When I realized the power it held, I panicked.

What I wish I knew:

• Good impression can be made by more than a heading or a first sentence. It can be made with tone or a catchy picture. It doesn’t have to be the first thing a reader sees. Good impression can be made throughout the story.

What I should have done:

• Study how to hook an audience, what makes people tick. Experiment and try different approaches, because there’s no one correct answer. Research and analyze current trends, then come up with a version of your own. But most importantly — stop obsessing over it and keep writing.