Writing a book is no joke. If you’re setting out to author the next international bestseller, you’d better prepare for a long journey. There’s no short supply of articles that say you can write a book in a month. I won’t tell you that’s impossible — it’s very possible. However, if you’re an average person working average hours, you’re not going to have the time or energy to manage that path. A much more reasonable approach is to take it day by day, cranking out as many words as you can here and there. If that’s where you are right now, this is the method for you.

It took me a long, long time to get through the first draft of my book. I took the advice of some of the folks on reddit and jumped straight in. Sadly, I’m not the kind of person who can afford to go in without a plan, and I regretted it almost immediately. I’m not alone — most people begin with only a few key scenes and characters blocked out in their heads. This can make it way harder. Here are a few of the lessons I learned that can help you speed up your writing tenfold.

Write an outline

Some people like to come up with stories in a more free-form way. Authors like Stephen King and George R. R. Martin start with a few characters and let them dictate the storytelling. However, this is a lot harder than it might sound. An easier method is to use an outline.

Outlining Characters

A good place to start is by inventing your core cast. Come up with at least three major characters and at most ten supporting characters, and give them some simple relational traits. Where were they born? Who are they friends with? What enemies do they have? Which characters are they unfamiliar with? Next, give them a primary physical goal and a primary emotional goal. Make sure some of these characters’ goals contradict each other, so you’ve got some natural conflict. So, now that all your characters have things they need, flesh out the details of their lives. Think about the places they work and the setting in which they live. You can do as much as you want, because more detailed characters are usually better characters.

For your main characters, grant a few extra emotional goals, and make some of them contradict their primary goal. For instance, if your main character’s emotional goal is “to convince Jared to love me,” have a secondary emotional goal be “to make Jared think I’m smarter than him.” Now you’ve got a character who’s self-defeating, because she’ll be pretentious and uppity around somebody she wants to love. Contradictory characters are complex characters. Complex characters are memorable characters.

Get that plot going

So, now you’ve got a cast, their wants, their needs, and your setting. With this information, you can begin your outline. A popular practice is to use the “therefore, but” method. Essentially, you start with a statement:

Laura tries to tell Jared she loves him.

Then, you introduce a conflict — the “but” of your structure.

BUT, she accidentally implies he’s not very smart.

Of course, your character will try to correct for the conflict.

THEREFORE, she convinces her friends to pretend he’s the smartest man in the world.

And so on, and so forth:

BUT, he gets really arrogant and annoying.

THEREFORE, she screams in his face.

BUT, she gets arrested for disturbing the peace.

This example might seem a bit like a bad episode of “Friends” mixed with the ending of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” but it illustrates the fundamental principle. Something goes wrong and someone reacts, but something else happens in response until the plot comes to a rest. Whether that plot rests in a happy or sad place is up to you. Use your own judgement to figure out how long or short your plot should be. Make sure it’s at least a page long, though.

Trace your character arcs

Of course, just having a rough idea of your characters and your plot isn’t anywhere near enough. You’ve made a natural progression of events, but now you have to refine it. A strong character guides a strong plot, so look at the things your characters do to accomplish their goals. Do they learn anything, or do they forget an important lesson? If a character doesn’t have a strong arc — or if they have a cliche one — go ahead and edit your plot until you feel it’s working.

“But El, what makes a strong arc?” I hear you ask. Well, if the lessons they learn or forget are unique and important, and if they learn those things in a clear, logical way, they have a strong arc. It doesn’t have to be obvious, necessarily, and it certainly doesn’t have to be completely linear, but someone who’s paying attention to your book should be able to identify the arc without too much effort. Remember, your characters should start the story with serious flaws, and by the end of the story, they should have either overcome most of those flaws or succumbed to them. There are exceptions to this rule, as there are with all rules, but it’s good to remember this one in particular.

Books really are all about the characters, and each character should have an arc. Yes, even those minor characters you came up with before deserve mini arcs of their own. Although, if you find a minor arc is distracting or takes too much time, you can cut it.

Get some themes together

No story is just a story. Even an author who doesn’t intend to say anything important when they write will inadvertently slip in their values here and there. And even if their values don’t slip into the story, something they don’t believe might very well. For instance, “The Lion King” could be viewed as a justification for segregation and monarchy. It’s simple, right? The hyenas are a racial outclass who’re depicted as fundamentally, perhaps genetically, evil, and only a “good” authoritarian figure can bring them down in the end.

Well, now you’re saying “that’s stupid. It’s just a kid’s movie, why even point that out?” The point is, even if that example can be tossed out, what if your book accidentally says something just like it, and you can’t hide behind the “it’s just for kids” defense? It’s a tough scenario, and it can come back to bite you after a while. Just look at J.K. Rowling and her issue with the goblins in her books seeming disturbingly close to stereotypical depictions of Jewish people. It’s hard to come back from that. So before you go further, take a look at your plot from a whole bunch of different angles, figure out what you want to say, and make changes to your plot and characters so you don’t say anything else.

And try not to say anything dumb, by the way.

Map out your chapters

Now’s your chance to look at all the changes you’ve made and get them all together in an easy-to-follow, convenient final outline. Take your rough plot and group some events together. Which pieces seem like they fit in a simple, beginning, middle, and end pattern? Do they take place in the same location? If not, see if you can make them fit together. Those can be your chapters. Label each of them in your word processor of choice, and mark down each of the events that should happen in that chapter.

So, now you’ve got memorable characters, a message you can agree with, a plot that’s logical and character-defined, and an outline that will allow you to start writing in whichever chapter is most convenient to you. Now you’re ready to …

Start writing a book and don’t stop

This is the second most important advice anybody will ever give you. Don’t let yourself fall off the game. Set a goal (500 words a day is an old, reliable one) and stick to it as best you can. Remember, this process will only take you through your first draft, and first drafts are going to suck no matter what. Just keep hacking away at it, and don’t worry about how well it’s written in the moment. Avoid obvious grammar mistakes, of course, because you’re going to want it to be readable when you come back for later drafts. Just don’t focus too much on that, because there are people (wink, wink!) who can take care of it for you. Try to avoid stopping, even if it’s uncomfortable some days. Remember, the more you write, the closer to habit writing becomes. Some consistent, hard work will get you where you need to go.

But then again…

I’ve beaten myself up about not sticking to my deadline a million times, and I’ve found out that the most important thing in the world is to be kind to yourself.

Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t keep to your goal, because it’s going to be hard no matter what. This is going to take a lot of self-love and self-care to do. Punishing yourself won’t make your book any better, and neither will being harsh on yourself. If you find that you can’t finish your book, that’s okay. You’re only doing this because you want to, right? Nobody’s forcing you to write. Writing a book is a hobby, and no hobby should make you feel worse about who you are. Be patient. It’s gonna be great. I believe in you.

Godspeed.