Clémence Michallon, author of The Quiet Tenant

How to decide when an idea has traction and beginning a novel from there

I spoke with Clémence on Writers on Writing last month and while we ran out of time, she agreed to respond in writing to a couple more questions. I loved her novel and her. Such a gracious, generous writer. Thank you, Clémence, for taking the time.

What advice would you give a writer who has their fingers in a bunch of pots and can’t decide what to work on? How do you know when an idea has traction?

Here's a tip that might help, from my own writing practice. I get ideas for novels I might want to write fairly regularly. The important thing is: I never write them down. Ideas are fun, but how many of those do I actually want to explore for a year or two or three, or however long it will take me to bring a novel to completion? Only a few. The truly interesting ideas are the ones I don't need to write down. They're the ones that won't leave me alone, no matter what I do. That's how I know an idea has traction: I can't get it out of my head.

Once I start writing, I rarely look back. You've got to commit. It won't be easy—it never is—but difficulties (like a plot point you can't figure out, or a character who slightly eludes you) don't necessarily mean you need to switch to a different project. Give yourself time and space to explore all the possibilities within an idea. That's the fun part!

Will you say more about beginning a novel?

Above all, I like to preserve the initial impulse to get started. It's an incredibly precious resource, that early excitement. So I won't delay writing in the name of research or anything else. If I want to start, I'll start, and I'll keep researching as I go.

I'm not an outliner, but there are some things I do before I feel ready to start writing. I need to know where the novel starts (what the inciting incident will be), and how it will end (meaning I want to know both what will happen plot-wise, and what that will mean for my characters). I might have an idea for a few things in the middle, which may or may not make it into the final draft.

I also need to know what the character arc will be for my protagonist and for the most important supporting characters. How will they change? What will they learn or unlearn? Those questions will guide me as I figure out the story.

First drafts are exciting, but they also come with a fair bit of anxiety for me. There's so much to figure out, beginning with the voice. One of the ways I've found to get it done is to give myself daily word counts. As long as I hit those, I know the work is happening. Your own numbers might differ from mine, but for what it's worth, I like to aim for 500-1,000 words per writing session. Once I gave myself a flexible word count, my writing life became much easier. I can write 500 words fairly easily (I'm a journalist by trade), but I like staying open to the possibility of writing a bit more if that feels doable.

(A note: How many days a week you write is entirely up to you, and will depend on your schedule and your obligations. Some days, it's just not going to happen, and that's absolutely fine. You'll pick up the next day, or the one after that. Just keep going.)

All this usually gets me past the 20,000-word mark, which is usually when I know with some confidence that I have a book.