How I wrote a 23K Christmas novella in two months while working full-time, maintaining my relationships, and other responsibilities (CrossFit 3x/week, Aerial Arts 2x/week, dog-walk 3x/day, etc.) comes down to next level insanity; however, it also required some practical dreaming. I’m not a superhero. Not even a little bit.

Once I signed my Christmas novella contract with Vinspire Publishing, I had just under two months to create a whole story from scratch. While I have a Christmas novella in process, I wanted to write something new for this publisher because they had certain parameters that they wanted the story to meet. Rather than rewriting my in-process story to fit, I decided to start fresh. I questioned the sanity of this, but I went with my gut.

How I Wrote a 23K Christmas Novella in 2 Months

1. Map Out the Time Available

Knowing that I had just under two months to write a fully-fleshed out story, I broke the next 8 weeks down into a loose idea of structure. The first two weeks would be spent on researching, outlining, and general brainstorming. The next two weeks would be all about writing, and if I could get 15,000 words, that would be ideal. The final four weeks would be about beta readers, feedback, and rewriting. This loose plan helped me stay calm.

2. Brainstorm and Outline

Because I only had two months to write this Christmas novella from scratch, I put ego aside. I had no time for my ego. And I immediately called in for help from friends and family alike to brainstorm the story with me. Two of my neighbors met up with me one weekend afternoon to sit outside and hash out a plot for the story. These two gave up time and energy to sit with me and throw around “what if” until a semblance of a story revealed itself. One of my struggles as a writer is plot — it’s not a story tool that comes easily to me. Meanwhile, another friend pointed out to me, “Why don’t you use this book as an opportunity to improve your plot building?”

And so I did. But I couldn’t have done it without the help of my people!

3. Outline Some More

After that brainstorming session and a few others, I got down to business of fleshing out the plot. For me, that looks like excessive outline. I tend to have a general guess at how many chapters should exist and I start filling in the blanks.

When I first started writing, the blank page terrified me. I had such trouble writing without some sort of idea of where I was heading. While I love the romantic notion of just sitting down and allowing the story to flow from my fingertips, the reality (for me) is that nothing happens. I DESPERATELY need my outline. Once the outline is in place, the fun begins.

4. Write, Write, Write, Right?

When I signed the novella contract, my sister had been lobbying for a sister trip (as a teacher, she gets summers off). This year, I had a caveat: “Yes, sister trip, but can it be a writing retreat?” She said yes (and she did the bulk of the researching and planning–thank goodness because I didn’t have the capacity). And this is where the magic truly happened for me and this Christmas novella.

From the kitchen table at our Airbnb in the middle of nowhere, the characters of Take a Right at the Mistletoe clambered for their spot under the twinkle lights of the Vienna Christmas markets. From Matilda (the main character) to her interest in Dylan (a holiday tourist) to the endearing Tweedles (three older men who are annoyingly adorable), the characters came alive. I’d write for hours, then my sister and I would go on an adventure, whether hiking or eating or something like that. At the end of our outing, I’d be ready and raring to return to the cobblestoned streets of Vienna.

The entire time my heart flowed with thankfulness that I could spend 3 days away from my regular life to dive deep into this creative process while having one of my most favorite people with me (and Fiona, the dog of my life). It felt extravagant — and oh so good.

Within those 3 days away, I somehow managed to write the entire Christmas novella and hit The End with 23,000 words! My goal had been to write half the story, but somehow I wrote it all.

5. Edit Myself and Beta Readers Round 1

With such a short timeline, I had to edit myself as quickly as possible and then just toss it to my first round of beta readers. Once again, no room for ego — just had to do the thing and humbly accept help and feedback. That first round of beta readers is probably the most nerve-wracking.

Any new creative project has been birthed from the inner depths of the creator, and sometimes just the wrong type of look can cause creativity to shrivel up and die. As a writer or creator, you need to carefully choose the people who handle your creative project. For me, I want individuals who are kind while honest enough to offer real feedback who are able to be a cheerleader as well.

Once I received the feedback from these first readers, I edited my novella again before shooting into another group of readers.

6. Beta Readers Round 2

Since my novella was ahead of schedule, I realized I’d be able to have not only this second round of readers but a third as well. For the second round of Beta Readers, I included many more people (10 people, in fact). This time, I had 6 male readers and 4 female readers (2 readers being native German speakers). After the first round of readers, I had a better idea of what needed to be fixed, and so when I sent out my book draft to Beta Readers Round 2, I had specific instructions for them (I have no idea if that’s how other authors use beta readers, but I figured I’d give my readers some ideas of what I was hoping for from their feedback).

What a joy it was to receive feedback from 10 people on my novella! But for the record, it was also SO VERY overwhelming. Each reader noted areas that needed to be improved and some areas were much more troubling than others. It was a lot to take in, but I also wanted every bit of feedback possible.

7. Print It Out & Edit

I spend a lot of time in front of a computer. While it’s more efficient to make edits right to the document, I wanted the slowness of a hard copy.

When it was time to apply all the notes from my round 2 of Beta Readers, I printed out the manuscript and began to edit according to those notes with a pink pen (sometimes green or blue) in hand. I listened to Christmas music and Fiona usually sat nearby. At this moment, I’d like to shout out to my boyfriend who actually made that weekend of editing and rewriting more manageable by making food decisions for me, encouraging breaks, and just generally being a supportive presence (he also walked Fiona a few times). I also made it to my sister-in-law’s baby shower that Sunday (it was 2 hours away and i arrived an hour late).

But I finished that MASSIVE rewrite and sent off the manuscript to my final round of Beta Readers (this time, only two people).

8. Rewrite & Submit

My final round of beta readers truly rose to the occasion because while all the other readers had a week to read my novella…I asked this final round to read the novella within 48 hours. I knew it was a lot to ask, but I really wanted more eyes on the story before I sent it to Vinspire Publishing. These two women had the manuscript back to me in just over 24 hours — ROCKSTARS.

I took their notes and fixed the items that they pointed out. But this is when I realized I was emotionally tapped out and burnout from my marathon sprint of writing a Christmas novella in under two months. And so, I submitted my novella to my publisher nearly 4 days early.

Here’s the thing: I knew that I would have the manuscript return to me a few times with edits from their editing team, and I knew that my brain needed to recuperate so that I could once again offer my absolute best to Take a Right at the Mistletoe.

Wrapping Up My Thoughts

While I’d like to say that I’m back to normal, the truth is I still feel deeply weary yet incredibly satisfied with and from the creative work that I’ve indulged in throughout June and July. I truly believe that Take a Right at the Mistletoe is some of my best fiction writing yet, and I’m thrilled that my book dream of sharing Vienna at Christmas will become true this November 2020! Yes, 2020 has been completely unexpected in so many ways, but this is one way that it has been SO good.

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