A couple of days ago, I received an email from Lottie, Mike’s missus. Lottie is, like many of us, a writer, and she was interested in hearing how long it takes me to write my daily 1,000 words because…
“I don’t mean to be nosy. It’s just that it takes me quite a long time to write that much, and even when I have all the words down, I go back and fuss with it over and over again.”
I read the email and started to write my reply… and then thought, no, this might actually make an interesting blog post. So, with Lottie’s permission, I’m going to address it here — and add a few thoughts on daily targets in general.
How quickly I write isn’t important — or, rather, it is, but only to me. Lottie understands this, her question was born of curiousity more than anything else, but I just want to make that clear. As it happens, it takes me about an hour and a quarter to get 1,000 words down. I’ve always written quickly, almost in a trance-like state!, but in the early days the quality was rarely there. Oddly, looking back, I don’t think that mattered; we, I believe, learn to write through the act of writing — the process itself sharpens the blunt tools we start off with. I still believe that the best way to improve as a writer is simply to say (and I apologise in advance for the language 😉 ) “Fuck it” and dive in. As an exercise, just free associate. Pick an idea and write as much as you can in, say, half an hour. To begin with, the quality won’t be there (my first novel was rejected with the words “you have a lot to learn about the narrative form”!), but in time you will surprise yourself.
That said, it is important for me to stress that every writer has to find his or her own way of doing things. Set targets that demand something of you, but don’t make them unreachable. Terry Pratchett, for example, used to write 600 words a day (I don’t know how his illness has affected this.) I’m just getting into the swing of it at 600 words — but I’m not Terry Pratchett. It was right for him.
So, in conclusion:
- Speed writing exercises centered around free association can help “hone” one’s talent (and help you tap into thoughts you never knew you had!)
- What works for me may not work for you. Experiment with work patterns. See what feels right.
- Targets are important. They should tax you, but also be doable.
- Try to do a little every day. When it’s as much a part of your daily routine as taking a d — okay, brushing your teeth, then you’re on your way.
- Enjoy. It’s only writing, after all.
Yay! I’m a writer – that means people should pay attention to me and give me things!
Ahem.
My process – fits and starts, and very little polishing afterwards. I have no process, in other words.
Thanks for posting about this, Gary.
Like you, I find that I’m just getting into it at around 500 or 600 words. It usually takes me a good two hours or more to get 1000 words down, then I go back and fuss over it for another hour or so. I leave it alone for a while after that, and then go back again later to add finishing touches.
I think you’re right about making it part of our daily routines. That’s bound to make it come more natural over time. Maybe then I won’t feel the need to fuss over it so much.
Thanks for all the tips! I’ll probably refer back to this post from time to time.
By the way, do you have a specific time of day that’s reserved strictly for writing?
Mike, mate, they don’t give me things, so if they give an upstart like you something, I’ll quit 😉 Seriously, though, the very little polishing afterwards is pretty typical of me, too. I like the bulk of it there in first draft. If it isn’t, the idea itself is probably flawed and I’m probably destined to be disappointed with the end result however many rewrites I put it through.
Lottie: Two hours plus isn’t bad at all. It isn’t a race, after all, and it is of course far better to spend a long time producing good quality stuff than knocking out sub-standard material in five minutes flat.
I usually write first thing, upon getting up, though I do also work after lunch some days, too. I like a minimum of 4,000 words in the bag at the end of the week, though 5,000 is more usual. Weekends I take off, unless I’m on a roll or have fallen behind. A solid but flexible routine lol.
Great blog entry, very interesting.
Thanks, Andrew. Do you write fiction?
I’ve considered writing short stories often.
However in the business world I’m always writing support documents or other material. So found the advice quite interesting.
Oddly, it had never occurred to me that it could be applied to other forms of writing 🙂 Or hitting targets/deadlines in general, for that matter.
Really glad it was of interest, anyway, Andrew.
Interesting topic, Gary.
I write my blog on the fly – what that means is I can write up to 1500 words in about 10 minutes. That isn’t bragging – it is just a matter that I write what comes into my head about the subject I am blogging about.
Writing Tramp, a short story on my blog, took days!
When I am writing a novel it can easily be a week where I write no more than 10 words. I don’t get specific on the amount of words I have to write each day. But what I can say is this:
I bin a lot of words, in one go I binned 3000+ because they were not up to what I wanted.
1,500 in ten minutes is fast, dude. Physically beyond me, I’m afraid — though I sometimes came close when I used to use voice recognition software!
Novel writing is more of a marathon than a sprint, I find… I need a steady, predictable pace.
As far as binning stuff goes, though, mate — remember not to do it right away. Let it sit in a drawer for a bit. I’m sure you do this, but still worth mentioning.
Sits on the ol’ hard drive for about 10 mins, Gary – if it doesn’t feel right – it goes.
*groans* I tend to get rather down on my work, hyper-critical, when I’m tired, but it usually looks better after a day or two. You don’t find that I guess?