Remember: This year’s versions of these lessons are available for free at WeCanPub.com.
Now that you have finished planning what you’re going to write, it’s time to get down to business!
Writing Prioritization
Treat your writing the same way you treat other important things in your life such as showering, going to work, studying for classes, or spending time with friends. If you don’t commit to prioritizing your writing, it becomes a lot harder to do. Sure, it may be humanly possible to eventually finish a book that you plan on writing “whenever I have time.” But, for those that are serious about making a career out of literature, you’ve got to do a lot better than that. Here are some strategies to help you out.
- Make your writing time sacred. This means making sure that whatever time slot you’ve chosen in your schedule is blocked out on your work and personal calendars (both digital and paper, public and private) so that you can’t accidentally schedule something during that time. Whether it’s the fifteen minutes before you go to bed each night, a half hour during your 60-minute lunch break, or two hours every Sunday morning, reserve that time for writing. Even when you’ve finished the first draft, reserve that time for your other independent authorship tasks (blogging, querying, reading, setting up promotions, searching for literary events, etc.).
- Publicize your commitment. One reason it’s so easy for writing to fall by the wayside as an activity in life is because it’s done in secret. Writing doesn’t have to be some clandestine event that you hide from everyone but the cat. And making sure that other people know does a couple of useful things. First, it quells their curiosity. This means they won’t follow you or try to sneak up on (and disturb) you because they already know what you’re doing. Second, it helps them hold you accountable for doing your writing during the designated time. Third, they can help motivate you to get back on the wagon if you do falter in your writing schedule. Support and encouragement from the people you love can make all the difference in reaching your writing goals. Only hide it in situations where you (for whatever reason) are keeping mean-spirited people in your life who openly despise writers. No reason to invite negativity unnecessarily. Do your best to write whenever they aren’t around (sleeping, at work, out running errands, etc.) if it’s not feasible for you to remove them from your life at the moment (but please do that as soon as you’re able!).
- Start your online presence. By setting up a free, basic website or social media profile that is specifically for you as an author (not your personal one), you are broadening the publicizing of your commitment to get this thing done. That means all of the benefits of telling your family and friends can get expanded as well. You’ll likely only have a handful of family and friends follow or frequent your site or page in the beginning. That’s okay! You may even have zero followers to start. Feel free to reach out to me and I’ll be your first! Share with your budding audience that you’re scared, looking for resources, feeling excited, and so on. This helps them get to know you as a human being, which means they are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer as an author.
- Join writing groups. These can be accountability groups that get together periodically just to write in each other’s (digital or physical) presence, or these could be critique groups where you are able to submit sections of your work for feedback when you get to that point. Getting used to attending these groups, even before you’ve written word one, has multiple benefits. Because you are attending regularly without submitting anything to get feedback on, you are showing the other members that you are committed to the craft, not just your own selfish needs being fulfilled. This makes people feel more eager and willing to help you out when you do need it. Also, you’re going to hear a lot of different opinions about the various pieces that are presented at groups. This means that you will be learning what people like and don’t like, finding out how they interpret different styles of writing, and picking up on some tricks of the trade based on what other people are doing in their writing.
- Set, mark, and celebrate goals. Consider when you want to have your first draft done. If you want a novel-length book, you’ll be shooting for 40,000 words or more. Pick a time frame. Do you want to finish next week, next month, or next year? Six months from now or tomorrow? It’s up to you. You just need to do the math to figure out how much writing you need to complete each session so that you stay on track. Put these numbers on your calendars. For instance, if you want to write 500 words per day to reach your goal and you start on the 5th of the month, write “500” on the 5th, “1,000” on the 6th, “1,500” on the 7th, and so on. And when you meet your goals, be sure to post about that on social media: “Another 1,000 words down today! Bedtime!” or “That’s 10,000 words written for this writing session. At it again next week (after I soak my hands in some hot water!).” Bring your followers along on your journey. This helps make them more emotionally invested in you and the resulting book you produce.
Writing Tools
One of the great things about being a writer is that you can do your job pretty much anywhere, especially with the sophisticated cloud-based word-processing software that’s available today.
Cloud-Based Word Processors
Writing your book using a service like Google Docs or Dropbox is one of the fastest, easiest, most accessible, convenient ways to complete the early drafts of your work. Only when you get to the point of needing to concern yourself with typesetting (typefaces, margins, fonts, etc.) do you sometimes need to move to something a bit more robust like Word or InDesign. But the entire time you’re writing or re-writing, these cloud-based services are stellar.
Auto-Save
A priceless feature of any cloud-based service is the auto-save feature. Every few seconds, the software is automatically saving what you write. This means that having your phone or laptop stolen, your desktop destroyed, or your power go out mean absolutely nothing. No need for a panic or heart attack, no gnashing of teeth or tearing at clothes. You never lose your work! Worst-case scenario, you’ll be missing the last word or two that you typed, but you don’t lose hours or days of work, and certainly never your ENTIRE manuscript.
Cloud Storage
Because these services are cloud-based, everything is stored off site and accessible through the web. This means that you can write a few pages during your commute on your cell phone and pick up where you left off on your laptop once you get home. Or start writing a short story on your tablet during your lunch break, and finish writing it on a computer at the library where you meet up with your book club.
This level of flexibility means there’s very little room for excuses such as leaving your laptop at work or not being at home with your desktop. None of that matters because of the web-based storage. Anywhere you have internet access, you can open your document and get to work.
Analog Methods
None of these are recommended. There is too much risk of losing your work. Some people find it easier to produce copy using one of the methods below. But you are strongly encouraged to convert your physical writing to a digital platform on a daily basis so that you don’t lose what you’ve done to theft, fire, pests, spills, floods, and similar dangers.
Hard Drives and External/Flash Drives
Yes, technically, saving your work to your phone, laptop, tablet, flash drive, thumb drive, external drive, or desktop is a digital, not an analog, method. However, the level of risk is similar to that of the methods below. If your phone / laptop / flash drive / thumb drive / external drive is lost, stolen, or destroyed (virus, drop, spill, etc.) your work is gone. If your house burns down, floods, or is burgled, the work on your desktop can be lost. In some circumstances, recovery may be possible by a computer repair expert, but this can easily end up costing you hundreds of dollars. Since cloud-based services are free, why not prevent a catastrophe instead of trying to fix one?
Typewriters
Even worse than hard drives is putting something down on paper. Paper is vulnerable to getting wet, being used by insects and rodents as food or nesting material, being gnawed by teething or stressed pets, being attacked by mold, getting set on fire in extreme heat, and more. If a typewriter is the way you need to get your book content out of you, fine. But your text shouldn’t be kept in that state for longer than absolutely necessary. The moment you get the opportunity, put your words into a digital format, preferably on a cloud-based service. Do this after each writing session. Don’t wait weeks or months to do it. That’s exactly when the “unthinkable” could happen.
Pen(cil) and Paper
A classic method, to be sure, but just as high risk as a typewriter or, to some extent, hard drives. Again, if this is the only way you can produce your initial draft, do so. But constantly be backing up your work digitally.
Writing Misconceptions
There are a lot of writers who sabotage themselves in ways that have nothing to do with their writing methods or schedule. The mentality they bring to the writing process is what holds them back from working faster, having more fun, and producing better final products. If you can keep yourself from falling into the traps set by these misconceptions, you can save yourself a lot of time, money, and headache.
“Perfection exists.”
No. It doesn’t.
Have you ever seen a movie, read a book, viewed a piece of art, or listened to a song and thought “What the hell is this?”
Additionally, have you noticed that the supposed “masters” of writing “classics” get negative reviews as well? That not everyone who has read their work loves it? Take a look at books by people like Toni Morrison, Stephen King, Amy Tan, or W. E. B. DuBois at places like Amazon or Goodreads. None of them have 5-star ratings from every single person who left a review.
This is because there is no way to create something that everyone loves. Humans are simply too diverse. What one person thinks is the perfect amount of eroticism in a romance novel is way too much for someone else, and way too little for yet another reader.
Many new writers, because they believe perfection exists, spin their wheels (adding massive amounts of extra, wasted time to their writing efforts) trying to achieve something that isn’t possible, working themselves into a lather the whole time.
People read and love books by imperfect people. It’s okay. Books by all of the “great” writers have plot holes, character inconsistencies, logic errors, and grammatical issues. Yet, they still have a strong following of people who adore them and their work.
And you can, too.
But no one can read what you don’t publish, so getting through the writing process and on to the book development and publication processes—leaving perfection behind you—is the best route to take, in my humble opinion.
My first draft won’t look like [insert famous author’s name] wrote it, so why bother?
Celebrity authors don’t have first drafts that look anything like what you find from them on Amazon. Their pieces have been raked over by professional after professional to get it into shape and make it something you are ready and willing to pay your hard-earned money to read.
But it all starts with that first draft. You have to give those professionals something to work with. Your first draft is your worst draft, which is exactly how writing works!
Writing Math (blech!)
Getting a manuscript completed is a numbers game. A pretty simple one, at that. Here are the goals you might be shooting for with your writing.
Short Story: 10,000 words or less.
Novelette: 7,500 to 17,999 words.
Novella: 18,000 words to 39,999 words.
Novel: 40,000 to 109,999 words
Epic: 110,000 words or more.
The lowest number of pages most publishing platforms will require to print a physical book is 24 pages. But, that could literally be a single word on each page for a total of 24 words. So, anything about 24 words could theoretically be printed and sold (though finding buyers would be quite a challenge!). With this understanding, try to relax when it comes to word count. If you feel like you need a number to shoot for just to keep you motivated and accountable, fair enough. Consider the word count you’d like and use it to do the math for your writing schedule.
A Warning About Word Count
Sometimes the story you’re thinking of or the information you want to provide doesn’t amount to as many words as you thought. And that’s okay! Most readers would much rather read a well-written, engaging book that’s shorter than try to read a piece where the author just stuffed in a bunch of extra content so the book would be “long enough.” Remember, you only “need” 24 words. Your manuscript is complete when you are done telling your story or giving the reader the information they want from you. The word count will change during the editing process, but there’s no need to try to stuff your manuscript with a bunch of useless filler for the sake of meeting an arbitrary word count.
Example Rates
So, what would finishing, say, a novella-length manuscript look like?
Novella minimum = 18,000 words
To write a novella in a year = 1,500 words (6 pages) per month / 50 words per day.
To write a novella in a month = 4,500 words (18 pages) per week / 600 words (3 pages) per day.
To write a novella in a week = 2,572 words (11 pages) per day.
To write a novella in a day = 1,200 words (5 pages) per hour / 20 words per minute (if you’re writing for 15 hours, excluding bathroom and meal breaks and sleep).
You can do the same math with any word count. Be sure to round up, never down, when you get a number with a decimal. For example, 598.9 words is 599 words. 123.3 words is 124 words. If there is any decimal at all, round up.
When figuring your writing goals for each day or week, you just need to consider:
- How much time you want to take to finish the manuscript (a week, a quarter, six months, etc.).
- Approximately how many words long you want the book to be (remember that this will change during the revision process, so don’t get too hung up on it, just pick something to use as a goal).
Then just divide the words by the days you want to take to finish and you’ll get your daily goal. Multiply it by seven for a weekly goal. Multiply it by 30 for a monthly goal.
For example, if you want to write a 60,000-word novel in 30 days, divide 60,000 by 30 to get a daily goal of 2,000 words and a weekly goal of 14,000 words.
When to Write
The writing process is difficult enough as it is, so thankfully, this really doesn’t matter. As long as it is at a time and in a way that works for you. If you’re a night owl, an hour before bed might be your best bet. If your nights and mornings are jam-packed, maybe mid-day sessions work best for you. If you’re using a cloud-based word processor, you can work on your manuscript from just about anywhere so long as you have your phone with you or have access to an internet-connected computer.
Many writers get hung up on trying to write the way [insert celebrity author name] writes. What they fail to realize is that those authors just started doing whatever works for them. And by catering to their personal needs, they found methods that helped them write stronger literature more quickly. If you do the same, you’ll find the rhythm, tools, and time that work best and crank out your manuscripts as quickly and easily as possible (and in a way that works for your lifestyle and budget).
Getting “Stuck”
If you have followed the tips provided on this site involving crafting your premise and blurb and creating an outline, it’s going to be pretty hard to think you’re having “writer’s block.” But, just in case, here is an excerpt from my book The 12-Month Manuscript that can help!
Chapter 5: Stay the Course
In this chapter:
- Three major ways manuscript progress gets derailed.
- Options for avoiding and coping with these issues.
There are a few common pitfalls that you’re likely to run into while you’re completing your manuscript. Here I have outlined what some of them are. I’ve also given you some options for keeping them from happening in the first place, as well as dealing with them once they take place. This chapter isn’t necessary for starting your manuscript-writing journey. But it will help you to give it a read so that you can prepare for what could befall you while you’re working on your project.
Missing a Writing Session
Prevention
To help decrease the chance that you are going to run into problems maintaining your writing progress:
► Review and clear your calendar. For example, if you plan on writing every Sunday morning from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., consider if there are any birthdays, holidays, vacations, or other events coming up during that time throughout the next year. If you find that there are some things that conflict with your writing schedule, cancel or move the event or shift your writing time to a later or earlier time that day or week.
► Let your family and friends know. Telling people when you’ve set aside your time to write will help them avoid scheduling things they want you to attend during that time (bridal showers, birthday parties, etc.). Knowing that you’re serious about finishing your manuscript can also help them be more forgiving when you excuse yourself early from, or arrive late to, a gathering because of your writing schedule. You may be surprised at how willing your loved ones are to shift events over by a half hour to accommodate you or that they don’t get quite so irritated with your tardiness at events since you told them about the scheduling issue ahead of time.
► Get an accountability partner or book coach. Sometimes getting off track isn’t a matter of scheduling. When you’re having a bad week, are recovering from an illness, or have gotten particularly busy (high-traffic season at work, for example), having someone to help push you to keep writing can be key. If you have someone in your life who is reliable and organized, ask them to check in with you at least once each month to make sure you’re staying on track with your writing goals (weekly might be even better). This could be as basic as an email asking what your current word count is. Presenting this role as something that won’t take a lot of time or effort on the part of the accountability partner can help them be more willing to assist you. If you don’t think there is anyone in your life willing to do that for you on a consistent basis, consider hiring a book coach.
Management
Regardless of how well we prepare for this literary journey, life happens!
► Relax. The first step is always to calm yourself down. When you feel anxious, it’s easy to abandon any task, including completing your manuscript. Don’t let this happen to you. Take a moment to clear your head by whatever healthy, legal means you prefer (taking a walk, deep breathing, taking a nap, etc.).
► Dive in to catching up. Your first and fastest option for getting back on track is to immediately go write the 110 (or whatever your goal is) words you missed before you go to sleep or shortly after you wake up the next day.
► Spread the problem thin. Your second, slower option is to divide the backlog of work across the coming seven days. So, instead of writing 110 words per day, write 126 words per day. After the week is up, everything goes back to the 110-word norm.
I recommend not prolonging the catch-up process by any more than one week. Whenever you fall short of your smaller goals, you want to get back on track as soon as possible so you can put the delay behind you. It’s easy for the work to pile up and overwhelm you into writing nothing at all, which is exactly what you’re trying to avoid.
If you are a cleaver who isn’t writing daily, you’ll have to tackle this issue a little differently. For example, let’s say you write for one hour every Saturday morning. If you have to miss this session, consider moving that hour to Saturday afternoon or night. You could also move it to Sunday if you won’t have time on weekdays. Another option is to do two hours of writing the following Saturday. Letting those missing words hover around longer than that single week can be problematic.
Getting Stuck
Prevention
Some people refer to feeling stuck as “writer’s block.” In my experience, people normally don’t have zero ideas about how to continue their plot. They often are being so picky about which ideas they’re going to write down, they become immobilized by indecision. This is because, as I mentioned in Chapter 1, they are trying to edit and write simultaneously. Often, if you find yourself getting ‘stuck,’ it’s because you’re focusing on things that have little, if any, relevance while writing your first draft. You shouldn’t be obsessing over the exact wording of dialogue, for example. Just write down the heart of what you want people to say. In the revisions that you do before you hand the piece off to an editor, you can focus on those kinds of finer details.
►Be open. Before you start writing, open your heart and mind. Be accepting of whatever ideas come to you. Condition your brain to believe that there is no such thing as a bad idea so you can get as many words written as possible. This is similar to dumping puzzle pieces out onto a table and then connecting the ones that go together. You don’t criticize or refuse to use a piece just because it landed on the table crooked, face-down, or on top of another piece. That initial chaos is what allows you to (through hard work and perseverance) end up with a beautiful image. But it all starts with dumping your pieces on the table / writing your words how they come to you.
► Create an outline. If you create an outline before you get hot and heavy into the writing process, it becomes much more difficult to get stuck or lost. You end up with a guidebook that tells you what scenes come after the ones you just wrote. Having a blueprint to refer back to can help keep you on track with your content creation.
Management
► Consult your outline. If you have created an outline, don’t forget about it just because you’ve been on a roll for a while. If you haven’t touched your outline since you started writing, refer back to it.
► Get more detailed. Have you described your world in such a way that the reader is fully immersed? Consider spending time describing the physical or psychological components of your characters, the visuals in the location of each scene (a bar, a bedroom, a lake, etc.), or critical aspects of the world itself (how people find and make food, what kinds of crimes are committed on a regular basis, how many moons are in the sky at night, etc.).
► Write out possibilities. You may have written a happy ending with all the loose strings tied up nice and neat. But what would a tragic ending look like? What about a cliffhanger that sets up a second book? After you finish your draft and are starting the editing process, you can spend time figuring out which ending you want to use and tightening up that particular section.
Remember: You’d rather have content and not need it than need content and not have it—ALWAYS! There’s no reason to stop your writing because you think you’re stuck.
Waiting for Magic
Prevention and Management
Waiting for magic is just a subset of getting stuck. Standing by until some enchanted inspiration strikes hurts the writing process.
► See sudden ideas as treats, not meals. There may be times when a specific plot twist, character phrase, or engaging scene may strike you seemingly out of the blue. That’s a great thing, and I encourage you to include the idea in your draft. However, waiting around for some fantastical surge of creativity to pop up means waiting—not writing—which is the opposite of what you’re trying to accomplish.
► Accept that writing is work, not happenstance. The ‘magic’ of writing is in the transformation of a mere idea into a concrete product that encompasses and expresses that idea so well that people all over the world can pick up a book and share in the experience. An example: If you want to grow a rose bush, you will need to buy seeds and make sure the plant gets the appropriate amount of nutrients, sunlight, shelter, and water. Turning a seed into a flourishing mass of flowers takes effort and time. If you just sit on your front porch waiting for a rose bush to miraculously appear, you’re gonna waste a lot of your life. The fact that writing is actually work escapes a lot of people. If you can come to terms with the idea that you’re going to have to “get your hands dirty,” you’ll find that you don’t waste time expecting handouts from the universe. If they come, let them be bonuses that ease your creative burden. But don’t treat inspiration as though it owes you something.