The Art of Writing Fast (Part II)

By Chrissy Hicks

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In Part I of The Art of Writing Fast series, I discussed the benefits of Fast Writing (both what it is and why it’s awesome sauce!) Now, I’d like to share the “how” behind this technique…

The “How” of Fast Writing

1) You need a plan

Yes—YOU! You need one. Period. Whether you’re a pantser, planner, or plantser, one of the most effective ways to write fast is to have an outline. And before you throw a fit about outlines…ultimately, whatever process works best for you is what you should stick with. Can you speed through a 50,000+ word first draft with no outline and only an idea in your brain? Absolutely. Just because I don’t, or some people find that difficult, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t if you can. However, it does make it a lot easier to provide direction and can help avoid writer’s block if you get stuck somewhere along the way. But it’s not impossible. So yes, this method can work for everyone. However, I still suggest creating an outline. It does NOT need to comprise an elaborate blue print with character worksheets and maps and a play-by-play of every action. But it should at least include a basic 3-act structure. What happens in the beginning? How do things get harder in the middle—what’s the big setback/challenge? And how does it end? You can do this at the beginning, before writing, or you can do it during your writing. Just keep a notebook or other document open on your screen and note what happens in each chapter as you go. This way, when you get to the end, you can review it and see if the structure still makes sense. Or, if you get stuck somewhere along the way, you can review the outline and see if it still makes sense, if you should take a different turn somewhere, or if you notice a pattern or theme emerge that will help you decide what happens next. Whatever the case, a guideline of some sort will only help, not hinder, your progress as you sprint toward “The End.”

2) Figure out how long it will take

Like with any goal, this will require dedicated time, energy, and discipline. Try this exercise to see how long it might take you to complete a novel:

• Set aside an hour where you know you will not be interrupted (turn off your phone/TV, etc…). Lock yourself in a room and ensure you have everything you need (water, coffee, etc.)

• Prep your computer (or notebook/pen) and set yourself up however you prefer to write

• Have a timer ready and set to go off at one (1) hour

• Start the timer and write for an hour. You can write about anything you want, but preferably in the genre you enjoy most (or are most comfortable writing in). You can use a prompt book or prompt generator to get you started. Here are a couple of good ones: 

• Reedsy: https://blog.reedsy.com/writing-exercises/ 

• The Nudge: https://thorncraftpublishing.com/nudge#305d26da-b9cd-4d7d-859d-48335e22ff02

• The 3AM Epiphany: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/263288.The_3_A_M_Epiphany

• The only rule is DO NOT STOP! If you must (such as, all that coffee you chugged before starting just hit your bladder something fierce), pause the timer and restart as soon as possible. But overall, focus on getting as many words on paper as possible 

• At the hour mark, check your word count. Most programs will have a word count built in, but if doing this by hand, you’ll need to physically count the words

If you’re able to do this 3 times, whether the same day or on 3 separate days, you should have a good average number for your “hourly word count average.” Doing so on 3 separate days will provide a more accurate number, mainly because, if you have one superb day with 3 hours to spare, the words you knock out might not reflect your average word count…thus, spreading out your days will give you a more accurate picture.

My average word count in one hour, without too many breaks, is about 1500-2000 words. Some days are better than others, but that’s about what I’ve been able to achieve. I’m not throwing this out there as a comparison—if you can do much more, that’s awesome! If you came up with much less—no worries! If it’s your goal to achieve a higher word count average in an hour, there’s no better time to practice than now while writing your next book. ( ;

3) Schedule your writing time

Once you’ve got an idea of how many words you can achieve in an hour (give or take), divide that by the word count goal for your book. 

Example: 80,000 / 1500 (avg hrly words) = 53.3 hours. 

For the sake of keeping this simple, let’s say it takes 54 hours for you to write an 80,000-word rough draft. Now all you need to do is look at your schedule and find 54 hours. Easy peasy. 

Okay, so it’s not that peasy. For some people who are currently adulting (i.e., work full-time and have kids and responsibilities, like moi), 54 hours can seem overwhelming. But I guarantee you, it’s not as bad as you think. I’ll bet you can find time to squeeze it in amidst the daily grind. Do you commute to work by train or bus? You could write during that time. Maybe during lunch break? How about after the kids are tucked in? As you study your daily habits and the average day-to-day schedule, you’ll likely find places where you could substitute an activity for writing. If you binge-watch Netflix shows for 4 hours on a Saturday night, cut that to 2 hours and spend the other 2 on writing.

4) Use all the tools (or none of them)

Consider doing word count sprints. Or using a Pomodoro timer while you write. Bribe yourself with treats when you hit word count goals! Example: Once I make it to 30,000 words, I’m getting an hour-long massage. / For every 5,000 words I hit, I’m eating a chocolate chip cookie.

5) Support

Having others support you and your goals is always important. And I hope you have those people in your life. Tell your close friends, your spouse, your kids, etc., that you’re working to accomplish this goal of finishing a rough draft. Doing so will give you accountability, but also (hopefully) show those around you that you’re not ignoring them when you turn down a lunch date or night out. Rather, you’re working hard to complete a project that has a lot of meaning to you. This doesn’t mean you should isolate yourself from everyone and neglect your family (and if you’re Googling things like “At what age can children be left alone before DCS intervenes?” Then you might need to rethink some priorities…). But overall, you’ll likely turn down invites you wouldn’t normally, or be less available during the time you’re focused on speeding through a first draft. It’s good for those who care about you to know what you’re up to. After all, they may be your greatest cheerleaders along the way.

Self-care is another important focus here. It’s easy to lose sight of everything else when you’re hyper-focused on something. But don’t forget to get up, stretch, go for a walk, hit the gym, and take breaks as needed! Your body will thank you for it. If you’re writing the entire draft by hand (bless you), you’ll want to do regular wrist-stretching exercises to avoid writer’s cramp. (In fact, you may want to do these for long periods of typing too…). If you need to schedule in these breaks, then by all means, do so!

If you’ve stuck around for this long, you might be thinking “Hey! Maybe I can do this!” And yes, the answer is absolutely 100% you can. You’ve got the what, the why, and the how. Up next: WHEN and WHERE to Fast Write (in Part III of the Art of Writing Fast series).

Getting Started In Indie Pubbing (or Good God, what have I gotten myself into?)

By Steven Womack

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Maybe you’ve written your first novel (or second or tenth, whatever) and you’ve taken three years to query every agent on the planet and haven’t gotten even a nibble.

Or maybe you’ve been in this business a couple of decades and published two dozen novels, all of them with modest midlist advances and now out-of-print and not making you a penny. And you’re getting older, and all those years writing novels were years you weren’t piling money into a 401(k) or a company pension, and now you’re scared as hell you’re going to be eating cat food in your dotage.

Or maybe you’ve had some success, made some pretty good money from time to time, but you feel like you’ve been thoroughly abused and taken advantage of by publishers (don’t laugh; it happens). And you’re tired of arguing with editors and having covers you hate shoved down your throat, not to mention the complete lack of marketing, promotion and support (unless you’re a best-seller, in which case you don’t need it).

 So you listen to a few podcasts and read a few blogs and there all these stories of writers taking control of their careers, writing what they want, with covers they love, and succeeding beyond their wildest dreams. You’ve heard of this guy Mark Dawson, who sells a huge, sprawling extensive bunch of courses under his “Self Publishing Formula” brand. And you’ve heard about that fellow in northern Wisconsin who blogged that he made a hundred grand in three weeks selling his self-pubbed titles on Kindle.

And you hit the “Yeah, I’ll take your cookies” button on a few websites you visited and now your Inbox is flooded with emails every day offering to sell you courses on how to be a successful self-publisher or even offering to do it all for you—for a price.

It’s too much. Overload, fuses blown…

Time to take a deep breath and relax.

Like everything in life that’s overwhelming (and the older you get, the more of life that encompasses), sometimes it works to stop staring slack-jawed at the big picture and just break off a little chunk of it and see if you can handle that.

So if you’re trying to build a career as a writer, what’s the best chunk to start with?

The first step goes without saying: you’ve got to write a good book. I won’t spend much time discussing that, but remember—without a story that works, characters that are compelling, writing that leaves you wanting to turn to the next page even if it’s past your bedtime, everything else in the process is for naught.

So given that you’ve done everything you can to meet that first requirement, what next?

You also have to realized that writing, editing, marketing, book design, cover design—all the components of the process—are completely separate skill sets. Just because you’ve written a book doesn’t mean you can edit it or design a good cover for it. Indie pubbing your own work means, first of all, making a series of choices as to which skill sets you’re willing to learn and which ones your going to pay someone else to do.

So one consideration becomes: how much money do I have to put into this?

If money’s not an issue (is that even possible???), then you can write your book and pay somebody else to complete the process. There are perfectly legitimate companies out there who will do a good job for you (BookBaby being one of the more prominent), but plenty of others who are just blatant rip-offs. Do your due diligence.

Say, though, you don’t have unlimited resources and your biggest asset is the sweat equity you’re willing to put into this. Each person’s professional and life experience is different. For instance, I spent a decade working in publishing art departments, mainly as a typesetter and running an in-house art department. I’ve either actually typeset or supervised the typesetting of hundreds of books, so I’m pretty comfortable with interior book design and formatting.

Would I touch a book cover, though? Not a chance. I wouldn’t know good graphic design if it ran up behind me and bit me on the keister. A good cover designer is worth every penny you pay them, and more.

Editing? In my life, I’ve written literally millions of words. Do I trust myself to edit them? Hell, no. In the last Music City Murders novel I published, my biggest single expense was paying an editor to make sure the manuscript was in the best shape possible. I’m even glad someone’s going to be looking over this column before you see it.

That’s enough for now. I hope this has given you something to think about as you ponder your own indie pubbing journey. Next month, we’ll do a deeper dive into the steps of this process. Stay tuned…