Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Drafting a Novel in 15 Minutes a Day

Written by guest blogger Peter Mach II.

Roger Zelazny, author of the Amber series, launched his career a day at a time while working fulltime at the Social Security Administration. When I heard him speak, I was still in college, still thinking that I needed big blocks of time to write anything important. But I learned that focus, commitment, and discipline matter more than two weeks in the mountains communing with my Muse. 

In fact, I make a point of demonstrating this to my students. My classes typically begin with the students taking 15 timed minutes to write about themselves and why they are taking the class. They typically get 300 words (high 690, low 180 so far). This is without using any of my tips, and I point out that even 200 words a day adds up to 73,000 words a year.

How do they do it? All of them have set aside time, know who they are, understand the context (a class) and have some sense of the audience. In other words, they have committed to the work, know what they want to say, and how they should say it. These are the essential keys to productive writing. Want more detail? Try this:
  • Know your stuff – A writer needs to know story structure, grammar, point of view, and dozens of other elements of clear, engaging writing. This doesn’t just happen. It usually requires study and practice. Zelazny honed his craft by writing short stories. After scores of failures, he sold one, analyzed why that one sold and rewrote the more promising stories. Then he moved on to novels.
  • Commit – Like my students, you need to set aside the 15 minutes every day, and you need to protect that time from everything else in your life. Write down why you must write, and keep the list in front of you.
  • Prepare – Know what you are going to write before you begin your 15 minutes. I recommend choosing the project and thinking about the scene the day before.
  • Get away from distractions – Close doors. Turn off email. Abandon spouses and children. Asimov papered over his million-dollar view of Central Park so he could keep his attention on his work.
  • Kill your internal editor – You’ll need that fractious fellow later, but not in the drafting stage.
  • Go! – Don’t sit and think. Write immediately. This is a sprint! It may help to have a half sentence or an incomplete scene left over from the day before.
  • Celebrate – Count your words. Add up the total. Your novel is getting done. This is a lot more fun than wishing you could get some writing done, isn’t it?
Of course, drafting a novel is not the same as completing a novel. Zelazny dedicated his weekends to rewriting, which is where promising work becomes something glorious. But, as Nora Roberts said, you can’t edit a blank page. So give yourself the gift of fifteen minutes a day and fulfill your dreams of being a novelist.

Peter Mach II is a productive writer of speeches, articles, scripts, short stories, radio, and books. Teacher, author of How to Write Fast. Website http://howtowritefast.webs.com/ Twitter @howtowritefast Email howtowritefast@gmail.com

11 comments:

  1. Great article, Peter. I have taken your advice in the past on writing fast fiction and have had success with it. The first novel I wrote using that method is being published, so I can tell your readers this method works. I will give this sprint thing a try now. I find turning off the inner editor to be a huge help. I fire off the words and fix it later. Thanks again.

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    1. Thanks, Gerri. Good to hear from you, and I'm delighted that your book is coming out.
      Peter

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  3. I have a writer friend who taped a note on his computer that read "200 words and a cloud of dust" (in reference to Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes and his three yards and a cloud of dust). Personally, I became more productive when I became a detailed plotter. Now when I sit down at the computer, I know exactly what I need to write next(your #3 point) -- so even if I only have 15 minutes, I can get something done. May not work for everyone but it has made me much more productive.

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    1. Plotter or pantser or something in between, 15 minutes can pay off. But it is a wonderful discovery when you figure out what your natural approach is.
      For me, it depends on the project (and sometimes the stage of the project), but most people are hard core one or the other.
      Thanks for commenting, Julia.
      Peter

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  4. Very informative article, Peter, thanks. I always know my word count (goal) before I sit down to write. I only answer email, facebook and twitter for one hour in the morning, one hour at lunch and one hour in the evening. If I didn't limit them I wouldn't accomplish anything.

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    1. Hi, Marian
      Distractions are brutal, and now they are built right into the very tool you use to write. I shut down my main browser before I begin work. I leave the one without the distractions (Facebook, Gmail, my blog) open so I can do research.
      Your discipline is worth imitating. Lots of people lose whole books to the Web distractions.
      Peter

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  5. This is great advice. Will need to save his post as a reminder. I often find myself I the "I wish I could be writing phase". It is interesting I find time to boo hop, check email, tweet and FB, but find it difficult to just sit down and write. I think my biggest problem is the internal editor I have. Whatever i write, it's vey hard to shut her up. Wanting everything to be perfect before I am done is quite the hindrance. Will definitely keep referring to this post. Banks for sharing.

    Peace and love,
    Paula R.

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    1. Those internal editors are pesky, aren't they? I find moving to dictation shuts mine up. It also helps if I aim specifically at getting a certain number of words on the page in an hour. Some people use Write or Die. Maybe other readers will share their approaches here.
      Thanks for the comment, Paula!
      Peter

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  6. Excellent tips in here, Peter! I tend to struggle with thinking that I need a larger block of time, but I like your idea of leaving something hanging--in media res as it were--so you can jump right in.

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  7. Hi, Gwen
    I find it much harder to get words on paper if I complete something the day before. And, as the sense of completion rises (sentence, paragraph, scene, chapter, act, book), it gets even more difficult.
    But this is the MOST controversial tip of all the ones I have. It definitely does not work for some people, and some of those people believe it can't work for anyone else. Hmm.
    Thanks for your comment, Gwen.
    Peter

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