on writing speed

Image credit BBC. 

I received a few questions about writing speed lately, since I can usually do a rough draft in a month.

Typically, when I’m trying to write something new, I’ll do 3,000 to 4,000 words a day, more if possible. It doesn’t always happen – sometimes other stuff just takes priority, and there are things more important than writing (I missed a couple days last week because of said priorities) – but I do it whenever possible. And sometimes I surprise myself – if I’m tired and want to finish for the day, if I push a little further, sometimes I can go farther than I planned. Like on yesterday, I thought I would only write 4,000 words of GHOST IN THE PACT and then play Pillars Of Eternity, but I kept going and pushed to 7,000 words.

Now, that might sound impressive, but it just takes practice to write that fast, and I know people who can write a lot faster. I’ve written something like 50 novels at this point, and it’s a lot easier to write quickly on the 50th novel than on the 1st!

So, how did I learn to write that fast?

Basically, I failed into it.

I think it took me five or six tries to finish a novel for the first time. The first time I actually finished a novel, I started it in January, and I managed to finish it finally in August. I insisted on doing a thousand words a day, and it finally turned into this 330,000 word monstrosity. (This is when I learned the value of outlining thoroughly in advance.) When I wrote DEMONSOULED, I started it in August and finished it in December.

Originally I stuck with 1,000 words a day, but when I wrote SOUL OF SERPENTS in 2011 I upped it to 1,500 words a day, and started the book in May and finished it in mid-July. As it turns out, having people actively waiting for the next book is an excellent motivator to write! In 2012 I pushed up to 2,000 words a day. By the time 2013 rolled around, I hit my stride and dialed it up to 3,000 words a day, and have tried to stick to it ever since.

So I think it just takes practice, just like acquiring any other skill.

That said, finishing the first novel feels like an immense hurdle. It’s THE BOOK, and you think a lot about finishing THE BOOK or worrying about being unable to do so. I suppose the first time doing anything, whether writing a book or running a 5k or asking someone out on a date or driving a car or whatever, the first time is just the hardest. The trick is, of course, is that once THE BOOK is done, you write the next one, and the next one, and keep going. Every time you learn new tricks, and get a little better and a little faster.

Now, during this process, a lot of people realize that writing’s not for them. That’s fine – we all have different strengths. Or people realize they detest the business side of writing, whether in traditional publishing or self-publishing. That’s also fine – I stopped writing novels in 2010 because I had lost all respect for traditional publishing (I was going to focus on my Linux website), but fortunately I found out about the Kindle in 2011, and I took to the business of self-publishing very well. Not everyone does. I used to be baffled why certain writers didn’t self-publish, but then I realized they couldn’t – they were either unwilling or simply unable to learn the skills required, just as I didn’t want to master the networking necessary to succeed in traditional publishing.

But if you do realize that writing is for you, and you don’t mind the business side of it, and you do stick with it, eventually it does get easier. 🙂

-JM