a book in 9 days

[Lima Bean]

One time, when I was possessed by "the muse". I wrote over 20,000 words in two days. I only slept about two hours in all and didn't eat anything except M & M's. So I think it's entirely possible to write 50,000 words in 9 days. Unfortunately, I'm normally not that prolific.

[Anna Drake]

Dean Wesley Smith wrote a 70,000 word novel in 10 days. He was ghostwriting at the time. He didn't say if he was given an outline. But when he writes for himself he's a pantser. Also keep in mind that he's been a professional writer for a long time.

Plus, I know a cozy mystery writer who writes 10k words a day. I've read her stuff, and it's good. (Edited to add the info about the second prolific author.)

[mrmarlowe]

Originally Posted by crich70

I was wondering if anyone here at MR thinks it might be possible to write a book length fiction story in 9 days. One day to brainstorm the novel and write up both a outline and character sketches and Eight days to write the actual 1st draft of a 50k word novel.

I wish I could lol, but research itself takes 5-6 days of my time Besides, I am lazy I guess if someone does not eat, sleep, relax, watch TV, bathe, take his gf out, etc, then maybe reaching that milestone is no big deal for hm.

[mrmarlowe]

Originally Posted by Anna Drake

he's a pantser.

You mean a spontaneous, seat-of-the-pants writer?

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by mrmarlowe

You mean a spontaneous, seat-of-the-pants writer?

I think she means this:

"You know Dasher and Dancer
And Pantser and Vixen
Comet and Cupid
And Donner and Blitzen
But do you recall
the most famous reindeer of all?"


Seriously: What was the name of the novel? Does anyone know?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

.....

Seriously: What was the name of the novel? Does anyone know?

Says he will never tell:

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/the-g...for-next-week/

other info:

http://blog.karenwoodward.org/2013/0...vel-in-10.html

[Dr. Drib]

Thanks, Kenny.

Sounds like he's already into the hyping of this product. (A novel seems a misnomer; 'product' sounds more like it.)

He sounds a bit full of himself.

Well, I'm going to finish my coffee, and then I'm going to come back here and tell you all about how it tasted, what I thought as I drank it, and whether or not I needed to take a bath afterwards.


My next blog will discuss how I washed myself while thinking about writing my novel.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Thanks, Kenny.

Sounds like he's already into the hyping of this product. (A novel seems a misnomer; 'product' sounds more like it.)

He sounds a bit full of himself.

Well, I'm going to finish my coffee, and then I'm going to come back here and tell you all about how it tasted, what I thought as I drank it, and whether or not I needed to take a bath afterwards.


My next blog will discuss how I washed myself while thinking about writing my novel.

Some truth in that.

[dorotea]

Is it possible? Yes
Would the result be of high quality? I strongly doubt it.

[Gregg Bell]

I used to be a 'write whenever inspired' writer. Took forever to get stuff done. Then I resolved to do 2K a day "even if it's sh*#" was my motto. Then I saw this WD article by this hoity toity highbrow writer who said she took 8 years to write her novel. Then I saw this WD cover story (May/June 2015) on Susan Mallery and she'd written over 150 books. I thought, that's for me.

She wrote 20 pages a day. I've always been more comfortable with word count so I equated that with 5K a day. (Which in the past I would have thought was insane. The most I'd ever written in a day was 4100 and I was spent when I was done.) So I gave it a shot. (I figured I'd have a novel in 10 days.)

Well, let me just say it was fascinating. In many ways it was easier and more fun to write the 5K than the 2K. Why? Because if I wanted to hit my 5K goal I had to get after it! No pondering. No wondering if it was all that good. Just doing it. And it was cool seeing what was coming out of me at that rate. No outline. I started with just a bare bones idea.

I met my goal for 6 consecutive days. (I don't write on weekends.) So I had 30K. Then I had to take a break and assess what I had and make sure I had a story there. Turns out I did.

Now, if I write another book in the same genre I will do it differently (in terms of the story) but I do not regret the experiment I did. I ended up only adding 17K more for a total of 47K. I really like the story too.

And I'm totally committed to the 5K/day for the next one.

FWIW I'd say try it. At least for one day. You might like it. And the goal of a novel in 10 days is great incentive.

And as for revising, I don't see any difference whatsoever in the length of time it's taken to revise the stuff written at the 5K/day pace. In fact, it seemed a little cleaner than the slower stuff.

And yeah, like a few of you, I thought 5K/day writing would be manic crap, but what I found was that it opened up my subconscious and it was cool seeing what came out of me doing it that way.

[crich70]

Thanks Gregg. I think many expect to always write deathless prose in the 1st draft. Hemingway knew better. Books arenot written but re-written. Congrats on your progress on your project.

[Dr. Drib]

Eight years to write a literary novel sounds about right.

Nine days to write a genre novel is way too long.

Literary Novel
"The Sound and the Fury"
Publisher = Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith

Genre Novel
"The Fury in Grandpa's Underpants: Mutating Killer Zombies (Book 1, Part 1)"
Publisher = Dog-Gone Indy Press

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by crich70

Thanks Gregg. I think many expect to always write deathless prose in the 1st draft. Hemingway knew better. Books arenot written but re-written. Congrats on your progress on your project.

Hey crich. Yeah, I think it depends what you're looking to get out of your writing. I never write deathless prose (before or after re-writing) LOL so at least I don't have to worry about that.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Eight years to write a literary novel sounds about right.

Nine days to write a genre novel is way too long.

Literary Novel
"The Sound and the Fury"
Publisher = Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith

Genre Novel
"The Fury in Grandpa's Underpants: Mutating Killer Zombies (Book 1, Part 1)"
Publisher = Dog-Gone Indy Press

There's that write a novel in 24 hours deal. But not a few literary novels have been written quickly. It's called inspiration. When it hits, it pours out of people. Even the greats.

[kennyc]

And what of "The Sound in Grandpa's Underpants?" and "The Fury of the Relatives"