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#46 |
Author from pBook days
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Karma: 10782
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Australia
Device: Kindle-3-Keyboard; 8" Android Tablet
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I'm the one who offered the 8 months planning & writing; 8 months of editing and pruning – that's for a 140k novel. What happens during the writing phase is that I go like stink and the plot expands to suit the unfolding story despite the months of planning preceding it. I always end up with about 170-200k, and I KNOW that some substantial parts will have to be sacrificed. I end up sacrificing more than an entire novella-worth of content in the editing phase, and it hurts. It's mostly descriptive writing, and I end up thinking "I could condense this entire chapter into a different character's observation, in far less detail. Hate to lose the nice descriptive stuff, but if it keeps the story rolling... it has to go."
Yes, it's inefficient, but it also gives ME (not the reader) a better understanding of the plot and the characters, and it probably even helps the reader in that they read only what is essential. And, like most authors, I basically write for me, not the reader. It's a passion. |
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#47 |
Enthusiast
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Karma: 511010
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: New Hampshire
Device: nook ST
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As someone who is still in the process of writing his first novel please take my input with as many grains of salt as you see fit; but thus far I will echo others who have said that the best thing that you can do, at least initially, is to set aside one or two hours of uninterrupted time a few days each week and get started. Turn off the phone, stay away from the internet (unless you're looking something up that's pertinent to your writing) and only answer the doorbell if a sweepstakes van is parked in your driveway, or if you one of those giant checks.
There will be some day when your so productive that time flies by and you find yourself needing another hour or two. Then there will be times, especially at the beginning, when you're balancing objects from your desk on your forehead while waiting for inspiration to strike. While I do not follow the system religiously, I've found that Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method can help you get some of those initial ideas sorted out for further plotting. He sells a program that walks you through the process step by step, but the entire method is outlined fairly extensively for free and I've found that the freebie is good enough for the beginning stages of plotting. I eventually chose to buy the full product and was somewhat disappointed; but for others I'm sure its an invaluable tool. |
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#48 |
Junior Member
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Karma: 10
Join Date: Oct 2011
Device: none
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hours in writing a novel..
For me, it depends upon your mood..I mean,because there are sometimes that we feel like not to write anything as our imaginations failed to function so well.
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#49 |
Junior Member
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Karma: 2144
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Socal
Device: Nook
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Depends on the book, the writer, how much time you have to throw at it...I write first drafts pretty quickly (I can crank out 100k in about two months), but then I spend a lot of time revising, editing, reworking, etc. I've been trying to cut down on that by paying a little more attention to my first draft -- revising as I go, recognizing earlier on when things don't work or need trimming. One day I'll find a happy medium.
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#50 |
Addict
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Karma: 1004164
Join Date: May 2011
Device: Kindle 2
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For a 50,000 word novel, the first draft takes about two months. I leave it alone for two to three weeks, then read it on my kindle as though I'd never heard the story before. Then I write the second draft, 4 to 6 weeks. Then I proofread it with text to speech. All up, I'd say 3 to 4 months, not counting the period when I'm alone, and I'm talking about working 2 to 3 hours a day. Sometimes more.
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#51 | |
Zealot
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Karma: 379182
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Charleston, SC
Device: Kindle for PC
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Quote:
But really, no I'm not terribly interested in advice to speed up my process. I write and revise as fast as I do, about 2000 words a day writing, with greatly variable output on the rewrites. |
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#52 | |
occasional author
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Karma: 2064403292
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Wandering God's glorious hills, valleys and plains.
Device: A Franklin BI (before Internet) was the first. I still have it.
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