How to Write More, Faster
a guide
Most of us want to write more, faster, and, of course, better. We have unreasonable expectations. We see other romance authors turning out books every three months or in less time than that, and believe we should be doing this too. It may not be possible if you are not writing a trope-heavy series. Some authors also have ghostwriters and assistants to help them. If you don't have this, it may not be possible, but it doesn't mean we can't write faster and become more productive. With experience and time, you will naturally become faster. Most author's first books take them much longer to write than their second book, and their third book usually takes less time than the second.
As time has gone by, I have become a faster writer, but I'm still no speed demon. Here are some of the things that have helped me:
1. Create an outline first before writing. I use a program like Plottr. This program helps me develop a plan, so I do not have to sit there and figure it out as I go. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I alter my plan and add other things. This is fine, but idly sitting there and trying to write and devise a plan simultaneously is a sure time waster and doesn't work for me. Perhaps juggling the plotting and writing fires up your creative juices. If it does, go for it.
2. Set deadlines. I give myself two weeks to create an outline, a month to create a 50 K first draft, another month to do a developmental edit, and another month for an edit. If it starts to grow into a 70K book excellent, I give myself more time. After I’m done doing my thing, I outsource it to others—an editor, and then on to beta readers.
3. Write anything new on Freewrite (it's like a typewriter, but it has no computer, email, or anything else to distract me). It also isn't set up for editing, so I don't go back and start editing things.
4. Keep other distractions away. Keep your phone in another room. Yes, people yell at me because I don't get back to them within minutes (or the whole day) when everyone else in the universe has their phone glued to their hip. Too bad. The only reason to have the phone glued in your hand is if you are using it to write on.
5. Use any and all available time to write. This means bringing my laptop, phone, or small notebook, which I can shove in my purse, to places where I'm forced to hang around, doctor's office, the DMV, all those places where we are idly waiting. In five minutes, I can turn out a few sentences, and all those five minutes and sentence's add up. Also how often have we been privy to conversations where we wish we'd had a pen or a piece of paper to write it down? The perfect characters are all around us. Others might find dictation helpful; programs like Dragon Anywhere could be your ticket to getting more words down.
6. Keep first drafts separate from editing. It is easy to keep reviewing what I've written and tweaking, but this keeps me from getting new words down. Better to get the first draft complete and then go back. This is why Nano is an effective way to write; we can get 50K written monthly.
7. Set a schedule for writing. I attempt to write every day. Some days, I can write for four or five hours; some days, I'm lucky to write for half an hour, but I shoot for every day. Let's face it: I'm going to miss a day because I'm going to get sick or there's going to be a crisis, but I might as well shoot for the stars. Some people swear by the Pomodoro Technique, but I don't like the interruptions. The rules are simple: write uninterrupted for 25 minutes and then take a break for five to 10 minutes. I wanted to mention this one because others do find it helpful.
8. Give myself rewards when I reach small goals. When I get to milestones I set for myself I celebrate. Finishing the book is lovely, but I celebrate the small goals it takes to reach that goal.
9. I'm not afraid to skip and return. Sometimes, I need more time to write a particular part of the book and have to return to it. I may have a general idea of the plot, but I need to flesh it out enough to write it or need to know the character more. TBA is what I write (To be announced), other people write TBW (To be written), and still others write (TK) To come. The misspelling is on purpose.
10. Writer's Block. I don't believe in it. It's more like I don’t want to do it because I'd rather do something more pleasurable. If this is the case, I’ll do the more enjoyable thing and return to my writing later. I might find the writing too tricky, too tedious, or scary, and if that's the case, I need to meet this head-on or don't. When I feel like writing again, I will. The truth, I can only not write for so long.
11. I am a big believer in life-long learning. If I want to get faster at writing, I need to continue to take writing courses to improve my writing and productivity. Taking a class not only helps me but it is also a reward for all my hard work. I attend conferences or take classes through organizations I’ve joined. Check out what workshops Contemporary Romance and Passionate Ink are offering.
12. Read. Reading someone else's book also teaches me how to write.
Please share what has helped you become faster and more productive at writing. Thank you!
News about my fore into printed books. After one week with my first book, The Devil You Know, available on Amazon, I sold five paperbacks at $10.99 each, last week. I'm thrilled with the outcome. The ebook has also continued to sell.
I just put the second print book in the series, The Devil I Love, up on Amazon Sunday evening. I will keep you posted. I'm still working with Draft2Digital to get the first printed book distributed through their platform. I finally got an email telling me my sample was ready to ship. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm slowly completing the formatting on my other books to get my money's worth out of the software I purchased.
It seems you can teach an old dog new tricks, after all. I resisted print books for so long, but I'm finally doing it. I'm glad I am, but I am also happy I waited. You know when you can handle things and when you can't. It was hard enough for me to self-publish three e-book versions in 2023, never mind handling print versions. I don't feel any shame in saying that. My hat is off to all those authors who have it all together and can keep all the balls in the air. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those, but occasionally I get one to fly. Have a great week, peeps!
A couple of notes on writer's block.
1. There could be a plot hole that your brain is noodling on. Go back to the outline, backtrack a couple of chapters and keep working angles until things fit again.
2. You might not have researched enough to get the right blend of authentic story with your fiction. That's another thing your inner writer will red flag and put a halt to the new words for. Dig a bit. Find inspiration in your research.
Lastly, it might be burnout. "Dear Author You Need to Quit" is a good tool in your arsenal of writing help books to return to in order to rediscover your inner "why" and "why nots".
Generally very sound advice, Kay, although I must confess I do NOT adhere to the first point (i.e., use an outline). Most of my material is suggested to me in my dreams, and when I sit down to write, I generally slip into trance and let the narrative take me where it will. Thus, one might argue that perhaps I do not "write" but am instead "being written." Different strokes, I guess...