The Daily Grind – Getting Words Onto Paper

A recent post on David Gaughran’s blog discussed the difficulties faced by the novelist of grinding out a daily quota of words. For me it is less of a grind and more of a pleasure, but I thought I would ‘post my post’ here in the hope that it might help writers faced with this problem.

Post 30/01/12

The stuff below is not advice. It is my experience as a novice novel writer, but also as an ex-professional commercial writer. It may or may not strike a chord, ring a bell, paint a picture, fire the odd neuron, stimulate a thought or otherwise employ a cliche.

Until last year, I was writing around 5 words a day. On some days the total might be 20 or so, but those days were rare. At the end of two or three weeks I would send my words – or occasionally deliver them – and a month or two later receive a cheque. The cheque was usually quite big because I had been writing my few words for a long time and some people liked them.

I mention this because if my words were not delivered on time I didn’t get a cheque; my family, my dog and I starved. It was a wonderful way of encouraging discipline.

Of course, it is simple to write 5 words a day. As long as they are the right words. And that’s the nub of the matter. It is simple to write 10,000 words a day, as long as they are the right words. There is little point in writing the wrong words unless you need to. Writing 10,000 wrong words is the same as writing 5 wrong words, and may take the same time.

Whatever, the words are still wrong, the time is wasted, the soul debilitated.

Every writer with whom I have had contact has had a natural rhythm, a natural pace. If your pace is 1000 good words a day then be happy, that is 995 more than my 5 good words as a succesful copywriter.

So, the question is: how does one write the right words in the right amount every day?

I am writing around 2000 words a day. Of that 2000 about half are redundant in some way by virtue of self-editing. I write my 2000 by imagining that someone is paying me for those words and at 4.30 pm ‘someone’ will call to collect my words and if they are self-indulgent tripe or not written, I will not get paid.

Now it could be that my 2000 words ARE self-indulgent tripe and I am deceiving myself to believe otherwise, but for now I have a mental construction that allows me to write at my natural pace for prose.

This method won’t work for everyone, but it is adaptable. Find the one ‘thing’ that is important to you. In my case it was my family and my old dog. Imagine that if you do not write the right amount of words that ‘thing’ will be denied to you. Tell your subconscious this is true. Do this every working day as you wake.

The only factor preventing writing at a natural pace is how a writer’s beliefs are structured.

The only factor preventing writing at a natural pace is how a writer’s beliefs are structured.

It was worth repeating. I believe the idea without any doubts whatsoever.

A writer without discipline is playing at it. A writer who allows distraction is playing at it. A writer not in control of his or her mind is playing at it.

My belief system tells me to enjoy it, as well. And I do.

I had 180,000 words in my forthcoming novel. 50,000 were bad words, but I had to write them to get at the good ones. Released from 5 words a day I went a little stir-crazy. The novel is now 130,000, but will be less, hopefully not 129, 995 less.

So, none of this is advice, since I have not sold a single novel, but it might be worth an experiment for those bursting with ideas, but worrying about getting the words onto the page.

You have to stick at it. The subconscious needs repeated instructions to change behaviour.

If the above doesn’t work, then start at 5 words and work up. 🙂