47 Chapters in 47 Days

via Serious Reading

So, I sometimes do this crazy thing where I get a cool story idea and decide to write a book about it, but since I tend to get distracted I give myself crazy goals like writing an entire chapter every single day until it’s done. This has worked surprisingly well for me so far.

The dealio is this: I write an entire chapter every day. If I miss a chapter one day, then I have to write two chapters the next day to make up for it. It doesn’t matter if I’m not feeling up to writing or have writer’s block or have no inspiration…I have to sit down and finish a chapter.

Sometimes I sit down and the first page or so is crap, but then I get into the groove and the good stuff starts flowing. Since it’s a first draft, who cares if a couple pages suck until you can get a rhythm going? This is what first drafts are for and this type of goal helps push you to get stuff done.

About 50 days ago I started making an outline and character descriptions and a synopsis for an idea I had. 47 days ago I wrote chapter 1. Today, I finished writing the last chapter.

I now have 232 pages (Arial, 11pt, double spaced) or over 59k words…a complete first draft of a novella/novel. HECK YES

I mean, it’s only a first draft, but still. This is the second time I’ve completed a book this way and, honestly, I’d definitely recommend it.

It really is one of the most satisfying things in the world to tell people, “Hey, I’m writing a book. I’ve been writing a chapter every day, so now I’ve have 47 chapters and it’s been 47 days.”

Is this post mostly about me bragging? Yes. But it’s also to share a bit more about my process writing books.

There’s always an idea that starts it all, but having a general outline has always been incredibly helpful for me. It doesn’t even have to be super specific or detailed…just a list of important events that need to happen. Then at least I know where I’m going with the story.

Character descriptions are the next most important thing for me, mostly because I tend to be extremely forgetful. Without a list of characters, their backstories, and physical descriptions/personality…I would definitely forget who everyone is and what they look like pretty quick.

Having a summary and synopsis can also be nice, especially when friends or random people ask you what it’s about because then you’re at least prepared with a short little brief about it rather than ranting for hours about the story.

Once those three things are done, I just jump right into the writing. I try not to worry too much about show not tell or whether my language sounds pretty in the first draft. If there are inconsistencies, I ignore them temporarily, but make note of them for later drafts. If I’m feeling particularly inspired one day, then I might put more effort into writing certain sections so they sound better, but really I just try to get the ideas on the page in a generally understandable and cohesive manner.

Second-third drafts are where you dig into the plot holes and character development and clarity. Then you start to get nitty-gritty and do the sentence structure and descriptions to make them all beautiful and stuff.

Usually I try to do my next drafts the same way I do my first draft: by rewriting a chapter a day. Honestly, this whole chapter a day thing is awesome for me. But everyone has a different process that works better for them. I know people who hate writing outlines and would rather just start writing the story immediately, and there’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what works.

I’m just proud that I have another finished draft of a book in my list of accomplishments. I’m looking forward to making it better and better.

Back at It Again

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So I have been avoiding writing the past month like a complete buttface. In my defense, I did have some finals and big trips coming up and some relationship issues, so yeah I was a bit distracted. But still I can look back and remember days where I was just sitting at work doing nothing or sitting at home doing nothing and knowing that I ought to be writing more chapters for my book.

I am usually so good at it. I have never had a huge issue with writing a chapter a day, but I totally faltered this past month. And the last couple of days I have been kicking myself for it. My new year’s resolution was to begin sending my manuscript out by the end of the year and gosh dang it I will accomplish this no matter what. But if I keep putting it off until the Fall…I know I won’t make my deadline since I’ll be taking 16 credits worth of classes on top of working and participating in a new school program I joined.

At this point, I only have about a month and a half left until I get totally bombarded with the Fall semester. And so I have left myself notes that say “write!” and yesterday I had a four hour shift at work, in which we had no clients scheduled for the entire day and I was all caught up on my readings and effectively had nothing else to do except write.

And for whatever reason I have had this anxiety about starting my chapters again. I knew I was about to re-write a difficult set of chapters in my novel and I wasn’t looking forward to it all that much. I just kept thinking about how long it would take or how my hands/wrists/fingers/arms might start to ache again (since there’s no good position to write in there). I just kept thinking of the negatives, basically. But then I had a coworker sit down and ask “so how’s your story going?”

That was really all I needed. And so I opened my laptop and finished writing over 6,000 words, 15 pages, or three whole chapters. No matter what way I look at it, it made me feel very good. I left work with my mind racing on the upcoming chapters and thinking about how I could improve them or what I could add and that felt epic. I love when my mind is overflowing with creativity and too many good ideas to really keep track of. Life seems significantly more enjoyable when I have my head in the clouds.

I don’t really know why I was so anxious about starting up the writing again, but I am glad I did. I was productive and have got my creative juices and inspiration flowing again. I don’t know if one chapter a day is going to get me finished in time, so I guess I may just have to write several chapters a day now instead, but I’m just glad that I’m back at it again with my writing game. And as for writing 2-3 chapters a day…bring it on.