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One thing I forgot to mention is that although I find this process easy, I still pour all of my heart and effort into it. It's just a much more enjoyable effort. I hope you find it useful :)
Finally! Someone who doesn't suggest I edit 100,000 words of plot holes and chicken scatch that was never fully thought out. It's way hard enough editing a regular literature all ready to go and legible as is.
Yes! I am an illustrator and I try to get back into writing. With illustration, I also realized that the sketch has to be good, because I rarely edit in once I paint and color. So I'd rather spend a little more time on the sketch than regretting it and figuring the basic stuff out later when I only want to worry about the colors etc. I also really like to edit as I write. It's interesting to see that connection.
Hey man, this is exactly the speed I need. I just finished a 110k novel and completely burned myself out with it. Am missing writing so doing a few novellas to try and fall back in love and have some fun. This is so thoughtful and calm and kind. Subbed and saved into my faves.
Hey Con, this put a huge smile on my face. I'm really glad you found some value in it, and I hope you don't burn yourself out next time. Massive well done for finishing a 110k, that is no small feat!
i really like what you said about slow writing & not rushing things. i think i felt a bit like i had to rush my writing but actually editing while i went at times helped my confidence. great tip!
Thanks Eve, I'm glad you found it useful :) I hear so many people say you should write fast and edit slowly, and I think that's great when it works. But sometimes it's nice to take that step back, go a little slower, and think a little more about what we write before we write it. Hope your writing is going well!
Hey Ben, great video! I find that watching your channel is really great for my motivation, which is often the most difficult part of writing for me. Thank you!
Hi. Thank you for your video. I found this quite helpful. I’m curious, because I tend to do the same, what do your handwritten notes look like? By that I mean are you jotting ideas, playing with phrases and sentences, making character notes? …
Hi! Actually I try to switch off the critical side of my brain and just write. Write the story, however it comes out, without overthinking. Then later when I type it up, I'll edit it. Most of my notes are written as emails to myself on my walks to and from work. Hope your writing is going well :)
Ah I'm glad to hear that Joey, it's something I don't hear spoken about enough. I usually only hear "write fast, edit slowly", which kind of alienates those if us who edit as we go. Glad to hear I'm not the only one :)
Great video. I'm, more and more, considering writing novellas as I think about my stories and characters. I was thinking the novellas could even come together in a MCU type of event, with smaller stories that connect together into a larger book event. Peace!
Yes! Jeremy I'm so glad you said that. After recording this video I was actually thinking about how a novella, because of its length, almost follows more of a graphic novel / comic structure. I really think there's a lot of opportunity here for us to create awesome new ideas, such as the stories coming together like you said. What an exciting opportunity!
Cool. That's what I'm doing with my novella series. It's mostly a superhero/drama/fantasy, focusing on my main character and his struggles inheriting cosmic powers.
Yo that's literally what I do too! I always try to do at least 500 words a day. That motivates me to start writing and then usually I do more. Sometimes I go on to do 1000 or 1500, but I force myself to be really happy if I manage 500 words a day. And actually 500 words a day is 180,000 words a year which is an insane amount for just 1-2 hours of writing per day! Great video!
Yes! It's such a manageable target isn't it? And it really adds up over the course of several days/weeks/months. Better to have a lower target you can reach than a silly target you never hit. And as you say, often you'll go over target. Glad I'm not the only one who does it this way :)
I had a short stint writing 3000 words a day or at least attempting that, (I was unemployed at the time so I could dedicate the hours) in 2 weeks I don’t want to write anymore lol
This is brilliant, sounds like it might work with me and my writing. 500 words a day sounds great! I’m planning to write a series and 2 novels a year will help me push them out.
Yep! You just listed all of my philosophies towards writing. I still type my new words into a laptop rather than hand writing, though I might give that a try and see how it works.
New subscriber here. I found you through Jeremy fee. I’m a non-fiction writer, mostly Memoir. I started with poetry and blocking as most non-fiction writers, And I did write in notebooks. That has something to do with age. I’m 70. My first book was small press published, but they didn’t edited it so I took it out of print. I hope to self publish my second book and I can use help with the process. Congrats on publishing And helping others. Aloha
Hi Marilyn, great to speak to you! Jeremy is great isn't he? I was so surprised when he chose my book for his book battle! The good news is, it's easier than ever to self-publish nowadays. I'm not an expert when it comes to actually making money from the books, but thankfully there is so much great information out there on how to do it. Thank you so much for subscribing! :)
This is something I'm really starting to do more these days-both the novellas and the slowing down my writing and editing as I go. I might have to try returning to a notebook to slow down even more because I definitely like having to only go through a story once or twice before I'm completely satisfied with it. I've always written shorter novels (50-60K words), so that wouldn't be impossible for me either. I might have to try this method (the whole thing versus parts) and see how it works for me.
That sounds like a great idea! I think it's so important for us to keep things enjoyable and manageable. Writing a little slower, especially in a notebook, can feel incredibly satisfying. It actually makes me try harder, because the notebook feels a little more special than just opening a document on a computer. I'd love to know how you get on! :)
500 words per day is pretty manageable 😄 I don't edit as I go though... well, I try not to, because I can't get the words out if I'm always going back 😅 (btw, if you edit as you go, I don't know if you can call it your first draft, can you?)
I can definitely relate to that too. It's definitely a slower way to get the words out, but overall somehow it feels quicker. And you're right, technically it's not a first draft! You'd have to be some kind of genius to be able to create something magical the first time round. Maybe one day :P
I love the relaxed way you spoke in this video, it's very fitting for the topic. It's wonderful to have a writing process that works for you and definitely having a small manageable daily goal is nice because it's very doable and then if you go over that it feels great. My writing process is the opposite of yours haha -- I very much write everything quickly in my head, usually doing a minimum of 2K words in a day and 5K words in a day, and I'm very intuitive and unconscious when I write. I always come back and edit when it's done. But I deffo appreciate that everyone works differently and thinking about it that is probably my attitude to life as well lol, being quite chaotic and all-in and then taking a step back to see how it is. Maybe it also ties in with introversion/extroversion; I wonder if introverted people are more methodical and conscientious as they write while extroverted people are more spontaneous. Very interesting to ponder. I 100% agree with you about novellas (esp in this day and age with eBooks and KDP and authors publishing series). Tbh all my published books are pretty short. My first one is comprised of two YA novellas (published them as one book cos they have very overlapping themes), and my other two YA novels are only 70K and 50K words so not at all long. I'm also rapid-releasing romance novellas between 20-30K words at the moment, writing them quickly and then publishing one per month. (I don't have another job and live with my mum respectively so am fortunate to be able to dedicate most of my time to writing.) Quality definitely makes a difference in writing speed too. I find romance (esp contemporary) is a genre that can be written faster because the plot is more formulaic and almost mapped out for you -- not that you can't subvert things and make it interesting, but you know where the story is going and what beats to hit. With my romance novellas, while I try make them as good as I can, I'm not fussed about them being 'brilliant'; they are fun works of commercial fiction. If you're writing a drama or a psychological thriller or literary fiction, the story is probably going to be more unpredictable so it will take longer. I definitely wouldn't be able to write a quality full-length novel in under a week that includes lots of introspection and subversion. Ultimately, writing speed can depend on genre, whether someone prefers to 'plot' or 'pants', and how fast someone is able to type. I'm part of the digital generation so was raised in front of a computer, don't have the patience to write long hand 😂😂 I rate you for your methodical approach though :D
Thanks Zarina, great to hear from you again! Your writing process sounds awesome. Really liberating and artistic and instinctive and fun. It definitely appeals to me. I think I go through bursts of what you're describing, but for whatever reason, my inner critic ultimately takes over. You're so right about "genre" being a big factor when it comes to speed. I try to make everything I write "literary" in some sense (though maybe I'm kidding myself), so I always feel the need to be a little more methodical in my approach. Having said all this, I also feel like one day I'll write a literary novel that just flows out of me, and the process will be much more like yours, and it'll probably be the best thing I've ever written. And I can't wait for that day, because in all honesty, I prefer to work that way. Thanks for sharing. Keep being you!
I love this video so much! Although I do agree with the things said completely I personally really enjoy writing my first draft fast. Even though I do this a lot of the principles still apply, I still write with a daily habit mine being 1500 words and those 1500 words although often written like it’s a race because I enjoy it that way i try to think out whether that be through my plot or through me feeling the story as I write. I might try this though with my next novella since I am wrapping one up currently, and who knows perhaps I will enjoy it :)
Hey, thank you Pawnda! I wish I could write 1500 a day... Something to aspire to. Maybe I should try treating it like a race too and see how I get on :)
@@21stCenturyWriter If you are going to attempt this I reccomend doing it in sprints, and if possible at the same time every day for me that is 3pm but it all depends on personal preference. Again loved your video , have a great day :)
