How to be a High Speed Writer

Someone sent me an email with a link to a story about an author who puts out 7000-10,000 words a day. I've seen it a couple of times in different venues. It's at http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303640604579298604044404682

People mentioned how "fast" he was. Really? Did they read the article? He works from 8 am to midnight. Okay, let's say he just sticks to an 8 hour day. That's just about 1000-1200 words an hour. That is well within the range of most professional writers. One 80,000 word book at even 5000 words a day (and many of us have done that during Nanowrimo) is just 16 days or a little

Photo by William Warby

over two weeks. That leaves another three weeks for editing and proofreading. Let's say it takes twice as long to edit as to write, that's another four weeks. Okay, that's six weeks. And if you are working 8 hours a day 5000 words is just 675 words or about a page and a half of single spaced copy an hour.

That's not "fast writing" at all. That's actually pretty slow. I do rough drafts at about 1200-1500 words an hour. If I'm using speech recognition, it's closer to 2000.

No, these prolific authors are not "fast." They are consistent, and they put in the hours.

They don't squawk about not having time to write. They don't take off an afternoon because the kids want to go shopping, anymore than they would if they were working for a paycheck.

We talk a lot about professionalism in writing. Most has to do with craft - clean copy, good characters, etc. - but the work of many amateurs outstrips many professionals in those categories. No. The one aspect of professionalism rarely mentioned is the time spent at the keyboard turning out copy on a consistent basis. No bemoaning an absent "Muse" or being "uninspired." No decisions to take off in the middle of a work day and "play hookey." No change of schedule for the holidays other than the days they would have taken off if they were working for another employer. If visitors show up, they don't take off work to hangout with them anymore than they would if they were working full-time.

Now, that might not be the type of life you want to live. I have, and I'm backing away from it for awhile. But don't expect those results. And don't be "amazed" at the "speed" of the writing. You can do the same, if you are willing to first make the commitment to the time spent and second are willing to make the sacrifices.

It's not magic or talent, it's just plain old hard work.