How to write a book in three weeks! + My experience

[MitchM]

Recently I decided that I wanted to start writing and my research led me to a video which has been extremely beneficial in streamlining the process:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icUyHJ5vP9M


I'm going to leave a detailed summary of the video at the bottom, but I HIGHLY recommend that you watch it. The person who made it basically gives you the format and mindset you need to get the work done. If you are just starting or considering starting, then I think that this will be a great push. Just the idea of having a completed book within three weeks is captivating (to me at least).

For myself, I have divided the workload in half to finish a book in six weeks because of everything else that I have going on. So far I have been ahead of schedule with at least 3,000 words a day! And to my surprise I haven't just thrown together an incoherent salad of words, but the story actually makes sense!

I have even become invested in my story and as the days have gone on I have come to really enjoy the process. I wake up at 6:30am and write until 10:00am every morning. So far I have written ~35,000 words in 10 days! Anyways, here are the notes that I took. I am sorry if anything isn't clear, but remember that the video itself is probably a better resource.

Just to clarify, this isn't an end-all-be-all to the writing process. The purpose of this post is to hopefully get the ball rolling for you and show what is possible, not to have you writing East of Eden. This simple framework has served me exceptionally so far.




Writing a novel in 3 weeks


Facts about novels:
- Most are 80k-100k words
- They’re a series of very short stories
- Those short stories are connected (essentially Scenes)
- It’s okay to decide how long each scene will be IN ADVANCE!!
- Novels MUST be planned in advance


A novel is comprised of scenes which are typically around 2000 words.

6000 words a day, 5 days a week, for three weeks - bam. That is your novel.


Novel writing is:
- Not romantic (at least not the whole time)
- Not glamorous
- A Lot of work.
- Messy, confusing, and frustrating.

Have faith in your subconscious and you will have flashes of insight.


Step 1: Write a 1 line summary.

Step 2: Make a list of events.

• It’s just a list of things that you might like to happen (you don’t necessarily have to use them all)
• Example: wedding, sword-fight, earthquake, etc.

Step 3: Write out the plot

• Do a long free writing exercise

- Just write everything about the characters: what they do, how they are related to each other, what events take place, the problems, the conflict, the resolution. Just write everything you can about the story, it doesn’t have to make any sense. Everything you can think of.

Step 4: Fill in the Gaps

• Go back and read what you wrote for the plot
• Make a list of things you need to add, things that don’t make sense, and things that need explanation

Step 5: Make a list of scenes on notecards

• You will need about 40-45 scenes if you are doing 2000 words each
• On each notecard just write what the scene is going to be about
• If you realize you need to add something to an earlier scene to make a scene you are writing work, go ahead and do that

Step 6: Write the manuscript

• Do each scene from your notecard and try to reach 2000 words or however many you think it should be. You should be doing about three of these a day to finish within a three weeks.
• Give yourself an hour and 15 minutes to write 2000 words and then take a 10 minute break. After that, take 15 minutes to write 700 words. Repeat.
• Timing yourself to write at this pace helps reduce writer's block and allows you to go back and fix things/make them make sense during revision.

Step 7: Revise the manuscript

• If you just finished day 3 of writing, revise work from days 1 and 2. After day 4, do 2 and 3 and so on. Each day's work will be revised twice.

Step 8: Submit for proofreading.

• Use someone who speaks your native language. Will cost about 30-100 dollars per 10,0000 words.
• You can use freelancer.com to proofread as well

Step 9: Get the design work done

Step 10: Write the copy

• Revise this many times to make sure that there are NO mistakes
• You cannot skimp on this step

Step 11: Publish online

• Format correctly
• Sell on amazon
• Do not sign up for KDP select!
• Publish at SmashWords.com (they distribute it)

 

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