| The fastest way to write a novel produces a | | | | Have A Starting And Stopping Point |
| wonderful side-effect: better writing. This is | | | | Know before you put a single word on paper |
| difficult for many writers to grasp at first, | | | | where your writing will begin. One trick that many |
| particularly those writers who have a tendency to | | | | writers use is to end their previous session in |
| edit as they write. However, as you'll discover in | | | | mid-sentence, so you have a great starting point |
| this article, writing quickly benefits not only the | | | | for the next session. Next, you'll want an ending |
| quantity of your output, but also the quality. | | | | point. Now, this can be a page, a word count, or a |
| Let's consider how you might commonly approach | | | | specific place in your story. |
| the blank page. You write the first sentence. It | | | | For instance, if you're in the middle of a bar fight |
| looks okay, so you write a second sentence. That | | | | scene, you might determine that when your hero |
| one looks okay as well, so you write a third | | | | gets floored that will be the point where you stop. |
| sentence, but this one doesn't look okay. In fact, | | | | And when you arrive there, follow your own rules |
| it's a poorly written sentence that jumps off the | | | | ... stop. Or you may prefer to stop after one |
| page. | | | | page, or 250 words. Whatever works well for |
| You slam on your writing brakes and read the | | | | you. |
| sentence again. Everything comes to standstill | | | | Write In Short Bursts |
| now. You're no longer a writer, you've picked up | | | | Set a timer and write until it goes off. When |
| your editor's hat and completely shifted out of | | | | you're first starting out, you might want to try |
| your writing mode. You tweak this and move that | | | | five minute bursts. As you become more |
| until the sentence, at last, passes your editor's | | | | comfortable with the process, you might get up |
| approval. Then you remove your editor's hat and | | | | to fifteen minute or half-hour bursts. Generally, |
| return to writing again. | | | | you'll want to keep these bursts shorter, with |
| But now the writing is more difficult. You've | | | | more intensity. Once the timer goes off, stop. |
| moved out of your writing mode, into your editing | | | | Stretch. Get up and move around a little. Get a |
| mode, and getting back is suddenly more difficult | | | | cup of coffee. And prepare for the next burst. |
| than it was when you first began writing. It's a | | | | Don't Stop Writing |
| struggle. | | | | This is the key. During your burst writing session |
| Does this sound familiar at all? | | | | you never stop writing. It doesn't matter if you |
| I tend to blame the computer for this dilemma. | | | | misspell words, get a character's name wrong, if |
| It's so easy to make corrections on the | | | | you forget to put a period at the end of a |
| computer that we've come to believe stopping | | | | sentence, or write the worst sentence that's ever |
| and fixing things as we go is a natural part of the | | | | been written in the history of mankind. Just keep |
| writing process. It'll only take a second, we tell | | | | writing. |
| ourselves. And in that lies the danger. That second | | | | Follow these three simple steps and you'll discover |
| of editing destroys your train of thought and your | | | | not only are they the fastest way to write a |
| writing momentum. It's merciless. | | | | novel, but they will also help you produce much |
| So, what steps can you take in search of the | | | | better writing. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's |
| fastest way to write a novel? | | | | true. Go give it a try. |
| They're simple, really. | | | | Here's to your writing success. |