Write Fast! Write Good!

How do you write the words good fast with the fingers on the keyboard?

I’m in the midst of WHAM! It stands for “Writing Hard All Month!” And that means I’m attempting to write at least 50,000 words in the month of October. But how can I do that?

I don’t know what other writers do, but I can tell you what I’m doing.

First, I have an outline of the story. That means that I don’t have to ponder what’s coming next. I know the direction the story is going and what happens to the characters. I know the conflicts they face and how they solve those conflicts. That outline lets me spend less time pondering and more time writing.

I also have dedicated time to write. Every week I have roughly eight to ten hours of dedicated writing time. I might end up writing more, but I won’t write less. The hours are set aside, and barring emergencies, they won’t be going to anything else. Not everyone is able to set aside that time, but if you can, it’ll help you write more.

I’ve also built up writing muscles over time. Right now, I’m able to write at roughly two thousand words an hour. I couldn’t start writing that fast, of course, but I can now. The more you write, the more you’re able to write.

I’ve also built up a song list that “triggers” my writing muscles. Every time I write, I play the same songs. It drives my wife nuts if we’re in the same room because she’s sick of the songs, but for me, it just helps me slide into the writing mindset.

And finally, the only window that’s open is the one I write in. Social media is shut down. I know it sounds silly, but that’s huge. No distractions! It’s just time to write.

And how am I doing on the challenge so far? Sorry. I wrote this ahead of time so I would spend less time attempting to write blog posts when I should be writing a novel. So this is past-me writing to you-now. At the end of the month, I’ll be back to report to you!

October is about to get WHAMed

Imma do it.

So, NaNoWriMo is dead to me.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The idea was that in the month of November, everyone buckles down to write at least 50,000 words, ideally completing a novel. The program was great… for a while.

And then it fell apart. Essentially those in charge appear to have covered up sexual predators taking advantage of the program to get to kids. And then, on top of that, they are saying that those who write prompts for AI to write a novel for them counts toward writing a novel. Either are bad enough for me to say “no” to them. Both together? Yeah. Not going back to that.

But there’s this thing on TikTok that’s gaining steam. October is WHAM! Month. WHAM! Stands for Writing Hard All Month. The idea is that for each 10,000 words someone writes, they get a letter toward WHAM. And if they get to 50,000 words, they add on the !. And for every 5,000 words past that, they add on another exclamation mark.

There’s also a reading component!

You can check the whole thing out here: https://www.tiktok.com/@caseymae_13_/video/7414881159340887339

It’s been a while since I pushed out that much content in a month, but it’s time to try, I think. Even if I don’t make it, I’ll still have produced a lot!

Let’s get writing!

(Oh, by the way? I wrote this blog post before October began… by the time you’re reading this, hopefully I’ve got more than 10,000 words written!)

Goal-Oriented Writing

The goal of your writing changes what you write.

In some ways, that’s blitheringly obvious. If your goal is to create beauty through poetry, you write poetry. If your goal is to launch a massive intertwined universe of books, you write books that are related to each other, and a lot of them. If your goal is to create wonder in young minds, you write books for children.

Dur.

But it’s easy to forget all that when the rubber meets the road.

My goal isn’t just to write. I want my writing to support my family financially. This ain’t just a hobby.

So, what does that goal mean? Does that mean I only write drivel for the masses that’s designed to be a New York Times bestseller? I give up all my likes and dislikes, run some numbers, and weave together the most financially viable product ever created? Oh, and it also must be soulless. Don’t forget that!

Oh, heck no. I’m not talking about “selling out.”

So far, Dawnsbrook, the publishing business my wife and I run, has published two six-book middle grade series (one fantasy, one science fiction), one younger grades chapter book, and our next release will be a YA fantasy trilogy. We’re all still squarely in books I like writing and reading.

But the next project after that? It’s time to look at what sells and what selling trends show us. If YA far outsells middle grade, because the goal is to support my family financially, it’s time to write some more YA, perhaps even a sequel trilogy. If, on the other hand, our middle grade fantasy proves to be our best seller, time to write more of that!

And the cool thing is that I enjoy writing all of this. It’s not choosing between good and gross. It’s choosing between good and good.

So figure out the goal of your writing, and you’ll know better what to write next. What’s going to get you to that goal?

Stretching is Hard

Learning to do a new thing ain’t easy.

My depression has been brutal lately. Leaving the house feels insanely daunting. Dealing with other people, even close friends, feels impossible. I want to stay in my room, on my laptop, and never do anything else.

My counselor reminds me that this is not the way to go. Stretching is hard, but it’s necessary. Muscles that aren’t used atrophy, and using them at first is painful. But the more they’re used, the better it’ll be. He’s encouraging me to force myself to go out, to be with people, just for a little bit, to stretch.

The same thing is true of writing.

The writer that doesn’t write regularly loses those creative muscles. They atrophy. They can be built up again, but it’s painful.

Right now I’m writing a kind of fiction I’ve never attempted before. It’s fictional non-fiction. As in, it’s a book that proports to be about a real subject, but I’m making the entire thing up. That forces me to research so that my fiction fits in with reality.

I’ve never had to research for the sake of my fiction before. As long as my worlds were internally consistent, I didn’t have to worry too much about what reality says. So this entire thing is new. It’s slowing me down much more. My words per hour is plummeting.

Worth it. Stretch the muscles. Build up strength.

Also, it gives me an excuse to stay in the house.

Checkmate, counselor!

Heretical Writing Advice

“Write every day. It doesn’t matter how much. It doesn’t matter how bad it is. You must write every day, or you’re not a writer.”

Oh man. What junk advice this is, and nearly every writer encounters it. If you want to be a good writer, if you want to get published, if you want to prove what it takes… write every day. Or else.

Look, some people do write every day. Good for them! However, a lot of other people don’t or can’t. For instance, I take time to edit and revise and run ads and prep blog posts and all sorts of things that are connected to writing but aren’t actually writing in the strictest sense.

And there are days where I just have to take the day off. Time to go for a walk, enjoy the great outdoors, spend time with the kids, or just sit and read a good book. Or a bad book. You know, just a book.

No, you’re not less of a writer if you don’t write every day.

But beware a lie equally insidious: Only write when the muse visits.

Oh, ick.

Yes, some days the muse will visit. Some days you will type as fast as your heart beats as it thunders in your ears, and every syllable will be joyous and sublime. Savor those days.

But if you aim to be a writer, you must also write when you don’t feel like it. Words will not always come easily, and not every story will flow fluently from your pen. Writing is work, and no writer will be able to complete much without that labor.

That’s correct. Write when you don’t feel like it. Build up those writing muscles.

So how do you find the right middle? Don’t worry about writing every day, but also write when you don’t feel like it?

My advice: Find a routine and stick with it as long as possible. Write for twenty minutes a night right before bed. Write for two hours a day right after supper. Write four hours a weekend. Find a schedule that’s realistic for your current season of life, and then stick with it.

Every day? Don’t worry about it.

Wait for the muse? Naw. Surprise her with how much you get done before she arrives.  

Get writing.