03/05/10

    I've started on my fifth novel. Well, I hope it becomes a novel. I've written every day since Feb. 1. That's my modus operandi when I work on a novel. I write every day until the first draft is finished.

   One my first novel, The Touch, it took only six weeks to produce 75,000 words. My second novel, A Long Highway, probably took 10 weeks for 85,000 words. My third novel, Foolish Is The Heart, was about 12 weeks for 100,000 words. And my last novel, A Confidential Man, took 10 weeks or so to crank out 85,000 words.

   Now that's not to say that I was finished with the writing. Each novel took nine or more rewrites before submitting it to the publisher. And after the publisher saw my final product, I worked with an editor for some revisions. As you can probably surmise, it's not an easy process.

    I think my present work is going to take up to six months to complete, and it may be only 60,000 words or so. Why? The main reason is because I don't have as much time to write, probably half of what I had on the other novels, because I have a full-time job. So it's slow going. I do hope things will pick up as I plod along. It usually does.

   Now there are authors who produce lots of words and quality stories, such as Stephen King and Nora Roberts. Quite frankly, I don't see how they do it. My head is filled with words when I'm writing but I need to have a breather when it's over. Usually a long breather. They seem to take a short break, and then back to the computer, full speed ahead!

    And I know authors who take their own sweet time in finishing a manuscript. I know one guy who took 20 years to write a novel. In fact, it was more like a novella, in the 30,000-word range. But he was thrilled with the finished product, and readers liked it as well.

     I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that a person should write at their own pace. I do think it is important to produce something everyday. You can always go back and change things or even toss it. I write in the mornings; some prefer evenings. And I would guess there are a few out there who work in the afternoons. So pick your time of day that you feel most productive and go at it.