How To Write Ten Thousand Words in a Weekend

Salve!

I’ve been super busy this weekend because, don’t you know, Laurel Emperor is due to the editor in less than a month! Eek!

So how did I do it?

Simply put – patience, focus, an outline and nourishment.

Patience: You have to be able to get into the flow, and simply write for writing’s sake. You don’t need to wait for the right moment, just be patient that what you’re writing will be good, and if it isn’t good, you can fix it. Later. Later being the key. You want to spend your time writing, not revising – that’s another day.

Focus: Shut off the internet. Turn off your phone. Pick a weekend where the kids or significant other aren’t around. Forget your to do list. 10k in a weekend breaks down to five thousand words in one day (give or take). Don’t try this on a birthday weekend or during the holidays. Don’t do it with a paper due next week for class. Just put away all the distractions and focus. Also, if you have a deadline set that usually really helps focus your attention.

Outline: This is what made this weekend possible. I have a fully finished outline for Laurel Emperor. My brain can take the rough outline and turn it into words. It’s a lot harder to just write in a constant flow and try to create the story and know where it is going and plan ahead for that at the same time. Without an outline you can find you’ve written yourself into a corner, which breaks up the flow.

Nourishment: Let’s face it, we all need food. So make sure you take breaks for food. Have snacks on hand (healthy – although who doesn’t have chocolate next to them while they type?) Have both coffee and water, or tea if you prefer. If you keep your body fueled, then you won’t be distracted by hunger pains or dehydration.

So that’s it! Did I leave anything out? What do you do to really get a lot of typing down?