Writing Meme Day 23

[erastes]

23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story--from planning to writing?

Depends on the length of the story, and it’s changed over the past year, too. Before I started treating this as “My Job” and becoming a full-time (although sadly not yet self sufficient) writer, I had the luxury of writing at my own convenience and being self indulgent about it.  I wrote in lunchtimes, evenings and weekends, or during work if I could get away with it. (*Raspberry to Steeles*) But as I wasn’t published, I didn’t have deadlines, and no-one was waiting for anything I had to write. So really it didn’t matter how long things took. I had this “artistic ideal” that things took as long as they took. I was an artiste dahling, novels couldn’t be measured like roads.

I don’t “plan” – as a rule.  Standish just poured out of me in a matter of weeks, but Transgressions took over 3 years from start to finish as it just kept stalling and I wrote loads of other stuff in the interim. Junction X being one of them.

It was when I began to have deadlines that I had to start considering how long things took. Suddenly I realised that in order to get more books out there, then I needed to up my output. Three years per novel was NOT going to get my name out there, unless I was an O’Neill style genius which I clearly clearly was not. I knew that writers I admired with prolific output such as Pratchett and Butcher were pumping out a book a year (2 for Pterry at one point) – so I knew that I’d really like to have a novel released every year—and even that is slow compared with some of the other writers on my friends list who seem to have four to six releases a year.  They crush me with their productivity!

Frost Fair was the only book that was outlined from start to finish as I had to pitch it to Linden Bay in advance, and from outline to completion I think it took about 4 months—and that was a novella, not sure of the word count—about 30k I think.  But then Mere Mortals took six months, and that’s 80k.

Now I’m aiming for at the very least a novella and a novel in a year, two novels would be preferable, and I know that with a 5k word count a week (doing 1k a day at dad’s which adds up to 260,000 words a year) that’s doable.

Short stories I can generally do in a day or two – between 1k to 5k words.

Comments

[seraphim-grace.livejournal.com]

you know most of us love posts like this, they make us feel productive!
I do about 5k a DAY! and consider myself a job well done

my record is a 200k mss in 3 months but I was running on pepsi max and mint imperials at the time, it wasn't meant to be that long it just wouldn't end!

If the work is planned it takes me next to no time, seriously, I can do sixty k in two-three months
if it's not planned I drag but the prose is much much better because i procrastinate around lovely sentences

I have a photo of a young barbara cartland on my office wall, she used to release about 14-17 novels A YEAR! sure they were all the same but WOW!
of course she had three secretaries, one for taking transcriptions, one for typing up said transcriptions and one for retyping up with edits (there was another 2 for answering her mail, and one for her nonfiction books)
she'd spend the morning transcribing novel a, the afternoon editting novel b and the evenings working on nonfiction
it boggles the brain
it has to be a photo of young barbara cartland because she got really scary when she was old - and horrendously pink!

i do short stories in a day or two, more than 5 days and i'll convert it to a novella.
but i do aim for Dame Barb! because wow
sure she just rewrote the same book 700 times,but seriosuly, 700 books in her lifetime, that's better than some presses

edit:
another reason to worship the Dame!
In world war two she was horrified that although girls in the military were given a half day off to get married they had to provide their own clothes - not being allowed to wear their uniforms - so she petitioned the MOD to provide a central bank of wedding dresses that were made from the parachutes of fallen german soldiers and offcuts
this practise, of the MOD LENDING girls in the service dresses still continues to this day
how cool is that!

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Well done on the speediness! However re BC - I really wouldn't want to emulate her, i have to say. However rich and famous it made her. I'd rather do two good books a year! and wear a lot less pink.

[seraphim-grace.livejournal.com]

with that many secretaries writing that many is easy!
think about it, she took out all the legwork and left the fun bit, she kept the covers of her books as prints around the lounge where she sat drinking tea and dictating the novels

she was one of the first authors that had a strict regimen she stuck to no matter what, if she hadnt written enoguh by the end of one session she ran it on and worked later though apparently she was mostly done by like 7pm

and yeah her books are bleh but she wrote the books she loved to read so she considered them good, it's all in the eye of the beholder,
and seriously, if someone took the typing and retyping and whatnot away from you how much could you write in a year
there was little to no variation in plot or characterisation which meant reading her books was like coming home,
the woman was a goddess, just unfortunately incredibly pink!

[cbpotts.livejournal.com]

You see, I have a formula. You take your deadline, subtract not enough time, and there's the start date. And then lose three-quarters of that to drama, and then, huzzah, brilliance happens or the planet explodes or I blow a deadline. Strange, but true: I always need exactly 10% extra of the time I should have allowed myself after the deadline has passed to finish what needs to get done. I call this my "I Suck At Time Management Paradox"

[erastes.livejournal.com]

omg that's BRILLIANT. I shall have to quote you in my next post, that's so good.

[taylorbooks.livejournal.com]

That's hilarious! I don't think there's anything wrong with that system. It makes perfect sense to me. :D

[tiggothy.livejournal.com]

Are you counting in research time as well? 'coz I'm just boggling at the "short story in a couple of days" thing... mind you, given I gave up history aged 14 (by which point I'd absorbed that facts that Caergwrle Castle was heavily involved in Edward I conquering Wales (it wasn't really) and English people had lots of wars and also oppressed the Nice Welsh People which is why we have trade unions (erm...yeah, right!)) I shouldn't be too surprised that I have to do oodles of reading etc. to be able to write a non-contemporary story!

I was going to say something else as well, but tiredness & nice wine have driven it out of my head. Oh well, I'll just go with "you're awesome" :-)

[erastes.livejournal.com]

I do tend to research as I go, so yes - research time is included. Although most of my shorts have been historical, they aren't as "deeply mired" in history as the novels are. They are basically wank stories (other than the sci-fi series) so it's "la la la here i am living in Rome and I'm hot and horny and a carriage driver and here's a studmuffin i want to shag - shaggage ensues" so other than making sure the clothes and carriages are correct.....

:)

[tiggothy.livejournal.com]

Maybe I ought to be aspiring to write something longer then, lol.