On getting to “the end” in your first, second, and third draft. A fail safe formula that allows time for processing, too.
Welcome:
When you knit, you end up with a sweater or shawl you can give to your adorable kid or wear yourself (after you post on Ravelry.com, of course).
When you paint, you have something to hang on the wall.
When you are a potter, you have a bowl, a vase, or a plate to display.
When you are a writer, though, you’re dealing with black letters on a blank surface, and those letters will get moved and rearranged a million-and-one times. And because this is an art form of reflexive consciousness, what we think we have to say or need to say, can change in a moment, making this art form as slippery as a garter snake in wet grass.
To persevere, a writer needs endurance, daily (even hourly) inspiration, and processes designed to get the job done.
Jennifer’s Get it Done Formula
I start with word count.
Suppose you are writing a book-length memoir. You can estimate that will be 125,000-150,000 in the first draft, and by your third, between 85,000-100,000.
If you are writing an essay, you can estimate about 10,000 words in the first draft and then, by your third, between 3500-5000 words.
The first and second drafts are “drafty,” meaning they are longer because the writer is creating a lot of scenes, which take a lot of words to write, and they are also “telling” more than they might need to build out the story in their own minds. See Flying Lessons # 2 for Scene. See Flying Lesson #3 for Exposition (or telling). You will refine as you narrow down your structure, your plot, your themes, and the story you ultimately want to tell to a reader. Refining always means cutting words out.
So here it is:
Pick your form and determine your word count. (#w)
Add up the days between now and the day you want your book/essay done. (#d)
Divide that number into your word count total
Arrive at your word count to write per day. (#wpd)
#w/#d=#wpd
For example, I have 72 days before I write through 135,000 words. That’s 1875 words a day.
135,000/72 = 1875
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