Flying Lesson #4

Exclusive Writing Lab on my "Get a Draft" Done Formula

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).

I’m a knitter for one reason. When I’m done, I have some “thing” tangible to show for my time and efforts.

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:

1. Pick your form and determine your word count. (#w)

2. Add up the days between now and the day you want your book/essay done. (#d)

3. Divide that number into your word count total

4. 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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