Blogger: Mary Keeley
It’s good to be back in the office and conversing with you, our blog community, again. Always when we travel, we look for news and tips we can pass along to you. Today I have sage advice from author Robert Benson that I think you’ll find helpful for your writing life.
I often hear writers ask for advice on how to balance building their platform and audience while also writing their book and do both well. Robert Benson, the keynote speaker at the Florida Christian Writers Conference, gave some sage advice. The theme for his keynotes came from his book, Dancing on the Head of a Pen. If you’ve read it, you’ll be able to visualize the applications for yourself, because he offers a view of the writer’s life from his personal experience. The book is altogether transparent, humorous, realistic, and thus memorable. I recalled my shoulder muscles relaxing and writer angst disappearing when I had read it. It you haven’t added this book to your writing resource library, I encourage you to do so.
600 words a day
Robert’s advice is to write 600 hundred words on your first draft every day except Sundays and holidays, without fail. Go into your writing space, close the door, and eliminate every distraction. Write something, anything, to get started until your brain kicks into gear and the words begin to flow from deep within. When you’ve written 600 words, stop writing for the day. Period. Whether you are in the middle of a scene, a paragraph, even a sentence. The mere thought might go against your writer sensibilities, but listen to his reasoning.
- When you stop in the middle of a thought, you know exactly where to pick up the next day. No time is wasted staring at a blank page, wondering what to write next. You might have heard me give this advice in the past, but Robert explained the reasoning further.
- Using a monthly average of 26 days, you will end up with 15,600 words at the end of a month writing only 600 words per day. If you do this each month, you’ll have written 93,600 words at the end of six months.
- Six hundred words per day gives you time to refresh and begin the next day with a clear head.
It’s about discipline.
Robert spends a year writing and polishing a manuscript. Many authors, such as those of you who write for Love Inspired and other category fiction, produce more than one book per year. Even so, the general principle can apply for you as well. Discipline. Calculate how many words you need to write per day for 26 days per month, allowing time before your deadline for editing and polishing.
Robert Benson’s approach provides one possible solution to the writer’s dilemma about balancing both the business and writing segments of your writing life. At the end of your undistracted, disciplined time writing 600 words, you are free to spend whatever time you have left each day working on building your platform.
How long has it taken you to write your first draft of a manuscript?
Do you think Robert Benson’s approach would work for balancing both areas of your writing life?
How do you balance building your platform and audience while writing and editing your book? What sage advice can you offer?
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Intriguing, Mary. Thank you for sharing it here. For writers like me with a day job, 600 words daily is more realistic than thousands.
* I am not only writing new chapters, but also revising old ones (Andrew and another reader suggested that I direct my WIP to men as well as women). It is easy to think, “I don’t have enough time tonight to make it worthwhile.” 600 new words or 15 minutes of rewriting–it is forward motion, which is better than sitting still. Aesop was right. The tortoise can prevail.
Love that, Shirlee…”it is forward motion, which is better than sitting still.”
* The Germans have a saying, “kleiner ist auch einer”, which fits. A small one is, nonetheless, one.
So true, Shirlee. Consistent forward motion keeps the motivation going.
I love this! 600 words a day should be doable even for writers juggling family, jobs, and writing. I’m in the editing phase right now, so maybe I’ll make a goal to edit one chapter a day. It doesn’t seem overwhelming now.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Jackie, don’t you feel your mind and body relaxing at the thought of this doable goal. The trick is to be consistent daily.
Six hundred words a day is a good target.
* When I was able, I did typically 75,000 words per month. I had a day job, and didn’t sleep much.
* Now, not quite so many.
* I’m not one to be able to offer sage advice, but have three suggestions –
1) If you don’t love writing (and it isn’t your day job), don’t write. Life’s too short
2) Don’t put words over perishable moments. The child who wants to show you a lizard she caught, the spouse who needs your shoulder to cry on, the dog who whacks you in the leg with a stick as an invitation to play…those will never come again in the way they are immediately offered.
3) Let 99% of your opinions pass unremarked, because opinions are stones thrown from within a glass house.
Andrew, Your suggestions are indeed wise advice, but I’ll admit to having a good chuckle over the first suggestion. I feel a deep and personal need to write, it’s great therapy, except when it drives me crazy. I can’t imagine having to write and not love it. That would be maddening.
Lara, it sort of made me laugh when I wrote it. I don’t think of myself as a writer; I write stuff, and that’s it. But a couple of days ago, I didn’t want to miss the weekly #BlogBattle flash fiction thing, and in spite of a fever in excess of 104, I wrote. (If you want to see what delirium can do to storytelling, please drop by – http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/03/hairball-story-of-viet-nam-blogbattle.html)
* I like storytelling, but writing doesn’t work as therapy for me; my bent toward a rather simple literal-mindedness tends to make others seek therapy (An example…I asked Barbara, born a Catholic, if the church provides music when they steer married couples to the rhythm method, or if it’s a free choice. It took her awhile to recover.)
How refreshingly sane…
It is, isn’t it.
This makes a lot of sense. When I’m fast-drafting, I can usually get out my first draft (somewhere around 90,000 words) in 6-8 weeks, writing one-two scenes a day.
*I like the concept behind Robert Benson’s thought of writing 600 words a day. If I take the concept and modify it slightly, I could easily see it helping me to better balance writing time and platform building. I need to think on this more.
*Thanks for sharing, Mary!
Good point, Jeanne. Benson is pretty adamant about the 600 words per day in his book, and it’s right for him. Every author should apply this individually according to personal schedule and concentration levels. But the concept of consistent and disciplined word-count goals per day is peaceful and freeing, don’t you think?
Definitely. ?
Stopping in the middle of a thought will take great discipline on my part, it’s difficult to shut off the creative brain train once it’s traveling at full speed. On the other hand, it makes great sense to give yourself a starting point for the next day and during that time of rest, it’s quite possible you’ll come up with an even better thought.
*I also like the idea of actually charting where I’ll be at 600 words a day while working on a new draft. Visual goals are really helpful.
*My goal for revisions are usually one to two chapters a day.
Lara, that is exactly Benson’s point.
I missed the ‘stop in the middle of a thought’ bit. There’s no way I can do that. If I put it down it will nae come back agin’.
* That may be why storyboarding works for me; it translates fleeting thoughts into something concrete, and even when I’ve only storyboarded to the end of the current scene, there’s still a visual ‘boost’ to get the next session underway.
Andrew, for fear of losing thoughts, I often will jot it down at my stopping place, highlight it, and not have to worry about forgetting. Could be as simple as “Next, she’ll hear ____ song playing and think of him, tear up, and wonder when the in world she started falling for him.” Unfolded and filled in that’ll lead to nearly an entire scene. 🙂
Teresa, my sweet daughter-in-law gave me a little spiral notebook and pen for jotting down notes. I drive 15 minutes to work through pretty countryside, and I often come up with ideas in the car.
Andrew, I understand Robert Benson’s approach might not be the best for you, but how about some adaptation? Say, write a word or phrase down when you reach your daily goal. You might come back the next day with a better thought.
That’s a good idea, Mary. Thank you!
I’m too rigid to stop mid sentence, but I often leave notes for where I want to go after I finish writing the sentence and shut off the
See how annoying that could be? 🙂
That mid sentence cut-off thing would drive me INSANE if I tried to leave my work like that.
Och, aye, but is it nae a cliffhanger?
Oh, Michelle, I hadn’t read your comment before adding my reply to Andrew’s post. Yes! Little sticky-note style scribbles help me!
Benson’s point is that you know exactly what word(s) to begin with the next day. It’s works as a kick start and an author doesn’t waste time staring at a blank screen until the brain settles in to writing gear. It might not work, or be necessary, for every author, but he made a strong case for trying it.
Thinking about this intriguing post begs a question I’d like to put to you guys…”How” do you write? I’d love to see anyone’s thoughts!
* Do you take time to think in between periods of typing, or do you tend to just write, building the scene as you go?
* Do you refer to notes during the physical writing process, or once you’re typing, are the notes left alone?
* Do you begin and end with a prayer?
Hi Andrew,
I look at my notes before beginning, but sometimes my characters go astray. Ha.
Prayer? If I didn’t pray, I may as well not write.
Have a good day!
For me, Andrew, writing IS prayer.
* Here’s a technique I picked up at a writers conference: jot notes on 3×5 cards and shuffle them more or less into order when writing (I heard that one person uses sticky notes and arranges them on the wall). I have notecards everywhere–at work, in the car, at church, upstairs & downstairs at home. When I have an idea, I write enough to bring it to mind later. I may or may not actually use the notes when writing. When I finish a chapter, I flip through the unused cards to see if I missed anything good.
Great idea — the index cards.
As a total pantster, I may only begin with some scribbled notes. Since most of my writing happens after my daughter’s bedtime, my process looks like this: make a cup of coffee (because, well, COFFEE), unplug laptop (I have a thing about using my laptop when it’s tethered to the wall), and just write. I can sometimes write with the tv turned on but sound down. However, I prefer to write in silence. I stare off into space when I need to decide where to go. My husband pointed that out. I also talk out loud to my characters. I’ll put notes in the margin, highlight details I need to remember later (eye color, reference to family members, etc.). But all my notes have “subject to change at the discretion of the author” in the fine print. 🙂
I’m sure this will SHOCK you—I’m a plotter. 🙂 I always begin with prayer. I get my main plot points figured out after I figure out my characters. When I sit down to write, I think through and try to envision the scene first—what may happen, five senses, setting, who’s in the scene. And then I write. I usually miss some of the stuff I envisioned, but I let the scene, dialogue, events carry me, if that makes sense.
I think I am a natural-born plotter. The idea for a pair of main characters comes to me. From that starting point, all the key events of the plot, including other main characters, coalesce in my mind, usually over less than a week. I write brief summaries of the pivotal events (10-20% as long as the final text will be), and maybe a few of the key scenes in semi-full detail. Then I proceed to flesh out the skeleton at the typical rate of 600-2000 words a day, but I did hit almost 8000 one day when I was trying to finish something completely so I could enter it in the Genesis contest. That was most of the day plus an all-nighter (after a 2-hour nap) because I was really in the flow. A sense of deadline can really push me into flow mode sometimes.
*As I write, I frequently reread what I’ve already written for consistency. (The “find” function is my best friend.) That slows me down, but I think the multiple partial edits and refinements improve the overall quality of the first draft. Sometimes I’m surprised by a character or event that started as something minor becoming major, but the general plot and final destination is pretty well set when I first start.
*Usually, when I’m working pretty much full time on one novel, the plot for another starts appearing in my mind. When that happens, I set aside what I’m working on for a little while and start the summary outline for that next one. When I was trying to finish that novel for Genesis, the concept for the new novel I’m working on popped into my mind, and I made the summary outline that includes start, main and intermediate crisis points, and ending over the next 6 or so hours. That’s the only time it all came together that fast. Since all my plots revolve around the real power of Jesus to transform wounded people into healthy ones and the role a faithful follower plays in helping that happen, I’m quite sure the plots aren’t coming just from my own creativity. I doubt I could do something like that on my own. When I’m writing the sections where the characters are sharing or struggling with their faith, I ask some others to pray for me to get it right so it reads like real people actually talk with each other about God.
I love his advice, and I heard something similar from Deb Raney … thanks to James Scott Bell. I do this. Most days I write more, but on the days I don’t write as much, I’m still making progress. 300 words is progress. And that feels good. I love this advice: “Write something, anything, to get started until your brain kicks into gear and the words begin to flow from deep within.” From deep within is key. That is the sweetest. And on the days you can’t write from deep within, you know you can go back and the deep within will come later. It’s all good.
*I didn’t do this initially because I felt like I’d burst if I couldn’t get the story spilled out on the page. But my life wasn’t balanced when I did that. I feel a little more balanced now, yet I’m continually taking steps forward.
Shelli, I think you bring up a good point. Aim for 600 (or whatever your personal goal). Do less on days it’s not flowing. More when you feel inspired. Rigid guidelines, in either direction–more or less, won’t be sustainable. I agree that some days we just have to keep going until we fall over spent with creativity. 🙂 Those are days us writers live for, no?
So well spoken, Shelli.
600 words ? In ONE day?
Nope.
Can’t see how that would be good for ME. It may help all kinds of people, but that would limit me in ways we’d need a Ph.D to unravel.
I am fine if that’s a tweak, but not during the drafting process. Nooooo.
I say this with as much Canadian politeness as possible…”Talk to the hand, Mr. Benson.”
Watch, now I’ll meet him and he’ll say “Wellll, THAT was nice.”
If I’m drafting, my husband basically takes over the house, the kids, keeps the kettle on, and tosses me food every few hours.
I TRY to make sure I have my social media stuff done before I disappear into Draftworld, otherwise, nothing gets done. Then I’m gone for 4-8 weeks.
Just to clarify, 600 words in one day would make ME feel like I hadn’t worked hard enough.
For others? I certainly don’t hold them to my map, they have their own path to navigate.
Jennifer, sounds like you married a treasure, like I did. He made it possible for me to complete my first 111K word manuscript in about 3 months when I was working full time as well. He makes a great model for many of the better traits of my male protagonists, too.
I did. I truly did.
Jennifer, I understand your point that authors are all different and have their own daily responsibilities and schedule. I’ll just insert a thought here to consider. Just because authors are used to the way they do things doesn’t prove that it’s the best way for them to write. Authors will never know which approach produces the best results until they try more than one. What do you think?
I heartily agree that finding the right approach is critical. And since I do know a wee bit (seriously, a small amount) about applying the science to get the best result, each individual is a case in and of his or her self and yes, results may vary.
I’m not one for rigid schedules, I’ll tell you about the why of that someday. And for many, 600 words is huge. But for me, that’s not enough.
In the last few years, I’ve experimented with how and when I find the best writing results, and I do my best when the house is quiet, and when everyone is settled wherever they need to be.
If someone I know well and have great respect for suggests I try something new, I’ll try it. Otherwise, not so much.
I don’t agree with the idea of a rigid word count as the goal. When you’re in the flow, it’s not wise to leave it just because you hit a word count. Like Jeanne, I prefer the idea of writing one or two scenes a day, and that usually works out to somewhere between 300 and 1200 words per scene for me. I don’t keep track while I’m writing, either. When I run the spell check after I finish, I check word count as well but out of curiosity rather than compulsion.
*Rather than stopping in the middle of a scene to have a fixed starting place the next day, I type a few words summarizing what the next scene will be. A 50-100 word summary is easy to turn into that 300-1200 words the next day.
Mary, I’m wondering whether the fixed word count was a recommendation more for pantsers than for plotters. What writer type is Robert Benson?
That’s hard to say, Carol. He sounds like a plotter when he talks about the 600-word-per-day approach, but his reasoning for that approach–knowing exactly where to pick up the next day until his deep writing brain kicks in and takes him where he should go–sounds somewhat pantser to me.
I aim for at least 1000 a day during drafting, but I won’t kick myself if I don’t make it. I might kick the cat though. Not ACTUALLY kick it but just sort of swing my leg in its general direction.
With regard to the “stop in the middle of a thought” thing, I tend to do kind of the opposite: Write until I don’t know what’s happening next and quit for the day to figure it out. Maybe not a good method, but it gets me through the first draft anyway.
If you do 1,000 words, plus or minus, consistently six days a week, you’re following Benson’s basic discipline, Katie.
Hi, Mary! This is such an interesting post. I’ve been searching for a discipline to apply to my writing that is doable, sustainable. This just might be it. It takes some pressure away to get huge chunks down in one sitting. It gives time to ruminate, too. I often find that when I leave my writing when I know what’s going to happen next, my brain does better at filling in subsequent scenes. So well said. I look forward to reading his book. Thanks!
PS — I wrote the first draft of my first novel is 30 days during NaNoWriMo in 2013. Since then, I’ve worked to revised/rewrite it numerous times. In fact, with so much out there to learn about craft, I’ll likely revisit it again.
After reading several other comments, I have to add that I’d see this as a guidelines. Something to aim for. More some days, great. Less, no big deal. Forward motion is SOMETHING. 🙂
That’s what I think too, Teresa. I feel pressure lifting at the mere thought of it. And who can’t think more lucidly and creatively when under less pressure.
Great advice! I need to apply something like this to the writing of my book. Between my paid technical writings and my novel, if I apply his approach, I may actually get my novel written.
I hope this approach works well for you, Lori.
Love this simple, sage advice. While 600 words a day might not seem like much (especially when viewed in the light of “8,000 words today!” during NaNoWriMo), it is a sustainable, realistic goal. Without such concrete goal, writing can be a black hole in a writer’s time-space continuum, sucking in every spare minute of life.
Valid point, Rick. You’ve pretty well described Robert Benson’s reasoning.
Love this. Seems workable.
Good, Erin.
I love the 600 a day and then leave it, idea. Thanks so much, Mary. That does show you when you can take the time for platform. So far, I’ve been trying to write rough drafts really fast ( like 30 to 50 thousand words a month) and then take my time with revisions, knowing that the bones of the story is there and ready to grow into what I am hoping it will be.
It’s well worth a try, Kristen.
The fastest I’ve ever written a first draft is about 8 months. The longest was four years (I was recovering from chemo fog with that one). Some days it takes me 4-5 hours to write 600 words. Some days I write 2000 in that same time. Usually it’s around 1000. But I couldn’t do it six days a week, though once upon a time I did.
Lori, it’s all about personalizing and adapting when necessary for what works best, isn’t it. You’ve found your sweet spot.
Hi. This is my first post here. I have been reading this blog everyday for the last few months now. I find it very helpful. Thank you.
While I was reading this one my initial thought was “No!” How can you stop mid flow. Then I remembered that most of my writing time has been during my lunch break. This has meant that I hatd had to stop mid-flow. It issue that I picked it up again easily the next day. Once flowing I have found it keeps flowing. It was frustrating having to leave my ideas unwritten do 24 hours, but I did think a lot on it and was able to make the scene better
Related to this. I did all my first drafting with pen and notebook. Initially. Because I did not have a laptop. So I would scribble away in the coffee shop and aim to write two pages a day. I always took my book with me and wrote sections of the story in locations that inspired me, getting the sounds, smells and ambiance first hand so to speak.
This free hand writing I would do again as it stops you from going back over and “just re-edit this”. I could concentrate on the story and leave editing to when I transcribed it onto the computer.
Took me a long time to complete though!
Welcome to our blog, Chris. I’m so glad you posted your interesting comment today and hope you add to our conversations frequently. Robert Benson uses pen and paper for his first draft, too, and for the same reason you do.
This advice is similar to wisdom Judy Christie, author of “Hurry Less, Worry Less for Families” shared with me at the first writers’ conference I attended. Judy asked me to commit to spending one hour per morning at the computer writing. Developing this discipline has helped balance my writing life, my career, passion for missions, and spend time with my family. I have not tracked daily word count, but I’ll start logging the numbers. Thank you for sharing this information with those of us who didn’t have the time or finances to attend the conference.
Shelia, thanks for sharing how Judy’s advice has worked well for you. I’m always working toward a more disciplined balance of work and personal life, and your example is inspiring.