The prospect of writing a novel looms large in the minds of the general public with most people adamant that they have a story to tell and a book to write. Some of the most prolific published authors like Stephen King make it a habit to write 1,000 words per day. Others, like Nora Roberts, write an estimated four books per year. In short, that means that they write a novel in 90 days.
ALL. THE. TIME.
If Stephen King can write a 90,000-word novel every 90 days, why is it that so many people flirt with the idea of novel writing but never hit the end of their book?
I’m proposing that we do something a little different this upcoming quarter. Starting in May, I’m going to take on the challenge of the 90 day novel. I have to wrap up a few loose ends on the sequel to my debut, but then I will be dropping into a fresh new story and aim to have it finished by the end of July.
I’m sure there will be some tears and writing sessions where I don’t hit my goal, but I’m hoping that the flow of immersing myself in a new story will be enough to keep me motivated.
Have I Ever Written a Novel This Fast?
The truth is that I have experience writing a novel much faster than 90 days. As a published author and freelancer, I’m used to working on deadlines and getting my work done. I think the secret to a successful writing session isn’t to wait for the muse to strike but to simply sit down and get your words onto the page.
When a main character is real to you, you will be inspired to tell the story.
The truth is that I wrote my draft of On The Map in about two months, but it only moved so smoothly because I had already created the world and the characters. While it switches to a different character’s perspective, it still has some of the same elements that made the original so enjoyable to write. I didn’t regurgitate information, but I didn’t have to start completely from scratch either.
And that is EXACTLY what I will be doing in this new challenge to write a novel in 90 days.
Before I even start the writing process, I’m going to read my comp titles and consider how I can make this go as smoothly as possible. I’m going to follow the same story structure I have used for other books and put it all on my plotting board. (You will likely see some pictures of this process later on in the quarter). My goal for word count is about 80,000 words over the three months.
Will I Hold Myself Accountable to My Writing Goals?
It’s a simple step, but it’s one that every prolific author is familiar with: you need to hold yourself accountable to your goals. If people are expecting a story from you, you need to deliver or risk losing some of your fans. To this end, I will be sharing some of my content and story updates on my Ream subscription (you can access that here).
Right now, I’m thinking that this novel will be a collection of short stories or novellas from different perspectives, but that may change as I start to plot it out.
Once I officially start writing the book and quit procrastinating by reading comp titles, I’ll let you know what the story structure looks like and how I’ll be holding myself accountable to this audacious goal. I have a few intriguing characters at the moment and a general book idea but as all aspiring authors know, sometimes those characters take on a life of their own. I’m open to going where the story and scene lead me.
What Are You Writing?
Do you have a book idea floating around in the back of your mind? Over the next three months, I’m going to walk you through my systematic approach to moving from aspiring authors to published and prolific authors. Consider this blog a concise guide to inspire you to put more words on the paper.
Later this week, we will look at advice from famous authors and see how you can harness their powers for your novel.
Are you going to be hanging out with me over this next quarter while I try this out? I would love to see your 90 day novel show up in my Barnes and Noble cart when we cross that finish line together. Let me know what you’ve been writing and what you will be working on in May. I’m so excited to dive into this new project and I hope you are too!