“You can learn only by doing.” ― Stephen King
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
I write a book a year, and have done for the past ten years. Some people tell me they would never have the time to write a book. I suspect the truth for many is they don't have confidence in their writing skills.
Like any skill, writing a book takes time to learn. You wouldn't expect to pick up a musical instrument and play it well right away, but if you learn a new tune every day, you will soon improve. (I taught myself to play the flute with the ‘Tune a Day’ books.)
Of all the writing advice I've ever seen, the one I recommend is the only way to learn to write is to just write, every day. The typical novel has around three hundred words on a page, so if you can write just one page a day, that's a book a year.
That means making the time to sit down and write, even if you don't feel like it, until writing a page a day becomes a habit - and a skill. In a year you will write well over a hundred thousand words.
Tony Riches
If you have more ideas on how to improve writing productivity please comment below
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This is so true. An empty page cannot be edited. I also aim for a book a year, and this is the way.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I like how you simply put it, a page a day means a book a year. Thank you for breaking this down for me.
ReplyDeleteYou and Jimmy are inspiring me to start again. I think I can do it slowly, like really really slowly. Thanks, Tony!
ReplyDeleteI (foolishly but strategically) posted the release schedule of my next six books. I have 3-1/2 written. Calculating words to write by days to write them, I have to write TWO pages a day. Good motivation.
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