Marathon: Prepping for the 30-Day Draft

Filed in: Musings on Craft | Writing
Tags: Writing Marathon

On March 7th, I’m heading to Shreveport, Louisiana, to speak at the Written in the Stars Conference, hosted by the NOLAStars chapter of the RWA. This time the topic is “Marathon: Finishing Your First Draft in 30 Days or Less.”

Over the next few Wednesdays, I’m going to preview the topic here, with a few side notes about books. This is not just to promote my speaking (although I’m a lot of fun as a speaker). It’s also to keep me on track.

I have a book due March 1. A Good Day for Murder. And I don’t intend to miss that deadline. You, my friends, will be my accountability.

I’ll be posting my weekly totals here.
Goal: at least 60,000.
To date: 7,795 words.
Official start date: January 11th.
So, allowing a week for a good review and proofing, and to meet my 30-Day goal, I need to be finished by February 11th.

Although my goal is 60,000, my speech is actually geared toward achieving 50,000 words. Since I already have 7,795, I need 52,205, so the math is similar.

30 days. That works out to be approximately 1,750 words per day, or 12,250 per week. By next Wednesday, my first draft should have at least 20,045 words.

Intimidating? It really shouldn’t be. This past Sunday, I wrote 1,047 words in two hours, leaving plenty of time for PetSmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target, KMart, and a half-mile walk in the park with the dog and a movie with the sitter when I got back. It is possible to write 50,000 words in a month and still have a life.

But you have to prepare. You don’t run a Boston marathon by going out and buying a new pair of shoes when you haven’t been off the couch in 5 years.

So, in “Top Ten” countdown style . . .

#10 PLAN AND PREPARE

I scuba dive, and every dive instructor I’ve known has this mantra ingrained on the brain: Plan the dive, and dive the plan. It’ll keep you from getting lost, among other things.

So don’t start your writing marathon with a loose idea and a few character sketches in your head. Here are a few “warm-up” ideas to get you launched to a successful “run” of writing.

• Warn your friends and family – vital for all those missed television programs, ignored text messages, and dinners in a box
• Clean your space – don’t start in a spot that’s going to distract you with stuff that should be filed, read, paid, or put in the dishwasher
• Spend several days “planning your dive” – write 2-page sketches of your major characters and a 5-page outline (including the major plot points and the ending). KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING! There are several guidelines out there that can help with this. One of my favorites is Randy Ingermanson‘s Snowflake Method.
• If you write with music, plan your book’s soundtrack. If you’re not sure, a music sample source such as Pandora can help.
• Plan your time. You know your life best. Know when and how you’re going to find those 30-minute or 1-hour sprints. Block them out as dedicated to writing.

Finally, put into your mind that this is not a fluke or a test. This is not a hobby. This is a serious step in developing a writing career.

Marathoning isn’t for everyone, and there are plenty of successful writers who take six months or a year (or more) to finish a first draft. But if you are blocked, you need a challenge to get you off your duff, or you’re like me and want to write 3 books a year, then you can use a marathon stretch to jumpstart all your writing goals.

After all, there’s a reason that NaNoWriMo has been one of the most successful writing movements in history.

Join me. Let’s write!

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