Launching Vengeance Is Hers this week*, I suddenly feel more energized than ever. Publishing a novel again after a long absence from the market feels great! The decks are cleared, and I’m not just ready to take on more writing projects. I’m doing it. (Right now, I’m using Strategy Three for one of my projects, and I love it. Don’t skip past the first two, either.) Let’s go!
About Pulp Speed
I don’t judge anyone for how fast or slow they write. Plenty of people do that. Don’t. Such a rush to judgment always reminds me of the George Carlin joke about driving: “Anyone going slower than you is an idiot and anyone going faster is a maniac.”
I’ve written fast, and I’ve written slowly.
There are a lot of variables to this process, from the basic to the painful. How fast do you type? Do you have a clear idea of where the story is going? Is your health holding you back? When I was recovering from a double hip replacement and eye surgery, I wrote nothing at all. I’m feeling great now and waking up early each day to tackle the world. Life doesn’t always cooperate with our grandest ambitions.
My fastest production, from concept to hitting publish was three months. That was my first hit man novel, Bigger Than Jesus. This Plague of Days is a trilogy that took close to four years.
Upshot: You do you. No judgment. If you want to have another book written sooner than later, though, read on.
Warning: This isn’t about skipping steps or using AI.
You’ll still need to edit and go through the usual production processes. This is about getting your first draft done faster than before.
Strategy One:
Chuck Palahniuk has written a lot of books. Sometimes it sounds like he didn’t enjoy the process. Combatting the cliche of the lonely writer, he would write at parties. He got feedback from others as he created. Most fun, he crowdsourced some ideas. For instance, he made a game of coming up with codes for emergencies. (Think: Code Brown at the hospital means a patient as had an unexpected bowel evacuation, so clean up in Room 437!)
Palahniuk went beyond the assumption of a solitary task to propel his process. He made it fun. If you’re not having fun, how do you expect the reader to have fun?
BONUS TIP: Chuck has suggested to write each chapter as if it’s a short story. This is a great and practical mindset hack. Writing an entire novel sounds intimidating. But short stories? They’re short. They’re stories. You can do that. Making them into a book comes in the second draft. Smooth out the connections to link it all together. It’s a creativity boost, and a wonderful way to get out of your own way.
Someone is objecting (maybe you):
“I can’t turn the creation of my precious novel into performance art! I can’t think if someone else is in the room. They might be chewing, or add unhelpful comments, or look at me!”
Okay, I get that. Stay calm, worry less, and consider Strategy Two:
Andy Weir wrote The Martian on his blog before the novel became a book, a hit, a movie, a hit again, and an enduring joy. He found his audience by blogging the book.
The Expected Objection: But it’s not perfect!
Of course it isn’t, but being too precious keeps you in your own way. Perfect is unachievable. Excellence is a reasonable aim, but that comes later. This is about meeting a deadline (reach for daily, or at least weekly) and get the words down.
Consider this: Readers are more forgiving than writers.
Weir created The Martian on his blog to entertain people in the now. He basically invited his people to watch him created in public. It wasn’t exactly how he wanted it from the get-go, either, but it’s how he progressed to got-done. His blogged book was not there to impress hypercritical folks on Goodreads. It was for sci-fans who craved entertainment now. Later, when it came to the book deal, he could go deeper and harder.
Strategy Three: Write your novel as if it’s a diary.
Years ago, I read an apocalyptic novel with a story behind its creation. The author wrote one chapter a day as if the events were happening each day in reality. It was as if the hero of the novel was keeping a log of each day’s events. Survivors’ trials, tribulations, and successes were recorded day-by-day.
Once again, we’re shifting mindsets. It’s not a big, intimidating book anymore. It’s a diary entry. You can do that. Do that every day of the year and you have at least 365 pages of manuscript.
Realistically, you’ll write more than a page a day so you could have a trilogy in a year. One detail that amused me was that when the author was sick or neglected his writing for a few days or a week, so did the novel’s protagonist. That made it feel even more real. In my current project, I’m mixing in actual current events, which adds verisimilitude to the fiction.
This strategy also eliminates the bane of every novelist’s existence: the timeline.
What season is it? It’s whatever season you’re in now. Which birds were singing outside the window at that time of year? Look out the window.
Finally, remember the KISS principle: Keep it Simple, Sexy.
Have fun.
Write more.
*Now about that launch of my new novel. Here it is:
This is not a guide for aspiring vigilantes, but it might inspire you!
Welcome to Poeticule Bay, Maine, a village where justice is scarce, and secrets have deadly consequences. When a gay student is brutally attacked and exiled from his home, the police turn a blind eye. Fueled by rage, Molly Jergins launches a relentless campaign against the school bully and his sinister family.
As Molly’s quest for retaliation spirals into chaos, the lines between hero and villain blur. To hunt monsters, must she become the very thing she despises? In the end, will revenge prove the best success?
Read Vengeance Is Hers now. I’d certainly appreciate it. I just released this big bundle of fun this week, so if you enjoy it, please leave a review. Thanks!