Day 1: I'm writing a book in 23 days (really!)

Actually, I'm writing it in 20 days since I'm taking a break on Sundays.

Since you want to write a book, too, or you wouldn't be reading this, I'm going to blog about it day by day so you can see exactly how I write the first draft of a book in just 20 days.

Whether you have 20 days or 20 months to write your book, the tips I'll share here will help you.

Day 1: I tell my right brain to be quiet.

Today was Day 1 of writing...but before I wrote a word I had to tell my right brain to be quiet for a few hours.

Instead I kicked my left brain into overdrive, got out a calendar and calculator, and started punching in numbers.

This may sound like an odd way to write a book, but if you just sit down and start writing, how do you know where you're going?

Here's what I know so far:

• I have 23 days before the 1st edit is due (June 1).

• If I want to take off Sundays, that leaves me 20 days to actually write.

• We want 28 chapters + 1 introduction + 3 miscellaneous lists in the back of the book.

• The book will be 45,000 words total.

So that means:

• Each chapter has to be about 1,400 words.

• I have to write 2 chapters a day, leaving me 4 days to edit everything before June 1

Once that left-brained activity was complete, I picked myself up off the floor realizing what the rest of May is going to be like.

Then it was time for Mr. Right Brain again. AKA time to write! 

By 3 pm, I had written 2 chapters.

This is not the first time I've written a book in a short amount of time so I know what I have to do (and not do) to pull it off. I want to share those tips with you during the next 23 days.

If you don't subscribe to this blog, please subscribe now so that you don't miss a tip. Just add your email address to the box in the upper left (or here) and you'll receive my posts in your inbox.

Coming tomorrow: How I developed a template for the book (and how you can develop one for yours). Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss this or any other tips. Just click "get email updates" in the upper left or here.

 

Comments

[Lucy Ann Moll]

This is great, Diana. Question: Can someone do this (book in 20 days) when she has other commitments, like radio show, blogposts, and one-to-one counseling with hurting women?

Also it sounds like you already knew what you planned to write on, since you completed two chapters on day 1. So you already did "pre-writing," like coming up with the book idea and main message, a outline for chapters, right?

Blessings to you!!! >i<

[Diana Scimone]

LucyAnn,

Great questions! This is my day job, so it's easier for me to devote the daytime hours to writing it since that's what I'm paid to do.

If you're trying to add book writing to an already busy schedule (and I know yours is), you have to MAKE the time. Can you write an hour a day in the early morning? In the evening? Look at your schedule, figure out how many hours a week you need to devote to it to get it done, and then put it on your calendar. You may have to cut out other activities. And you'll have to be jealous to guard that time because you know everything else will threaten to take over that time slot.

Re "pre-writing," you're absolutely right and I am going to do a post on that in this series. If you're going to write an entire book in 20 days, you have to spend at least that much time in all the prep work. Thankfully the author I'm working with is incredibly organized--making my job a lot easier.

Thanks for the comment and questions, LucyAnn!

Diana

[Brian Banashak]

Diana,

Your tip couldn’t have come at a better time. I need to start a ghostwriting project—about 13,500 words—but in 10 days. That means 1,350 words per day—about 4.5 pages per day.

I can do that! Thanks!

Brian