The Wall of Twenty Thousand Words . . .

Lifelongdagger · Jan 20, 2007

I have heard talk of a wall, the Wall of Twenty Thousand Words. It looms before me like, well, a great big wall thingy.

I believe that it is only words of wisdom that can overcome it, so, please, anyone, help. :Shrug:

PeeDee · Jan 20, 2007

Lifelongdagger said:
I have heard talk of a wall, the Wall of Twenty Thousand Words. It looms before me like, well, a great big wall thingy.

I believe that it is only words of wisdom that can overcome it, so, please, anyone, help.

....I haven't the faintest idea what the Wall of Twenty Thousand Words is, so you'll have to explain before I make up some age-old words of wisdom for you.

Probably, it can be brought down like all other walls: By having David Hasslehoff sing "Lookin' for Freedom" on it in a blinking jacket.

ORION · Jan 21, 2007

I have completed four manuscripts and go great guns until about 20-25 K and then slog from day to day forcing the story. Once I hit 45,000 then I pick up steam. For me my first draft is about 60,000 - 70,000 words. I have hit this 20,000 word "wall" on each novel and trust that I can work through it each time. Each successive edit (for me) adds words. At about 90,000 My edits start paring and making the story lean. This is just me. Others have their own methods. I have heard about this "wall" from other writers. The more novels you complete the more confidence you have of overcoming it.

Edward G · Jan 21, 2007

Lifelongdagger said:
I have heard talk of a wall, the Wall of Twenty Thousand Words. It looms before me like, well, a great big wall thingy.

I believe that it is only words of wisdom that can overcome it, so, please, anyone, help.

Write 500 words a day no matter what--every day. Don't write too much more than that either. At 500 words a day, you can complete two 75,000 word rough drafts a year with a two-month break in-between. You'll never hit a wall that way. 500 words a day.

Birol · Jan 21, 2007

Gordon, everyone works differently. While having minimum daily goals is a good thing, some people work best using time as a goal, others need a word count. For many, 500 words is nothing more than a warm-up. Most writers who make their living at this gig wouldn't be able to pay the bills if all they wrote was 500 words a day.

Inkdaub · Jan 21, 2007

In my current WIP, I have compartmentalized sections of the story into seperate files in Word. I open these files...sometimes several once...and see them as little goals in themselves. Chapters is how I see them now but we'll see if they remain in that form. Anyway, doing this had the result of my not even noticing passing the 20,000 word mark. I am at somewhere between thirty and forty grand now, and must admit the process has slowed.

KiraOnWhite · Jan 21, 2007

20k words isn't exactly hard, once you got the plot and outline down pat. One chap can be around 2k, and by 10 chaps you'll have broken down the wall. Currently aiming for 50k to submit for a competition...

Jamesaritchie · Jan 21, 2007

Wall

I've heard this called the 100 page wall more often than anything else, and it is real. This seems to be the mark where many novels by new writers simply stop. It's said there are more one hundred page partials out there than there are writers.

From my experience, the wall is going up long before it becomes an obstacle. The writer takes a wrong turn back down the road somewhere, and because of this wrong turn, writes himself into a corner. He's stuck because there's no sensible place to go.

When this happens, you have to go back and find where you went wrong, get back on the main road, and the wall disappears.

greglondon · Jan 21, 2007

Dory from "Finding Nemo" said it best in song when she said "Just keep writing. Just keep writing. Just keep writing."

Gabriel · Jan 21, 2007

I hit more of a gigantic wall that just had to be charged at head on. Turned out it wasn't that hard after all. Dory also said "Escapee!" Not so much relevant as damn funny. :roll:

James D. Macdonald · Jan 21, 2007

I call it "The Dread Mid-book"

See also http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6710&page=21
or
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=182310

ChaosTitan · Jan 21, 2007

I'm approaching the 20k mark on my WIP. So far, no wall in sight. A few speed bumps, but no wall.

I kind of like Inkdaub's suggestion, too. Keep each chapter separately. Don't check your word count. Don't add up your page count. Just write.

ChaosTitan · Jan 21, 2007

Imelda said:
The wall is not insurmountable! You just have to fool it into shrinking.

Or find a way to sneak around it. :tongue

scarletpeaches · Feb 9, 2007

You can't go over the wall. You can't go under the wall. You can't go around the wall.

YOU MUST GO THROUGH THE WALL.

Willowmound · Feb 9, 2007

I've never heard of this. Which might be why I've never hit it. Because I've hit pretty much all the bad things I have heard of. Good thing my WIP is well past 20,000 words...

Willowmound · Feb 9, 2007

I was curious, so I checked. I remember having a big bump earlier in the MS. I located the spot. Turns out, the bump happened at 19,000 words.

I'll be darned.

jodiodi · Feb 9, 2007

I've never heard of it either. All my pieces are well over 100,000 words and I never knew how long they were until I was done and ready to send out a query. That's when I did hte word count and noticed how many pages were involved.

My only advice is to just write the story and let it go where it goes. Don't worry about word count or anything like that until you're done.

triceretops · Feb 9, 2007

I've heard it called the mid-book blues or mid slump. For me, it is the dread that I've used up my entire vocabulary--all of my cute similies and metaphores, my ingenius tag lines. That happens around 35,000 words or so. I also like to stay 2 or 3 moves ahead of my plot like a chess game. Sometimes I catch up to my game and have only one move left. Then I have none. I try using red herrings, twists, turns and layering when I'm uncertain of where the plot is headed. That adds more moves to my game.

It's a complicated affair.

tri

dreamsofnever · Feb 9, 2007

I would say the best way to avoid writer's block is to plot your book out beforehand. That said, you don't have to figure out every detail, but have an idea of where the story is going and map out certain plot points that you want to hit. This way, when you get to a point where you're running out of steam, you can pull out said map, look it over, and remind yourself of where the story is going.

Another option is to write a drabble with one or two of your characters. Don't put pressure on yourself to make it good or make it part of the novel. Just start writing-it can be silly or you can even start with a situation that you experienced or saw on TV and plug your characters into it. Think of how they might react, etc.

Or you can re-read the first 20,000 words to remind yourself why you enjoyed writing the story/characters so much.

If all else fails, shelf the project for a short period of time to give yourself a break from the project and time to start missing the characters and storyline. Don't stop writing altogether, however-if you have other projects running, work on them, or just continue with your words-per-day goal and keep at it, even if everything you right is a silly drabble.

Hope this helps!

scarletpeaches · Feb 9, 2007

I would say exactly the opposite. I never experience writer's block and I never outline.

All I have is the characters and a place where I want them to end up. How I get there is anyone's guess.

swvaughn · Feb 9, 2007

Gabriel said:
Dory also said "Escapee!" Not so much relevant as damn funny.

Funny, that's spelled just like the word 'Escape' ...

I love me some Dory!

And on topic - ah, the dreaded mid-book slump. If I go back and check past novels, I may find that I hit it around 20K - that wouldn't surprise me. I hit on my current WIP around 40K and just broke through today (whew!)

Of course, I'm too damned sore to write much now. Been shoveling aaaaall day (stupid, stupid snow).

For me - and I know this is different with everyone - I usually find I've stopped because something, either a character or a plot thread, is headed in the wrong direction. Once I figure out what's off with the manuscript, I can pick up and keep going.

thethinker42 · Feb 9, 2007

GordonJerome said:
Write 500 words a day no matter what--every day. Don't write too much more than that either. At 500 words a day, you can complete two 75,000 word rough drafts a year with a two-month break in-between. You'll never hit a wall that way. 500 words a day.

I think that depends upon the individual writer. If I only put out 500 words in a day, I'm really falling behind. I'm a 1,000 word a day minimum writer, usually closer to 1,500.

It just depends on the individual. This is certainly not a one-size-fits-all craft.

The Scip · Feb 9, 2007

I hit the wall at about 30,000 I think, that was in august. Then I stopped writing for a while not i'm up to 53,000 and counts at least 1,000 words a day but sometimes as much as 2,000. Hopefully there won't be another wall anytime soon.

jerrymouse · Feb 10, 2007

i read somewhere that writers can be put in 3 catagories;
those who hate writing beginings,
those who hate writing middles ,
and those who hate writing endings.

i could be a 4th, i hate the first word of the day. once i have that i usually flow. i often tell friends i get writers block every day.

i hit a first word of the day wall, almost everyday.

Hillgate · Feb 10, 2007

scarletpeaches said:
I would say exactly the opposite. I never experience writer's block and I never outline.

All I have is the characters and a place where I want them to end up. How I get there is anyone's guess.

Half the battle is knowing your characters, I agree, but I think at least a rudimentary story-line works well for referring to in moments of need, which I suspect most of us mortals have, now and then...

The Wall of Twenty Thousand Words . . .

Where's my tea, please...?

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