How slow is too slow?

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Ren

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6 days a week I go to the local coffee house to work on my novel. I'm usually there around three hours, sometimes longer depending on what goes on with the husband and baby while I'm there.

In that time I write around 6 pages (3 sheets of paper front and back, handwritten). That seems very little to me, and I know I pause a lot and write pretty slow sometimes.

Should I be able to write faster? Does it even matter how fast or slow I write?
 

Phaeal

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Six handwritten pages is a decent amount for one session, I'd say. Type up a session's worth and do a word count to get a better idea of how you're doing. Myself, I'm quite happy if I get a thousand words a day.

But six pages six times a week will get the job done at quite a reasonable pace. Keep up the good work.

And no, speed's not the important thing. Persistence is paramount.
 

jannawrites

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shh... I'm thinking...
Should I be able to write faster? Does it even matter how fast or slow I write?

Nope. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're making progress. And it's even better if you're pleased with the output from that progress.

I think it's okay to set small daily goals for yourself, but don't feel like you have to shoot for the moon. And if you miss a goal one day, shrug it off and work your hardest the next.

Good luck!
 

kuwisdelu

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Don't worry about it. There's no fast or too slow.

There's a story about James Joyce which goes that Joyce was sitting in his study writing, one day, when a friend comes in and asked how the writing is going.

Joyce says "Terribly! I've only written seven words today."

His friend says "But James, that's splendid! Seven words is great for you!"

To which Joyce replies, "Yes, but I still don't know what order to put them in!"

And personally, I'm in awe of anyone who can write a few hundred words per day, every day. I write just a tad slower than Joyce.
 

Ren

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Thanks for the reassurance, guys. I'll try to remember that as long as I'm writing consistently I'm doing good.

:Thumbs:
 

DeadlyAccurate

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That means you're probably writing between 1500 and 2000 words per day. At six days a week, you'll have a first draft finished in less than 3 months. That's the fastest I've ever managed a first draft.
 

Ren

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Wow. When I think of it that way it seems like I'm not so slow after all!

Thanks!
 

qwerty

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The fact that you have the dicipline of spending three writing hours a day in a coffee house suggests you'll get your novel completed. How long it takes is less important.

Because the school she worked at had no staff room, JKR began writng Harry P in a coffee bar in Portugal between teaching sessions. She didn't finish the book for some years, but need I say more?
 

Jill

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The fact that you have the dicipline of spending three writing hours a day in a coffee house suggests you'll get your novel completed. How long it takes is less important.

It took me three years to finish my first book. Three young children and a full time job meant that I could have said that I didn't have time to write. But because I really wanted to, I announced to the family that I wasn't available for anything, (no exceptions) from 6 pm every Wednesday evening.

I set myself targets and made sure I met them. The first three drafts were written on a typewriter and then the whole manuscript transferred to computer for the final draft.

Discipline is paramount.
 

kct webber

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I agree with what most of these fine people have said. Discipline is the key. Word count is less important. The fact that you are producing every day is what matters.
 

KTC

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6 days a week I go to the local coffee house to work on my novel. I'm usually there around three hours, sometimes longer depending on what goes on with the husband and baby while I'm there.

In that time I write around 6 pages (3 sheets of paper front and back, handwritten). That seems very little to me, and I know I pause a lot and write pretty slow sometimes.

Should I be able to write faster? Does it even matter how fast or slow I write?

Do your own pace. My highly honed math skills give me this: 1,872 pages a year.

Are you crazy? I just have to ask.

That is a great load of writing. Give yourself a pat on the back.

No. It doesn't matter how fast or slow you write. Just write.
 

Orchid

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Not writing at all is too slow. Everything else is fine.

Just wanted to echo this as it is good advice.

It really doesn't matter how fast you write. As long as the book gets finished one day, it doesn't mater if that day is three weeks, months or years away. And also, six handwritten pages a day isn't half bad. Your first draft should be finished in half the time it would take someone who only writes three pages a day.
 

tehuti88

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Everyone else has already said it all. The mere fact that you're writing, and you're keeping at writing, is a lot more than what a lot of other "wannabe" writers (i. e., those who never actually write) will ever do. :)

Even if you were writing slowly--at least you're writing!
 

otterman

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Been at my WIP for six years (writing whenever I think I can do it well). Obviously I've been concerned about the speed of my writing but I'm more concerned with writing the best book I can. It continues to be a real learning experience and I've still got a fair bit yet to do. I refuse to let the speed issue trump my desire to write something of quality. Hopefully, after this monumentally long effort, others (i.e. agents and publishers) will think my patience was worth it.
 

KTC

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lol. The motto at novel marathons is always QUANTITY OVER QUALITY. It drives me nuts. I try to do both...but when you're writing with your eyes closed it doesn't always turn out that way. But over 40K words in 48hours...there's bound to be a couple quality words...they might even be in the right order. Who knows?
 

shannonmac

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lol. The motto at novel marathons is always QUANTITY OVER QUALITY. It drives me nuts. I try to do both...but when you're writing with your eyes closed it doesn't always turn out that way. But over 40K words in 48hours...there's bound to be a couple quality words...they might even be in the right order. Who knows?

haha! I'll have to try that... and man I thought my re-writes looked a mess!!!
 

KTC

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haha! I'll have to try that... and man I thought my re-writes looked a mess!!!

I fell asleep on the L key...only nodded off, really!...and found almost 2 (okay...7) pages of LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. The marathon officials are trying to sell these pages as a short story or something. STORY Something about it being a story written in code that, if cracked, would reveal the secrets of the universe. They have a lot of faith in my subconscious mind. I don't.
 

CaroGirl

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lol. The motto at novel marathons is always QUANTITY OVER QUALITY. It drives me nuts. I try to do both...but when you're writing with your eyes closed it doesn't always turn out that way. But over 40K words in 48hours...there's bound to be a couple quality words...they might even be in the right order. Who knows?
Do the organizers keep any stats on this marathon? I'm curious how many words most people manage to write in that 48 hours. How many make it to the end and how many give up.

I'd love to do something like that one day.
 

KTC

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Nobody gave up. 26 marathoners this year.

Here's the wall of 10-page markers:



The other pics are in my sig line...at the marathon blog.

They do keep a record. They tally the 10-page sheets at the end for a total page count. They also get everybody's word count.

It's actually a 72-hour marathon with the option to do 48hours.
 

CaroGirl

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cool. That would be a fun challenge. I tend to lean to the left, so my pages would look like this: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. Which is kind of scary if you think about it.
 
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