Fastest time you ever clocked a short story draft?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Zach Lancer

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
174
Reaction score
21
Location
Roof of the World
I've been struggling with a novellaish thing that was supposed to be a short story for several weeks now, mostly due to the fact that I didn't have a clear idea of the story when I started. At the rate that I had been going, it was impossible to imagine how someone could finish and submit a short story each and every week, as I hear some of the more prolific writers have done.

To my great surprise however, yesterday I had an idea for a story that went the other way. I sat down to write, and some 3-4 hours later I had a finished first draft of about 2,000 words. How the hell did this happen? So, what are your experiences? What's the fastest time you ever finished a draft?
 

Chris P

Likes metaphors mixed, not stirred
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 4, 2009
Messages
22,617
Reaction score
7,297
Location
Wash., D.C. area
My fastest was under 90 minutes, if I remember right. It was only 700 words, but I had one of those 3-second dreams right before waking up. It was the first story I ever got published. I've written other, longer stories in a few hours, and others in a few days, but I've tinkered with other stories for much longer than that. I revise as I go usually, so that slows me down.
 

Jamesaritchie

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
27,863
Reaction score
2,311
I really don't write in a way that says first draft or final draft, but short stories usually come pretty fast for me, or not at all. Three thousand words usually takes three to five hours from initial idea to final draft. Two of my biggest sales to national magazines took almost exactly four hours from the time I sat down to write until the time I actually submitted the stories. I made right at $250 per hour for those stories. If I could do that all day, every day, I'd be a happy camper.

I once wrote twelve short stories in a four day weekend when the weather kept me pinned inside, and sold eight of them immediately. If it takes me more than a couple of days to write a short story of any length, I can be pretty sure it's not going to be one of my better stories.
 

DragonHeart

Oerba Yun Fang
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 16, 2005
Messages
2,479
Reaction score
245
Location
New Hampshire
Website
www.thefinalfantasy.com
Under an hour, including revisions. To be fair it was flash and under 100 words. When it flows, it flows. I did sell both of the flash pieces I wrote this way, so make of that what you will.
 

VeronicaX

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 25, 2012
Messages
295
Reaction score
24
Location
The land of the midnight sun
Writing short stories usually don't take me more than a few hours. First draft, that is. Flash fictions usually takes 20-30 minutes. If it takes me longer, I usually end up deleting the whole thing and go onto a new idea. If I find myself wondering where the story will end up, I reckon it's one of these stories that aren't ready to be written.

The way I write is like this: I write whatever words that come to my mind, I don't think much. The moment I start thinking I get way too easily sidetracked by overthinking and it ruins the whole story. When I'm "not allowing" myself to think, it takes much longer time, I lose focus, and the story is usually never as good as the others.

It does take me quite some time to get the story out of my head once it's done though. It's difficult getting started on a new one. I have to work on that :(
 

JustSarah

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
1,980
Reaction score
35
Website
about.me
The fastest time I ever finished a draft was about five minutes, for roughly 500 words. However it was also littered with a few grammar and spelling errors as well. The key I guess is knowing what your going to write, and not worrying about it being perfect the first time, though I have a problem with the latter.
 

Summonere

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
1,090
Reaction score
136
Fifteen or twenty minutes for a short of about 900 words, handwritten. Revised it once, moving one paragraph. Sold it to an Irish magazine.
 

Nicrsing7

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 17, 2010
Messages
51
Reaction score
4
It usually takes me a couple hours to draft stories that are about 2-3K. The trick for me is to write them as close to that moment of inspiration as possible.
 

ExitTheKing

New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 14, 2010
Messages
58
Reaction score
3
The fastest I normally ever write anything is within a few hours. First draft, of course.
 

hollis shiloh

love stories about men
Registered
Joined
Jan 7, 2013
Messages
21
Reaction score
2
Website
sites.google.com
I don't usually time my writing, but I know I've written short stories in one day before. And other times it's taken months.
 

blacbird

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Messages
36,987
Reaction score
6,158
Location
The right earlobe of North America
~5 hours, for a ~5000 word story, which I've never felt need to revise significantly, other than some simple grammatical clean-up. Of course, it's never found publication anywhere.

caw
 

Mutive

Blissfully Clueless
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
5,261
Reaction score
3,208
Location
Seattle, WA
I think it was maybe...IDK. Under 15 minutes. But it was 500 word flash. Made a few really tiny revisions.

Haven't sold it, though, so not sure I'd recommend the process. (I still find the story amusing, though, so whatever.)
 

phineas12gauge

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 5, 2012
Messages
766
Reaction score
22
Location
Cape Breton
30 minutes and 1264 words ... 10 minutes later I put it out into the ether

24 hours after, I got the first rejection. :)
 

KTC

Stand in the Place Where You Live
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
29,138
Reaction score
8,563
Location
Toronto
Website
ktcraig.com
I wrote one in 17 minutes for a short story contest deadline. When I was finished writing it, I sent it in. It didn't win, but it made the short list of Top 10 and was published in the anthology. (-:
 

Raphee

In debt to AW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 16, 2007
Messages
1,338
Reaction score
178
Location
Lost
Two hours for 4000 words and it got accepted.
I have been searching for the same surge of inspiration and it's been missing.
 

Jamesaritchie

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
27,863
Reaction score
2,311
It usually takes me a couple hours to draft stories that are about 2-3K. The trick for me is to write them as close to that moment of inspiration as possible.

This seems to be the trick for me, as well. If I sit down and start writing when that flash inspiration hits, I not only write the story very fast, I can be pretty sure it's going to sell.
 

Buffysquirrel

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 12, 2008
Messages
6,137
Reaction score
694
No idea. I'm not on a timer. But I think the Flash piece I ended up selling to ASIM didn't take me long to write. Maybe an hour? Less? Who knows?
 

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 29, 2012
Messages
5,425
Reaction score
1,911
Location
Denver, CO
Website
www.badfoodie.com
I wrote a 750 word flash piece in about half an hour one day. It just came to me. It didn't need much revision either.

As far as a "real" short story - over 1000 words, my fastest first draft was about 3 hours for 4000 words.
 

alexshvartsman

Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 27, 2010
Messages
2,049
Reaction score
156
Location
Brooklyn, NY
It's not unusual for me to write flash stories in one sitting (1-2 hours), including several that sold to pro markets with little or no further revision. It generally takes me forever to write longer stories. Except for the one last week:

Wednesday 8:30am - Woke up to a solicitation from an editor to submit to an anthology they're putting together. Had zero stories in inventory that even remotely fit said anthology.
Wednesday: 9am - Sat down to write and began brainstorming. Wrote 1500 words over a few hours.
Thursday: 9am - Wrote another 1000+ words, and sent the story out to beta readers.
Thursday night: Revised based on feedback and submitted.

This is SUPER fast for me. I usually let an idea simmer in my head for days if not weeks before writing it down.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.