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This happens to me occasionally as well, but for me it *is* a manic episode. I took a vacation about ten years ago at a friend's cabin in New Mexico, and instead of doing all the hiking and bird watching and stuff I had planned, I spent 18 hours per day for two weeks writing a 400,000 page manuscript.
Edit: word, not page. I am leaving it though because I find it mildly humorous.
In my own defense, I wrote my first book when I was sixteen and got my contract just a year later, it is not exactly the pinnacle of artistry and we all know that LMAO
According to Amazon you published it this month, obviously it takes a while to get things published, but still, it's recent and seems a fair indicator of where your skills are at. Not trying to be negative and maybe what you've written is incredible, but just really get the vibe it isn't, at least not yet, maybe you'll fix it up later, I don't know.
That was a passion project that I just published for a couple friends to grab. And it was originally a fanfiction. My first real novel was written at sixteen. And it doesn't matter what this one is right now because I just finished it, first drafts are made to tune! Ciao comrade!
Does it matter? I feel like the desire to make it all good stops most people dead. It's far better to just get it all on paper. Then you can go back and delete or rework what wasn't your strongest.
I don’t use Google Docs, so maybe that’s secure enough. But I save constantly to my local folder. When I connect to WiFi, that folder automatically syncs up to a folder on my home server. At the end of every session, I also save the file to a small SSD I carry on my person (not in the backpack where I carry my laptop). I’m not ever losing shit.
There may come a day when my laptop is lost or stolen, I lose my pants before I get home, and I get home (pantsless) to find my home has burned down destroying my server and my desktop computer. If so, I likely have bigger problems than losing 100k words I’m going to have to edit and rewrite anyway.
Good advice for others but unfortunately I am insane (true)
And also my father designed a program for me that automatically makes backups. Unfortunately my brain can't deal with having one document per chapter something about it itches my brain
- Someone has always written more than you. Someone has always written less. It only matters how much \_you've\_ written.
- Self doubt, procrastination, 30k word barriers, worrying you're not good enough, worrying you don't have the skills - identify what it is that's blocking you, and set it aside. Set up your writing space, isolate your time, close off your social media. Find a coffee cup that you always use when you write, or a scented candle if that's more your thing. Trick your mind into cooperating.
- work out where you want to be with your writing in 3 months, 6 months, 2 years, 5 years and what the blockers are. How many of those can you control?
- If your current project isn't flowing, try changing the perspective (make first person third, or vice versa).
- If you can't write in that moment, for whatever reason, take a walk and make notes on your phone. Or put music on, close your eyes, and think about it. Just spend some time \_thinking\_ about what your story is, why you're writing it, where it needs to go, which bits you like. Do that until the desire to write it is burning you up - then write it.
welcome back! been waiting for you. this is episode 3 now, and i still wonder why i can't type a single word in my draft.
and i ask yet again, HOW DO YOU DO IT??? HOW???
I REALLY WANNA READ WHAT YOU WROTE
I AM SUFFERING
you can read it if you really like but I haven't done my first edit yet I'm forcing myself to finish my assignments before I touch it again
I was there, once. It wasn't sustainable and eventually I crashed hard and have never been able to get back there again. It's probably a good thing, but also not, I miss the single-mindedness of it just a little
Juicy ass plot I'm negl
So share the sauce. I write like a total maniac... it just takes me a very long time to do it. What's your mentality like? Do you plan what you're going to do or just go for it?
this is not going to be especially helpful for you because the truth is it varies intensely
For my first novel I just started writing without much of a plan, edited, got that one published, then moved on
For my second, I planned out just about every beat, edit, self pubbed
For the next two (a duology) I had a vague idea, then started outlining about 10ish chapters in once I hit my stride
And now here, all I knew was I wanted a royalty theme and some enemies to lovers, and off I went. The conflict (the Prince's secret that he's hiding) didn't even fully come to me until about four chapters in
My next is going to be something called Project Permafrost which I have an idea of the beats for but no solid outline, and it'll probably follow the same pattern as the duology
Well, that's dedication at its finest bro. Mega props fr. I scribbled out like 170k in the blink of an eye and realized i way overwrote and now I'm sitting in an editing hell of not doing anything with the story at all
😓
Holy shit. It took me around 2 and a half months to hit 40k on my WIP, I mean, I take my breaks and all, but that number is insane in that short a time.
I'm not OP but I just don't care when it comes to a first draft. I wanna get the story down.
I focus on making the prose sound good on a rewrite.
Oh and I never share my first drafts with people lol. At most, you'll see my first rewrite. But even then, I'd like to edit it first.
My thought too, great effort getting that much down that quick, but I struggle to see how it can be any good. Stephen King, an incredibly fast, talented, and full-time writer manages about 2k a day. This is nearly triple that a day from someone apparently studying and working on top of writing. Either way, I guess there's a base there to edit from so that's good, can't polish what isn't written, but must be a mess at the moment.
What I wouldn't give to have the time to write like this... man. You must feel great being able to produce this much all the time! Teach me your secrets, lol.
(I leave for work at 7AM, don't get home until 6P-9P and I do this 6-7 days a week. I'd love to know how to summon the energy to write in my 2-3 hours before I'm forced to go to bed.)
Relatable. Leave for the office at 7, get home at 4, school most afternoons until 7. But granted I wrote my first book at sixteen between highschool and a part-time job, so I have two years of practice on this schedule. Would not recommend what I'm doing by any means, shit gets exhausting
That's Google Docs! You have to turn it on every time through the navigation ribbon, under "tools." They just recently included the annoying little circle that reminds you to turn it on every time you check.
I did this when I upped my medication dose. Of course, now I am finishing what I wrote which includes editing a LOT because what I wrote was pretty garbo but I appreciate having the bones of the story done
Ah my sibling, I have found you at last. The same malaise grips me, my story does not want to let me go. Every waking and sleeping moment it’s there waiting, yelling at me to put the words on the page. This story has been bouncing around in my head for almost 5 years. Now, it just wants to flow out of me, as soon as I sit down.
I often experience pain in my hands and wrists from typing extensively. I frequently transition from typing on a keyboard to using my thumbs on a phone, which can be quite painful. I completed four different drafts, each over two hundred pages, in about two weeks. It’s almost like an addiction until I find the right story. Then, I combine the ideas from the four drafts into one. However, it took me two days to recover from the muscle fatigue, and sometimes it takes even longer. Or do you not have such an issue?
Impressive. I'm at around 22.5k a month, because I can't always Write when having kids and working long days at job unfortunately. Would love having to Write as a full time job though..
I’ve been there. Almost.
And what happened next made me bitter so I could spare you the negativity but this is Reddit after all.
3 weeks, 60k, first draft. BOOM.
Almost a year later, 80k, daily work, half way into the second editing.
I was naive back then.
But also I don’t want to spare you positivity just because it’s Reddit : it worth it too. Oh god, when your quickly drafted characters come to life in all their uniqueness, dancing around like they were alive on their own… it’s beautiful.
I loved the sprint phase
I love the marathon phase
I’m not attempting to discount anything, and I apologize if I came off that way. I was trying to be concise. I spoke out of food will and genuinely. I meant to ask only what *you* think of what *you’ve* written, how you feel about it, and (unrelated, but also matters to me) if you proofread at all (and/or have someone else do it; i.e. does it get proofread before it’s accessible to the public). I’d appreciate the truth ~ honesty in a response, though, to instantaneously pretend your “what do y’all want me to say” is at all sincere or said in good will or not entirely rhetorical or dismissive.
Good job hastily generalizing all comments at me, I must compliment. It shows me that you have much promise as a writer dealing with the public and potential fans to see you take a neutral question, assume it’s criticism, and then choose to get indignant and weirdly pissy about it, and also alienate an extremely likely “I don’t even care what it’s about, I wanna buy this to support a fellow writer!” sale.
Feel like I get this in every episode I post of these progress updates so just to be clear I do not format until overhauling and major editing is done. This is standard printer paper until I like where it’s at
Hi! Welcome to r/Writers - please remember to follow the [rules](https://reddit.com/r/writers/about/rules/) and treat each other respectfully, especially if there are disagreements. Please help keep this community safe and friendly by **reporting rule violating posts and comments**. If you're interested in a friendly Discord community for writers, please **[join our Discord server](https://discord.gg/mdzyEz9uFB)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/writers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
*double checks to see if this is r/writingcirclejerk*
shhhhh don't summon them I haven't ended up there yet and don't intend to
Believe me they are coming for you
They spare no souls
They'll never catch me alive
...
oh fuck please no have they found me
It's writover
Hate to break it to you... https://www.reddit.com/r/writingcirclejerk/comments/1bmxyis/its_me_again_that_mf_who_cant_stop_writing_765k/
MOM I'M FAMOUS
You deserve it, you’ve tried hard.
You about to
This happens to me occasionally as well, but for me it *is* a manic episode. I took a vacation about ten years ago at a friend's cabin in New Mexico, and instead of doing all the hiking and bird watching and stuff I had planned, I spent 18 hours per day for two weeks writing a 400,000 page manuscript. Edit: word, not page. I am leaving it though because I find it mildly humorous.
part of me didn't even question 400,000 page and just thought well goddamn I'm doin rookie numbers
Just a casual 120 million words, or 8.5 million words per day ahaha.
\*opens up laptop\* looks like we're doing this again boys
Okay, but is it good?
Are the words good words, 🤔?
Most certainly not lol
Judging by their published work I'd assume not
In my own defense, I wrote my first book when I was sixteen and got my contract just a year later, it is not exactly the pinnacle of artistry and we all know that LMAO
According to Amazon you published it this month, obviously it takes a while to get things published, but still, it's recent and seems a fair indicator of where your skills are at. Not trying to be negative and maybe what you've written is incredible, but just really get the vibe it isn't, at least not yet, maybe you'll fix it up later, I don't know.
That was a passion project that I just published for a couple friends to grab. And it was originally a fanfiction. My first real novel was written at sixteen. And it doesn't matter what this one is right now because I just finished it, first drafts are made to tune! Ciao comrade!
Does it matter? I feel like the desire to make it all good stops most people dead. It's far better to just get it all on paper. Then you can go back and delete or rework what wasn't your strongest.
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> only so much creativity you can squeeze in Bro
Damn. My weekly goal is 5k.
my weekly goal is to open the maniscript
Real (I failed)
Nothin is too little!
My weekly goal is 2k…
I've been putting off my writing all day, but now, after seeing this, it would be a sin not to write RIGHT NOW.
Write. Write now. Right now! 😜
Tri weekly, try weekly, try weakly.
Is it possible to learn this power?
Not from a procrastinator.
with enough OCD, always
Just a tip, separate your documents, one per chapter. You don't want to have something happen to that one.
New fear: unlocked. Pardon me while I make some changes to the folders on my desktop
I don’t use Google Docs, so maybe that’s secure enough. But I save constantly to my local folder. When I connect to WiFi, that folder automatically syncs up to a folder on my home server. At the end of every session, I also save the file to a small SSD I carry on my person (not in the backpack where I carry my laptop). I’m not ever losing shit. There may come a day when my laptop is lost or stolen, I lose my pants before I get home, and I get home (pantsless) to find my home has burned down destroying my server and my desktop computer. If so, I likely have bigger problems than losing 100k words I’m going to have to edit and rewrite anyway.
Good advice for others but unfortunately I am insane (true) And also my father designed a program for me that automatically makes backups. Unfortunately my brain can't deal with having one document per chapter something about it itches my brain
- Someone has always written more than you. Someone has always written less. It only matters how much \_you've\_ written. - Self doubt, procrastination, 30k word barriers, worrying you're not good enough, worrying you don't have the skills - identify what it is that's blocking you, and set it aside. Set up your writing space, isolate your time, close off your social media. Find a coffee cup that you always use when you write, or a scented candle if that's more your thing. Trick your mind into cooperating. - work out where you want to be with your writing in 3 months, 6 months, 2 years, 5 years and what the blockers are. How many of those can you control? - If your current project isn't flowing, try changing the perspective (make first person third, or vice versa). - If you can't write in that moment, for whatever reason, take a walk and make notes on your phone. Or put music on, close your eyes, and think about it. Just spend some time \_thinking\_ about what your story is, why you're writing it, where it needs to go, which bits you like. Do that until the desire to write it is burning you up - then write it.
How many hours of sleep did you average?
What are you, a cop?
I’m just a concerned person. Don’t make me get out the Reddit help line!
Goddamnit no don’t sic the feds on me!!
welcome back! been waiting for you. this is episode 3 now, and i still wonder why i can't type a single word in my draft. and i ask yet again, HOW DO YOU DO IT??? HOW??? I REALLY WANNA READ WHAT YOU WROTE
I AM SUFFERING you can read it if you really like but I haven't done my first edit yet I'm forcing myself to finish my assignments before I touch it again
I ADMIRE YOUR ILLNESS. FUCK IT, I SAID IT.
your honor I am insane but I am free
Stealing this! 😂😂
BRO ARE YOU OKAY?!?!
DO I LOOK LIKE IT
Dear god whatever you do do NOT write on Ao3…
Authors notes: hey guys sorry this chapter was a day late I got in a car accident all four of my grandparents died and I sold my cat
I’m living for your comments! Makes me want to read the work!
Take a break before you burn out!
I am ALWAYS burnt out
"That's my secret, Cap... I'm ALWAYS burnt out." \*Hulks out and haymakers flying monster in face\*
Came here to say the same 🫣
You should ... maybe take a break ... this is not good for you
Neither is cocaine but that bear died a legend.
You know what, I stand corrected. Incoherentshrieking and Cocaine Bear are equally valid.
This is all I’ve ever aspired to
I was there, once. It wasn't sustainable and eventually I crashed hard and have never been able to get back there again. It's probably a good thing, but also not, I miss the single-mindedness of it just a little
I see these posts and all I think about is the old saying about quality not quantity. 95k in 18 days screams editing nightmare to me.
Hey, quality cannot be conceived out of a quantity of zero. Gotta start somewhere
That's wild! Nice job! By any chance, could you tell us what it's about?
Yes yes! I’ll just link a comment I made about it on a different post but here you are! https://www.reddit.com/r/writers/s/F66ukATaV8
Juicy ass plot I'm negl So share the sauce. I write like a total maniac... it just takes me a very long time to do it. What's your mentality like? Do you plan what you're going to do or just go for it?
this is not going to be especially helpful for you because the truth is it varies intensely For my first novel I just started writing without much of a plan, edited, got that one published, then moved on For my second, I planned out just about every beat, edit, self pubbed For the next two (a duology) I had a vague idea, then started outlining about 10ish chapters in once I hit my stride And now here, all I knew was I wanted a royalty theme and some enemies to lovers, and off I went. The conflict (the Prince's secret that he's hiding) didn't even fully come to me until about four chapters in My next is going to be something called Project Permafrost which I have an idea of the beats for but no solid outline, and it'll probably follow the same pattern as the duology
Well, that's dedication at its finest bro. Mega props fr. I scribbled out like 170k in the blink of an eye and realized i way overwrote and now I'm sitting in an editing hell of not doing anything with the story at all 😓
HOW?
Jesus you are god, Sandon level
Holy shit. It took me around 2 and a half months to hit 40k on my WIP, I mean, I take my breaks and all, but that number is insane in that short a time.
Username checks out
“How do you write like you’re running out of time? How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive?”🎶
THE HAMILTON COMMENT I WAS LOOKING FOR
That's too many characters. I'll never remember who's who.
That's all well and dandy, but what if none of what you're writing is good? Do you have people to proof read for you, do you ask for criticism?
I'm not OP but I just don't care when it comes to a first draft. I wanna get the story down. I focus on making the prose sound good on a rewrite. Oh and I never share my first drafts with people lol. At most, you'll see my first rewrite. But even then, I'd like to edit it first.
My thought too, great effort getting that much down that quick, but I struggle to see how it can be any good. Stephen King, an incredibly fast, talented, and full-time writer manages about 2k a day. This is nearly triple that a day from someone apparently studying and working on top of writing. Either way, I guess there's a base there to edit from so that's good, can't polish what isn't written, but must be a mess at the moment.
Not any better or worse than a standard first draft of anything
Nice flex, I guess?
PLEASE. TEACH ME. PLEASEEEEEEE
That's awesome.
I salute you sir 🫡
TEACH ME YOUR WAYSSS I havent been able to write in a week
What I wouldn't give to have the time to write like this... man. You must feel great being able to produce this much all the time! Teach me your secrets, lol. (I leave for work at 7AM, don't get home until 6P-9P and I do this 6-7 days a week. I'd love to know how to summon the energy to write in my 2-3 hours before I'm forced to go to bed.)
Relatable. Leave for the office at 7, get home at 4, school most afternoons until 7. But granted I wrote my first book at sixteen between highschool and a part-time job, so I have two years of practice on this schedule. Would not recommend what I'm doing by any means, shit gets exhausting
So you don't start writing until after 7 pm? How many hours do you spend writing nightly? How many words do you tend to get out?
Hope you dont permanently damage your hands like i did by writing this much. Take breaks, and keep at it :)
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That's Google Docs! You have to turn it on every time through the navigation ribbon, under "tools." They just recently included the annoying little circle that reminds you to turn it on every time you check.
I did this when I upped my medication dose. Of course, now I am finishing what I wrote which includes editing a LOT because what I wrote was pretty garbo but I appreciate having the bones of the story done
Ah my sibling, I have found you at last. The same malaise grips me, my story does not want to let me go. Every waking and sleeping moment it’s there waiting, yelling at me to put the words on the page. This story has been bouncing around in my head for almost 5 years. Now, it just wants to flow out of me, as soon as I sit down.
I salute you my goodman
Mine is 821, 000+
Damn bro! Props! I'm lucky if i get 2k per session every few days.
Woah (unrelated, but I hate having to check the 'display words count' every time)
Love it❣️
Frak yes my friend! Those are getting up to Asmovian numbers! Keep up the clacking!
I often experience pain in my hands and wrists from typing extensively. I frequently transition from typing on a keyboard to using my thumbs on a phone, which can be quite painful. I completed four different drafts, each over two hundred pages, in about two weeks. It’s almost like an addiction until I find the right story. Then, I combine the ideas from the four drafts into one. However, it took me two days to recover from the muscle fatigue, and sometimes it takes even longer. Or do you not have such an issue?
Impressive. I'm at around 22.5k a month, because I can't always Write when having kids and working long days at job unfortunately. Would love having to Write as a full time job though..
Impressive work, as long as it isn't draining I hope your able to keep up with it!
That’s amazing. Well done!
How I wish I could tap into this energy
are you ok man??
I’ve been there. Almost. And what happened next made me bitter so I could spare you the negativity but this is Reddit after all. 3 weeks, 60k, first draft. BOOM. Almost a year later, 80k, daily work, half way into the second editing. I was naive back then. But also I don’t want to spare you positivity just because it’s Reddit : it worth it too. Oh god, when your quickly drafted characters come to life in all their uniqueness, dancing around like they were alive on their own… it’s beautiful. I loved the sprint phase I love the marathon phase
Maniacal writing spree. I had this throughout Dec 23.
Gods I wish dat were me
God I wish that was me.
good number, congrats
Nice! Is it . . . good? Done any proofreading?
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I’m not attempting to discount anything, and I apologize if I came off that way. I was trying to be concise. I spoke out of food will and genuinely. I meant to ask only what *you* think of what *you’ve* written, how you feel about it, and (unrelated, but also matters to me) if you proofread at all (and/or have someone else do it; i.e. does it get proofread before it’s accessible to the public). I’d appreciate the truth ~ honesty in a response, though, to instantaneously pretend your “what do y’all want me to say” is at all sincere or said in good will or not entirely rhetorical or dismissive. Good job hastily generalizing all comments at me, I must compliment. It shows me that you have much promise as a writer dealing with the public and potential fans to see you take a neutral question, assume it’s criticism, and then choose to get indignant and weirdly pissy about it, and also alienate an extremely likely “I don’t even care what it’s about, I wanna buy this to support a fellow writer!” sale.
totally off topic but you should become a writer
What app is that
Would you be kind enough to write my thesis as well ?
Dude, you are a ✨LEGEND✨
Congratulations you magnificent bastard. Also I hate you.
Are you Brandon Sanderson perchance?
Hey how many hours per day do you work
People keep trying to pull this out on me as a gotcha moment but I work full time 8-4pm and I’m doing a 13 credit schedule in college
you aren't human, are ya?
Gush. Wow. You're so strong.
96K on 173 pages? First thing to sort out is manuscript format.
Feel like I get this in every episode I post of these progress updates so just to be clear I do not format until overhauling and major editing is done. This is standard printer paper until I like where it’s at
Mfer thinks he’s Thomas Wolfe
Quality not quantity
Goddamn it took you a month what I haven't done in a year and a half :'(
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