By the time I complete Darkness Falls (Homeworld Lost, Book 11), I will have written over one million words in this series. That’s a lot, even for a prolific word chunker like yours truly. What does it take to keep a story going this long?
The most important factor is that I find the characters interesting, enjoy the shenanigans they engage in, and constantly find new ways to get them into and out of trouble. Getting them out of trouble is the hard part creatively—especially after a million words.
For those of you who are counting, this is far from my only project. The Last Reaper is fifteen books. Many of my series are trilogies or tetralogies. In my darkest days, I lose faith and don’t think I can come up with something new. But the characters oblige by surprising me and rarely following the outline as one might expect.
The next thing, and this sounds mercenary, is reader interest. Now that I rely on writing for the bulk of my income, there simply isn’t time to write solely for myself. When enough people want to spend the price of a cup of coffee to spend ten hours in my head, then I’ve made it.
I can’t express how much this amazes me. All my life, I wanted to “make it” as a writer. Now I have, so long as I keep doing the work and nurture the muse.
Which leads us to the third necessary element of prolific (and fast) writing.
Consistency.
I write every day. I write with consistency that makes most people think I am neurotic. Not long ago, I went on my first trip to Europe as part of a tour. Guess what, I wrote every day. When I go to writer’s conferences—every day. When I was working 06:30 to 17:00, I got up at 03:00 every day.
Sick?
Holidays?
Having surgery?
There is always time to do a small amount, though most days, I have pretty massive word count goals.
Reading this, maybe I am nuts.
I am definitely nuts.
But…
Taking a day off doesn’t relax me. Probably because I am afraid if I do, the dream will blow away in the wind.
Writing is my work and my entertainment and my lifelong passion. It feels like I am getting better. That is the final piece of the puzzle. Striving for improvement is a must—it keeps things interesting and staves off the gut-wrenching feeling negative reviews generate. The more you write, the more you sell, the more of those you get. Fortunately, if you’re doing things well, there are more good ones than bad ones. I’m not sure why the bad stuff hits so much harder, though.
Anywho, I seem to be rambling, and I doubt anyone is here for that.
Have a fantastic day, and if you want to make this guy’s day, leave a review (even if it isn’t a 5-star. Honest reviews have the best effect on the algorithms.)
Laters!
Leave a Reply