How to write 20 pages a day by Donna Grant
This post was inspired by conversations I frequently have from others asking me how I became a prolific writer. I think the main reason is because I’m a bit OCD. J
However, it started about 15 years ago when I was just beginning to write and I had a newborn. I had already written my first book while I was pregnant and still working. I – foolishly – believed that it would be just as easy with a baby now that I was a stay-at-home-mom. Ha!
I found out quickly enough that that wasn’t the case at all. Then my husband, who had been reading a book from Stephen King about writing, told me how SK wrote 10 pages a day and that he didn’t get up until those pages were done.
I realized then that I needed to do something similar. I was all over the place in how many pages I did. Sometimes I did 10. Other times, 1 page. So I set a realistic goal of 5 pages a day (Monday – Friday).
5 pages/ day = 25 a week.
25 pages/week = 16 weeks (for 400 page book)
I was determined to write a book meeting those goals. And I did.
Putting those goals down on paper and meeting it every day inspired me to keep writing and see if I could keep it up. I wrote one more book with that same 5 page/day goal, just to be sure it wasn’t a fluke.
The next book, I bumped it up to 6 a day, and the next to 7/day. Every book I continued to bump it up by 1/day.
By the time I was at 10 pages/day, I was writing a book in eight weeks. But I didn’t stop there. I kept going until I hit 20 pages/day.
I’ve stayed comfortably at 20/day for about 15 books now. It’s ingrained in me now. If I don’t write that much, I feel as if I’ve not worked. However, there have been tight deadlines due to life getting in the way where I’ve had to do 25-30 a day. It’s not fun, but it’s doable.
The thing is, doing X/day became a habit for me. I slowly worked myself up to my desired pages per day. Because of that, I know I can write a book in four weeks, giving myself 2 weeks for revisions. I can turn a 400 page book around in 6 weeks.
Moral – goals can keep you focused and on the right track to your dreams!
**a side note: I don’t plot out my books. So if you’re a plotter, you might need to add in however many weeks you need to plot out the book.
Thanks so much for joining me today! Feel free to ask any questions you might have. J
Hugs,
DG
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Let’s take a look at Donna’s up coming release:
Burning Desire
| The Dark Kings have fought for centuries to preserve their dragon magic. But can one warrior resist the greatest temptation of all?
A DESIRE THIS POWERFUL
In his quest to destroy the Dark Fae—his nemesis—the Dragon King known as Kiril goes to Ireland as a spy. When a gorgeous, mysterious woman tries to seduce him, Kiril instantly sees through her glamour to the Dark Fae beneath. Shara isn’t just any Dark; she’s from one of the most powerful bloodlines—and despite the dangers, Kiril can’t stay away from her. He’s enthralled by her smile, enslaved by the undeniable passion…
IS A WAR WORTH FIGHTING FOR
Shara has one chance to make things right with her family—and to prove her worth. It seemed like such an easy mission…until she actually meets Kiril. His charm, his sexual magnetism is too much for her to ignore. Shara knows that falling into Kiril’s arms can bring her nothing but trouble. Yet she discovers an inner strength she didn’t know she had…and an attraction that knows no bounds. But is her desire for Kiril worth the risk of eternal doom for them both?
A little about Donna:
Donna Grant is the New York Timesand USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels and novellas spanning multiple genres of romance.
She was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.
Her childhood dream was to become a professional ballet dancer and study under the amazing Mikhail Baryshnikov. Though she never got to meet Baryshnikov, she did make it to New York City and performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Later, Donna’s love of the romance genre and the constant stories running through her head prompted her to sit down and write her first book. Once that book was completed, there was no turning back.
Donna sold her first book in November 2005 while displaced from Hurricane Rita, a storm that destroyed portions of the Texas Gulf Coast. Since then, Donna has sold novels and novellas to both electronic and print publishers. Her books include several complete series such as Druids Glen, The Shields, Royal Chronicles, Sisters of Magic, Dark Sword, Dark Warriors, and her new series, Dark Kings.
Despite the deadlines and her voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two young children, four cats, three fish, and one long haired Chihuahua. She’s blessed with a proud, supportive husband who loves to read and travel as much as she does.
Find out more about Donna and her books here: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
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Make sure to check out all of the other stops on this month long tour HERE and enter the grand prize giveaway.
Kudos Donna! I have a few questions for you. 1) How do you NOT burn out? 2) When and how do you take breaks? 3) How do you plot to write in this fashion? 4) What do you do on a day when the writing simply doesn’t come, flow, whatever? And 5) Do you find that pushing through leads you to overwriting (i.e. you wrote one direction only to realize you needed to go another and had to back up and write again?) Thanks! <3 your work!
Hey, Joan!
Ditto, sweetie. Love your books. 🙂
Whew! Some great questions. Ok, let’s see if I can answer them.
1. That’s why I don’t write on the weekend – unless I take a day off during the week. The weekend lets me have down time and to refresh. I’ve wrote 14 days straight (recently) and it nearly killed me. I was so burned out I couldn’t think about anything.
2. I’ve found that I write my best in the mornings. I have a set routine, that I keep even in the summer when the kids aren’t in school. I get up, work out, have breakfast, and get ready for the day. Then I do emails, FB, Twitter, ect… By 8:30 I’m writing. I shoot for 10 pages before lunch. Sometimes I get even more done. Others, it’s a tough day. I take a 1.5 from 11:30 – 1:00. I take a few minutes again to check emails and then, I’m back at it getting those last 10 done. (I do take a break about every hour and get up and stretch, walk to the mail box, take the dog out, get some water, etc..) Sometimes that’s all I need to keep going. Other times, its coming so well that I don’t get up.
3. lol. I have an overall idea of who the story is going to go, but I keep myself very fluid so I don’t feel like I’m tied to any one direction. I trust myself and the story and just write. I also don’t go back every day and revise. I make notes, because it happens with every book that midway through I realize I need the hero or heroine to do something different than what I have in the beginning. Those notes are for when the book is done and I spend a week doing my revisions and going through and changing all the stuff that I know needs it, as well as fleshing out scenes.
4. With my move, I’ve had those days more often than not. I just push through. I have a deadline (whether its with my publisher, or my own indie stuff) that I have to meet. My editors are counting on me to turn things in when I said I would. So, as hard as it is, I just get through one page at a time. As Nora Roberts once said, “I can fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one.”
5. Not really. Since I don’t plot, I don’t have a clue where I need to go in the story. 🙂 It makes writing fun to see what the characters are going to say or throw at me every day. I’ve been so shocked before that I had to get up from the computer and let it sink in.
I know my way of writing isn’t for everyone, and plotters most of the times look at me as if I’ve grown another head. 🙂 It’s not about the process, it’s about the goals we set for ourselves and meeting them.
Awesome, Donna! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all those. I’m struggling with my process at the moment — it seems to change book to book…but it’s not getting more efficient, it’s actually gettling less efficient. 🙁 So I’m trying to see what works for others to see if I can mix and match to find my niche.
One follow up question — Do you write completely into the mist or do you write to turning points? How do you “see” the story in your head as you write if you don’t plot?
Thanks again! I really appreciate your time and help!
(Can’t wait for your upcoming release – Burning Desire – next week. Will be promoing it. 🙂 Happy early release day!
xo
Anytime, doll!
I completely write into the mist. It doesn’t work for everyone, I know. One thing I allow myself to do is change my mind midway through the story. So if I start off with the heroine having one internal conflict, but I find something better halfway through the book, I change it, knowing I have to go back in the beginning and make those changes as well.
You’re so sweet! Thank you!!! (((HUGS)))
Thank you for this article, Miss Donna! I’m an aspiring writer but I haven’t really experienced being able to write 20pages/day! Wow. That’s just wow. Well, maybe because in my part, Facebook and unread books are temptations I can’t say no to. I guess the key to being a productive writer is to really focus, set up goals, and try our best to meet them. Thanks again and more power!
Thanks, Mary! And you’re right, it’s about focus and goals. Life will always get in the way. It’s why I have a ton of books I’m waiting to read. I get to them, but not as often as I’d like. 🙂