October 5, 2024 by Harvey
In today’s Journal
* A New Short Story
* The Value of Averages 1
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
A New Short Story
“The Unfortunate Case of Agatha Bitters” went live yesterday at 10 a.m. on my Stanbrough Writes Substack. Go check it out.
If you enjoy it, tell Everyone. If you don’t, shhh! (grin)
The Value of Averages 1
There’s a question that all who fancy themselves fiction writers eventually have to face: Do I want to BE a fiction writer or do I simply want to DO fiction writing?
There is a massive difference.
Let me just say up front, if you’re only in the writing game to check “Write a Short Story” or “Write a Novel” off your bucket list, averages don’t really matter in the slightest.
Because you aren’t a fiction writer, or at least you aren’t a long-term writer. You’re not being a writer. You’re doing writing.
I hasten to add, I mean no disrespect. I only mean you aren’t consumed with the passion for writing fiction. Other things, probably many other things, are more important to you. And that’s fine.
Whether you’re still working a day job or are retired, you’re simply a person who took a little time out from other, generally more important (to you) endeavors to write.
Nothing wrong with that. Be who you are.
But if you’re in this writing thing for the long term—if you are consumed with the passion to write fiction—Averages Matter.
I’ve talked in this space a lot about daily word counts. I’m gonna get blunt here. And it’s all down to math because math doesn’t lie.
Most people who write clean, one-draft fiction write about 1000 words per hour. That isn’t fast. It’s about 17 words per minute. So that’s our base.
If you turn out two 60,000 word novels per year, that’s less than 330 words per calendar day. Less than a half-hour’s work.
Now, if you have a family (especially with young children) and a day job, maybe you write only 5 days per week (about 260 days per year). In that case, those two novels will require a slightly more respectable 462 words per day. Still around a half-hour’s work.
If you write only on weekends (about 104 days per year). That brings the requirement up to a slightly more respectable 1154 words per day, or about an hour per day every Saturday and Sunday.
Yet I know one “professional” writer whom others consider prolific who does not have a day job but turns out only two 60,000 word novels per year. Less than 330 words per day on average.
One way or another, I have to wonder what she does with her time.
Given the typical 1000 words per hour writing speed (again, that’s only 17 words per minute), if she writes every day of the year, what does she do with the other 23 and 3/4 hours per day?
Or if (far more likely, and as she reports) she puts in “4 hours writing every day,” what does she do with the other eleven months? Or to look at it another way, with the other 335 days?
And how does she call herself a professional writer? I mean other than the current social climate. Maybe she “identifies” as a writer.
In reality, she’s a traveler, maybe. Or a vacationer. But a professional writer? Um, no.
SF Grandmaster Jack Williamson turned out only two 60,000 word novels per year too, pretty much every year for around 70 years. And he had a strenuous day job with Eastern New Mexico University (Portales) until his death at the age of 94. Just sayin’. See the difference?
But this isn’t about sheer volume. For one thing, not all fiction writers are novelists. Bradbury was mostly a short story writer. Harlan Ellison was a short story writer. Hemingway wrote tons of excellent short stories in addition to several novels.
I very much respect writers who make the time to turn out a short story every week. Like Heinlein’s Rules, doing that isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Like anything worthwhile, writing even one short story every week takes a certain amount of fortitude and determination.
No matter the length of the fiction, being a writer requires a passion for storytelling and a desire to challenge yourself. A desire to accomplish something you’ve never accomplished before.
It takes actually Being a fiction writer.
Stephen King has been quoted as saying he writes at least 1000 words per day. Is he talking average or every day?
Doesn’t matter. That’s 365,000 words per year.
The TNDJ-sponsored Bradbury Challenge is ongoing.
One of my favorite fiction writers “completed” it a couple of months ago with 52 short stories in 52 weeks while writing or writing-on two or three novels and pursuing her other interests.
One or two other writers currently in that challenge have completed short stories for over 40 consecutive weeks. I applaud them, as I applaud others who are still in the challenge.
Recently I had the privelege of facilitating The Great September Challenge. In that one, the writers had a choice between writing 1000 words per day or 2250 words per day.
They were required to report their weekly totals and their monthly total.
To do that required them to set goals:
Challenge….. Daily….. Weekly….. Monthly
1000 wpd….. 1000….. 7000……… 30,000 or
2250 wpd….. 2250….. 15,750……. 67,500
I don’t think any of them hit their daily goal every day (though a few might have).
In the 1000 wpd challenge, only Tiffanie Gray and Catherine Mesick hit or exceeded their weekly goal all four weeks. Only they and Ann Stratton met or exceeded the monthly goal.
Six writers met or exceeded their weekly goal one, two, or three of the four weeks.
Two other writers missed the daily goal every week, but completed the challenge with 15,000 words on the month. Both have day jobs and both reported they were pleased to learn their capacity is currently around 500 words per day: on average.
In the 2250 wpd challenge, one entrant surpassed his weekly goal (again, 15750 words) twice. He fell just short on the other two weeks.
Unfortunately, one entrant left each challenge after the first week. I hope that wasn’t due to a major life roll.
If it wasn’t, in each case, I suspect them “failing” to meet the weekly goal opened a door to their critical voice, and it charged through with some version of “Why bother?” or “What’s the use? I can never catch up.”
Those two writers, maybe more than anyone else, need this short series of posts.
“Why bother?” “What’s the use? I can never catch up.”
I’ve been subject to those same or similar questions from my own critical voice dozens or hundreds of times over the years.
Always—ALWAYS—the answer is Because I’m a fiction writer. Because how much I write or even WHAT I write on a given day or during a given week or month or year doesn’t matter.
What matters is THAT I write, and how many words of new fiction I write on average over those time periods.
Because you aren’t really writing for some stupid challenge. You’re writing to accomplish something you’ve never accomplished before. And you CAN do it.
By the way, I’ve decided to issue similar challenges again in November.
Why am I telling you now? Because forewarned is forearmed. You have the whole month of October to practice. (grin) But practice. Don’t “get ready to practice.”
Stay tuned. More coming tomorrow in The Value of Averages 2.
Talk with you again then.
Of Interest
Writing Process A sad situation, one I’ve encountered with many writers. I hope everybody will read this.
The Numbers
The Journal……………………………… 1250
Writing of “Carolyn Price”
Day 1…… 1254 words. To date…… 1254
Writing of The Darling Members Club (novel)
Brought forward…… 6632
Day 1…… 3601 words. To date…… 10233
Day 2…… 4137 words. To date…… 14370
Day 3…… 4433 words. To date…… 18803
Day 4…… 2988 words. To date…… 21791
Fiction for October……………………. 16413
Fiction for 2024………………………… 774334
Nonfiction for October………………… 5370
Nonfiction for 2024……………………. 308960
2024 consumable words……………… 890920
Average Fiction WPD (October)……… 4103
2024 Novels to Date………………………… 13
2024 Novellas to Date……………………… 1
2024 Short Stories to Date…………………. 15
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..……. 95
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………. 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………..… 252
Short story collections…………………….….. 29
Disclaimer: I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Unreasoning fear and the myths of writing are lies. They will slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog. Please support TNDJ with a paid subscription. Thank you!
Thanks for the report!
So for October, I'm going to catch up all my art, book covers for clients, formatting, illustrations and maybe even finish my next kid's book illustrations and get it published. And THEN I'll be ready for November!
Oh, yeah, gotta report on my experience for the September Challenge, in my Substack, too! (And maybe finish the two stories I started in September.)