Fast-Drafting Your Novel

This summer, as I listened to podcast after podcast, I was introduced to a new concept of writing: fast-drafting. So, today, I want to talk about five things you can do to make fast-drafting work for you.

Fast-drafting is essentially what it sounds like. You write your novel fast. NaNoWriMo could be a form of fast-drafting, but ideally, you’d want to be able to do it faster than that. Fast-drafting is something you should do when you have a vacation from school or work.

There’s a few benefits to fast-drafting, including the fact that it works out your brain, but here’s my favorite reason why fast-drafting is awesome: When I was younger and I took months to finish manuscripts, I would forget details about things, wondering if I had discussed it in the draft already. Fast-drafting keeps my mind fresh on details because I just wrote those details down a day or two ago. Even a month is better than six months. You also build consistency when you fast draft, and who doesn’t want that?

1. Set a Time: If you want to fast-draft, set a time for when you write. Ideally, I’d love to be able to write first thing in the morning, but now that classes have started up again, I’m usually out the door shortly after I wake up. I need to find a time in the middle of the day when I can clear my mind and just get to work.

2. Have a Plan: I’ve talked about the importance of having an outline before, and if you’re going to be successful at fast-drafting, you have to have a plan. It doesn’t need to be detailed (make it as detailed as you want), buit you have to at least have the high and low points planned out beforehand, because when you’re fast-drafting, there’s no time to sit down and twiddle your thumbs. You have to have at least a skeleton of a plan, if nothing else.

3. Set a Word Goal: This was what kept me going when I fast-drafted (yes, that’s now a verb) through the first half of TA2. Everyday, I had a word count of 5,000 words. Some days I hit it, some days I didn’t, and some days I had to catch up. But having that word count gave me the ability to see progress clearly, especially with my goal set up in Scrivener (She’s Novel has a great post on how to set your own goal up).

4. Keep Focused: They say if you give yourself shorter time limits, you’re more likely to get more done because you feel the pressure. If this is what keeps you focused, go for it. If not, you need to figure out what keeps you focused because you need that focus for these intense writing days.

5. Stay Inspired: Pinterest is a great tool for finding inspiration online. Whether you use it to storyboard or for promotion, there’s plenty on there for you to stay inspired.