Tag Archives: speed writing

Writing 1000 words of Fiction in 30 Minutes – is it Possible?

Bigger, Better, Faster, More!
Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yes it is! I usually get about 30 minutes a day at the moment only to do writing. Usually that means that I get into the mindset that probably I can only do about 500 words or a bit more if I’m trying – because as we all know a 1000 words takes an hour doesn’t it?

But ideally I’d like to be writing the writer’s goal of 1000 words a day. So what to do about it? Find an extra 30 minutes – possible, but I’d have to sacrifice time spent doing other things, which I don’t want to – I need some time at the moment to do editing and other projects.

So instead the other day I challenged myself to try to do 1000 words in my allotted 30 minute time. And guess what? It happened. I had to change the way I worked a bit, but I don’t think any of it what detrimental to the quality of the writing. Here’s a few tips on how to achieve 1000 words of fiction in 30 minutes:

  1. I found it helpful to know what I was going to write about – I’d already spent time outlining the chapter I was working on. But even if you’re a pantser I think you could still do it.
  2. Instead of pausing to gaze into the distance occasionally before writing the next sentence – commonly known as getting inspiration – just keep thumping the keys – you don’t have time to waste.
  3. Think of it as a deadline – you have to get the story in before the paper goes to press – that kind of thing. It’s amazing how having a set time and a goal motivates you.
  4. Remember that’s its possible. In fact I am sure that its possible to write even more than 1000 words in 30 minutes.
  5. Think about how satisfying it will be to get your 1000 words done so quickly and how that will enable you to do other things – maybe that’s to write 2000 words in an hour or to spend time editing and outlining – things I always find it hard to do if I’ve set myself the goals of 1000 words in a day.

Good luck – and let me know how many words you can write!