Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

A writer can write 2,400 words in an hour and thereby finish a novel in 14 days (three weeks). Why don’t we?

The average typing speed is 40 words per minute. That is 2,400 words per hour. If you write three hours a day and rest your hands the remainder of the day, you write 7,200 words a day. A 100,000-word novel, which is pretty long by today’s standards, would take less than 14 days. Take off the weekends, and there is a novel in three weeks.

Pretty simple, right? And so why doesn’t this happen often?

The writer is not in the mood. Don’t like “moods” and emotions? Okay, the writer was not in the right frame of mind.

Start with “In the beginning” and end with “The End.” If you are in the right mood or frame of mind, the stuff in the middle flows as fast as you can type.

Silly idea? No. That is how I write this and other blog posts. I am writing this one as fast as I can type. (I am currently riding in a van while typing these words as fast as my wobbly lap will allow.) I am in the right frame of mind to write this piece.

I have a long list of blog posts to write. I picked this from the list because I felt like it. The “energy was right” for it (yet another cliche’). I write the pieces that are right for the time and place and mind of the moment. I have written half a dozen such pieces in half an hour at times. Everything was right.

Okay, now what if you are told to write something “at work” and don’t feel like it. Look at the paycheck. Gather what mood or energy you can from the money and start typing. Its just a paycheck and not love, so it isn’t as important as this little piece about writing as fast as you can type (at least not to me).

What is important to you at this time? Write that piece at this time.

Do you have some sort of quota of assignments to complete in some period of time? Write the ones that flow. When in the writing mood, write extra pieces so they are sitting at the ready when you have to do something and are not in the mood. There are ways to “game the system” and be ahead.

I find it much more fun to write things when I am in the mood for writing them.

Now, how fast can I type? (Not much more than the average. Too bad.)