Writing a book is time-consuming, but worth it.
If your goal is to write a short and sweet book, that’s to the point without much fanfare. This little writing guide is for you.
Do keep in mind that this works well for thrillers, romance, and slice of life book genres. If you are writing a fantasy or something with a lot of exposition to connect the dots, you will need a larger word count and a different outline. (Give me about a month to create a downloadable outline template for you.)
You might have already read part of this in another post, but I wanted to take the time to address the process.
Timetable for writing a book in 45 days
Day 1-3: Planning and outlining. You can do research as you go for things that come up. But in these three days, come up with a story idea, write a plot summary, create a story outline, write a chapter guide, create a character list with little description for each character.
Day 4-10: Create a steady flow. Writing goal of 1,500 words a day with time and space to go over it. As long as you retain an average of 1,360 words per day for the entire process.
Day 11: Take a break. Leave the house and go do something creative or that works your body. You can paint at a park, play in the rain, hike, go sailing, visit a museum, and so much more. Do things that life your spirit and ease your soul.
Day 12-19: Write. You know your rhythm by now and how your characters feel. Try making your chapters 1,300 to 2,000 words long and nothing over that. Very few authors get away with long chapters. Though, I hope to do that one day, I want to start off small.
Day 20: Take a break. Cook something you like, well that’s if you like cooking. Listen to an audiobook, go hiking, take a prisoner of war and ask them about their live.
Day 21-28: You are close to the climax by now. Your rising action should have risen and your characters introduced. Think of this as a shitty first draft. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you do want to get your ideas onto the page.
Day 29: You guessed it, take a break. Spend some time in nature. Go to a comedy show, take a friend to dinner and movie. Do things that feed your soul.
Day 30-37: The climax is at hand. Things are getting heated. Depending on the outline of the story and the several subplots you have, there is hope for a fake climax here. Use it to be nefarious, make your readers cry.
Day 38: It’s time to take a break. Sleep in for a change. Have a nice cup of tea and remember why you like writing in the first place.
Day 39-45: The finale. Take this time to wrap up the story. If you find you have time and a bit of energy left, add an epilogue.
You can end your story here and know that you have a draft where you allowed yourself to create something new.
For now, I want you to consider, if this would work for you and what changes you would make. Looking at this, I am thinking of trying this process again. But with a bit more structure and determination to find a story idea that would work in this format.
Let the record show, that this format fits books in the 50,000 to 60,000 word count domain.
See you tomorrow, friend.
Jona Nightingale 