You'll never be a writer until you've written down one million original words. This advice was offered by a BNA (Big Name Author) at a book festival I attended eight or so years ago. That's a slew of words, I recall thinking then.

It is, indeed. Say, if you wrote longish novels of 80,000 words each, it breaks down to 12 novels. It's a daunting task to sit and grind out a dozen books never to see print. Whether this million-word rule holds any water, I can't say.

Right now, I have at least that many completed novels languishing in the hopper. Trunk novels, if you will. Will they ever come out of the trunk and see print? Most won't. The dozen trunk novels are one million original words.

The good news, at least for me, is all that is behind me.

Safe and fun Memorial Day, fellow bibliophiles.

Ed Lynskey
@edlynskey
Author of Lake Charles