I've been asked to do an author presentation at my local library, and end up wondering what exactly I was going to present (other than my books of course). One of the possibilities I'm considering is doing a presentation / Q&A on what I've discovered about the writing process since I've started my career. That got me thinking about all the things I've learned as a writer, and I decided that I wanted to write those thoughts down.

    This blog series is going to focus on how to write, specifically how I believe that several pieces of conventional wisdom on writing are wrong. Please note that these are opinion pieces, and I'm not going to pull any punches. I'm going to be snarky, and I make no apologies for that.

So with that, here we go.

   
    I noticed it around the time I was finishing up my second novel. The reactions that I was almost done with a novel little more than a month after my first one ranged from surprise to shock.

    I honestly didn't think much of it until then, because it had all felt right to me. The story flowed well, and I was able to write at a consistent pace. I put a lot of hours into it, to be sure, but nothing drastic. So why the surprise from everyone?

    Honestly, I think it has to do with the misconception that many people have about novels; that writing is hard.

    To which I laugh uproariously. Then I hear authors claiming the same thing and exclaim "what?!"

    Say this aloud : WRITING IS NOT HARD.

    Writing fiction is one of the easiest things in the world. You sit down, and you let your imagination run wild. Anything is possible. You can create anything, go anywhere, and you can do it with a simple screen and word processor (or pen and paper, if you're old fashioned.)

    But wait! you say. Look how many words are in a novel! It has to be hard to write that much!

    Let's break down some numbers, shall we?

    Take an average novel, around 80,000 words. Then take the amount of words that an average person can write in an hour of work. Estimate that around 1,000. I've timed myself and I know I'm capable of doing 1,500 if I stay focused (which is never), but let's stay conservative.

    So, it will take about 80 hours to complete a novel, working at average speed. Let's run some more numbers.

    NanoWriMo is coming up. Based off these numbers, you would need to write for 2 hours and 40 minutes per day to complete the novel by November 30. Certainly something that requires your attention, but nothing insurmountable.

    Want to write a single novel in a year? You need to spend a whole 13 minutes a day to complete your novel by year's end.

    13 MINUTES A DAY .

    Say it with me again: WRITING IS NOT HARD.

    Hold on! you say. The writing's not going to be any good! I'm just going to put a pile of crap that will need months and months of editing!

    *Sigh*

    This was something I believed myself, up until the point I finally had enough, threw out the rulebook and jumped into the blue. For those who are saying this, I have one question for you:

    Why do you have so little faith in your ability?

   Writing isn't hard. But writing is intimidating, especially to those who are new at it. I've been there. Aspiring writers are afraid of what they might create. What if the plot's not right? What if it's not structured properly? What if it's not good enough? My past self said that a lot.

    My current self says "so what?"

    My advice is to write. Write. Ignore the doubts in the back of your head, and write. If it, then so what? You practiced writing, and that's going to make your next novel better. Buckle down and write another one.