The 5 Day Novel

by Scott King

Struggling to finish your novels? Learn how to tweak your workflow process and write one in only FIVE DAYS! After taking way too long to write a fantasy epic, author and educator Scott King refined his writing process so that he could crank out a novel in five days! Through easy-to-follow tips and helpful examples, Scott takes a theme and shapes an entire story around it. Let him walk you through the prewriting process, slogging through a first draft, and doing the rewrites. In this book, you'll learn: How to get in the right mindset How to cut distractions & manage your time The ingredients necessary to form a story How to stay focused and keep writing How to plan your rewrites The things to look for when line editing If you like honesty, no bull, a bunch of humor, and tons of examples in your writing guides, then you'll love Scott King's behind-the-scenes look at how to write a novel in five days.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Audiobook

Audiobook

About the author

Scott King is an author and photographer. He was born in Washington D.C. and raised in Ocean City, Maryland. He received his undergraduate degree in film from Towson University, and his M.F.A. in film from American University.

“DAD! A Documentary Graphic Novel,” King’s first book was published in Fall ’09. He is also the creator and writer of “Holiday Wars.”

King is a game photographer based in Texas. His most common shoots are for websites, online stores, and for other marketing needs. He also produces an annual calendar that highlights board and other hobby games.

King was first introduced to the entertainment industry in high school when he was hired as a production assistant on “Runaway Bride.” At the time, he served as a reporter for the school newspaper and although another student was assigned the article about the movie King was determined to write it. He snuck into a press conference where Gary Marshall was meeting with local media, so that he could out-scoop his fellow student. Durring the meeting King asked a few questions about how the movie would affect bus routes and local businesses. The next day he was hired and he’s been working in the entrainment industry ever since.

Reviews

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott King's book contains lots of great tips and advice for wannabe genre authors keen to boost their productivity. The author's own punishing schedule isn't one I could (or would want to) emulate, what with having a full-time job and other real-world commitments, but implementing his methods over, say, five weeks instead of five days, is certainly doable. King writes in an easy-to-comprehend, conversational tone. Recommend.
"Day four is all about taking the pile of poop you excreted all over the pages and adjusting it so that it takes the shape of a concise, understandable story." Gold!

[Jessica Gadziala · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I guess you could say I am a "seasoned" author. I have thirty novels floating around. And despite the fact that I always put a book out a month, sometimes I lose focus and get lost in the writing process. Last night was one of those nights. So I went on Amazon for a little inspiration to remind me to keep plugging away. I came across Scott King's book and downloaded it.

Now, I am a pantster. I never plot my books. And it's something that has always worked for me. Scott recommends doing at least a thin outline and since I feel a little "stuck", I am going to follow that advice and keep plugging at this story with more of an idea where I am heading.

It's a good book. True, you will probably never write a book in five days. As someone who writes one in 14 days every month, I have to say, my schedule is a challenge. I am glued to my laptop most of the day to make it happen (something that wouldn't be necessary if I unplugged my router like Scott recommends I might add. Internet is the devil to writers). And, true, maybe you are (like me) a pantster. That doesn't mean you can't take this little book (I read it in an hour tops) and get some insight from it. If nothing else, it is motivating.

Also, he makes a shoutout to the badass romance novelist and, for that, he's just plain awesome ;)

[Dean Dibling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as much content as I was hoping for. Not very many new ideas about writing, more a diary of Scott's five day novel experience.

[Thiago d'Evecque · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leitura divertida sobre a tentativa bem-sucedida do autor de planejar, escrever e editar um livro de 50k palavras em 5 dias. Ele conta as frustrações, as dificuldades e o completo esgotamento mental que esses 5 dias proporcionaram, mas também fala sobre como valeu a pena iniciar o desafio e conhecer os próprios limites. Muitas dicas práticas sobre escrita, outline, caracterização e revisão, mas a maior delas é: somos capazes de escrever muito mais do que imaginamos, se realmente nos dedicarmos.

[Michelle Hillstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was filled with helpful tips for writing, editing, and rewriting your novel. Very helpful and motivational. I think I’m going to attempt the Five Day Novel writing strategy next week.

[Charlotte Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

The fastest I've ever written a novel is 16 days. This book is inspiring! Can't believe people write books in 5 days!! But totally possible of course.

[Justin Tadlock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book stands on its own well enough if you go into it simply wanting to follow King's journey to writing a novel from start to finish in five days. But, don't expect much more than that...

Full review on my blog.

[Saiswaroopa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful experiment by the writer and a great account of how it went on. A detailed review coming soon.

[Jess Schira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nicely laid out and it turned into a compelling read. Worth checking out, even if you're not planning on writing a novel in a short time span.

[Preethi Venugopala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed and informative.

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this book from the Rocking Self Publishing podcast (available on iTunes, Overcast and other apps, so definitely go listen to this episode/subscribe) when the author was interviewed about how he wrote Ameriguns in 5 days. This is from pre-writing (prepping for the story) to line editing.

While the podcast has the basics of the book, I decided to grab a copy because I was interested in learning more about the process.

Personally, I think first time writers/aspiring writers will benefit the most from this book. Scott King takes the reader through the entire writing process, from the preparation to the rewriting in an easy to understand and non-intimidating style. He has a list of 'assignments' for each day (each stage of writing) which can be used as stepping stones/checklists.

I found lots of gems throughout this book. From the pitch to the three act structure and how to 'fix' characters, I'm pretty sure that I'll be going back to this book as each stage of writing ends. Sure, it's not the most detailed of books, but it provides a good overview and a good starting point for authors.

And if you're wondering how useful his advice is, I checked out his book on Amazon and it has more reviews (and a good average) and a better sales rank than me so he's definitely doing something right (although to be honest it'd be pretty easy to do better than me so you have no excuse not to write and publish/submit to agents).

While I'm not going to be writing a novel in a month, it might be a fun challenge to try and squeeze his process into NaNoWriMo. It does mean that I would have to be more of a planner than I currently am, but I would have a lot of time to prepare.

If you need an encouraging, practical book to get you to start writing, I highly recommend this book. The price is reasonable too - I got it for 299 yen, which is much lower than many other writing books that I've seen. If you're unsure whether you want to get it, give the episode where he's on a listen first.

This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile

[Frank Carver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll say at the start that I found this book to be interesting and motivating, but not exactly in the way I expected from the title. The “five-day novel” is a conceit the author uses to impart a lot of useful writing tips, suggestions and warnings. I can believe that Scott King really did write his novel “Ameriguns” in five days but, given that he spends a lot of the book admonishing the reader not to try it, I doubt that I will be undertaking a similar project any time soon.

Where this book worked for me is as a reminder that we can all write more, and faster, than we expect if everything is aligned correctly, and if we allow ourselves to believe that it is possible. I am currently planning and preparing for my first attempt at NaNoWriMo, and somewhat terrified by the prospect of needing to average 1667 words a day for the whole month. I have run some writing experiments, and typically that amount of words would take me between five and seven hours to get done. Obviously, I can’t dedicate that amount of time to writing for the whole month of November, so I need to speed up. This is where King’s tips are so useful.

By documenting the process of writing a whole novel (including rewrites, editing and polishing) in just five days, this book points out that it can be done, and that a mere couple of thousand words a day should not be hard at all.. That’s why I am now much more motivated and emotionally ready to hit the keyboard in November.

I would have given this book five stars, but at times it felt a little like a cynical (if clever) way to push sales of the associated novel, and in one or two places it needed a bit more editing. Well worth a read if you are considering any kind of writing challenge, though.

[Paul Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scott King’s book, “The Five Day Novel” is short, and there is a very good reason for that. In-keeping with his theme and advice, the book is bullshit free. It is well written in a conversational style that feels like you’ve sat down with the author in your writing den and he has chatted with you about how he took a five-day writing challenge, what he learned, and some ideas and advice about what you should consider if you wanted to do similar. Rather than being prescriptive, the whole plan is about how best to work and to be adaptive to your own situation, writing style and life. There are a few illustrations from the author’s own experience of how, as is said regarding a war, the plan remain original only until the first day. However, rather than leaving you like a rudderless ship, Scott King shows how he adapted and refocussed at various stages through his process and how you can do similar. For me, I will begin to read the book again and make notes to begin my plan. If it was a 600 page tome, I wouldn’t do that, but knowing that this is such a concise gem of a book, I know every minute will be worth the re-read. I highly recommend this book.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book. The title says it all, and delivered on most of its premise. The book chronicles Scott’s challenge to write a book from conception to completion within 5 days. I found the author’s voice to be clear and easy to follow.
The book was full of insightful and useful tidbits. I enjoyed his honesty in that he would not recommend the challenge to write a novel in 5 days to most people, and that he would never do it again. I had hoped to read the secret to pumping out books in record speed, but I didn’t come away with that. I did, however, learn some great suggestions and ways to improve my writing.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their writing. You may take on a similar challenge and be successful as Scott was, or you may find your own speed. I don’t think I could do what he accomplished but it’s always great to read about what can be done when people try.

[R.K. King · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing approach to writing a novel.
Personally I'd never want to actually attempt writing a novel in 5 days. My normal writing routines are draining enough. I'd have to discourage others from attempting the same as well. Scott King flat out tells you so in this book, and reveals later on the tolls the approach took on him.
But what one should do is take these tactics and apply them to a broader approach. Perhaps in a month? Or 3? Applying these same methods should work well still, and get you writing multiple books a year.
I'm certainly gonna give it a go.

Join the RK King readers' list for an exclusive FREE short story, plus inside info, musings, promos and more: RK King Writes

[Hope Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It

I found the book inspiring. I write romance. I also tend to write rather quickly. For me, though, plotting is a huge issue. When I start a book, I generally only have the overall storyline planned.

This book gives tips and tricks on plotting. The assignments in each chapter are useful. The author has an amazingly easy writing style that make this a quick read, though it's not a terribly short book. He also reminds us we have to take care of ourselves, too.

I highly recommend the book for those that want to write a novel...whether they take 5 days or 5 years.

[Amber Christiansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and inspirational

Although I certainly have no desire to ever attempt to write a novel in only 5 days, I found the methods described to be clear and helpful. Many how to write books cover the rules that should be followed, some of which are contradictory. The common rules are covered in here as well, but I especially liked the easy to use approach. The reason for each rule was explained in a simple way with examples of when to follow it and when not to. Overall, the organization strategies are the most helpful parts of the book.

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be an excellent quickstart guide for writing a book, then editing it. While I have no intention of trying to write a book in five days, King gives you all you need to get a book from start to finish. I look at it as a list of reasons I need to finish my book. And he uses his own novel as an example, for which I am so thankful. I'm tired of everyone using Star Wars and the Hunger Games.

I've also been on the search for a good resource on tackling big edits after finishing a first draft, and I think this book is one of the best ones I've read so far.

[Pxan]

The number of wanna be chapters nearly crushed me.

I write fast, on the keyboard my fingertips run like fire.

Each time, after that brief joy of putting the words THE END on the page, a strange sense of dread takes hold of you. The time for editing always comes.

While I read this book I didn't seek great advice, I just wanted to read someone sharing the pain of editing.

While reading the book I realize that my editing is superficial and there are a lot of things to fix.

My advice? Read it after writing, your weigth will become lighter this way.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A guide book for pushing through your writing process

Regardless of whether or not you take up the crazy challenge of putting together a novel in 5 days, Scott proves it can be done. Sooo much better than that though, he talks you through the process in a real, actionable way. He is generous in sharing the problems he faced and the solutions for overcoming them. I loved it. Thank you, thank you, thank you - you gave me the confidence that I really could get through writing a novel in a month.

[Caro B · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I will never try to write a novel in five days, this book has taught me many lessons that will help me improve my writing. Through lots of specific examples, Scott King showed me how to become a better writer and editor. But most importantly, he inspired me to keep at it. He doesn't recommend that people write a novel in five days. But by reading his own accounts of what it was like to write a novel so quickly, I learned a great deal. Highly recommended.

[Robin Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reminders!

I liked the book because it was simple and concise. Many of the tips were things I already do but it was a great reminder. The best part was forming the pitch and the outline. I tend to Free write but have used an outline before and it was very helpful. It was good to see how he does his outlines. I would definitely recommend this book for someone that needs a refresher or is just starting out and needs some literary guidance.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part craft book/part memoir of a crazy writing experiment, this was a fun book to read. I would never attempt something like this, but it was interesting to see how the process of actually putting butt-in-chair and writing can produce a viable product in such a short period of time. Most of the craft advice was fairly basic, but it was the way it was packaged and the author's unique voice that made this worth reading.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but surprisingly good zoom through the process of writing a novel in five days. A very short novel, that is! And with the main bits of research already done. But I was impressed at King's organization of each day into a specific focus.

There were also some nice nuggets of advice that made me stop and think, even though I've written several novels to date. I liked King's writing style a great deal.

[Cass Rosewood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like how Scott explained his 5 day novel plan of action was set up. He made very good points to prioritize health. When I first picked up the book I didn't realize the 5 day novel had covered prewriting, writing, and editing until it was publishable.

I am happy to how surpised I was to see the entire map for his process in this challenge it gives me ideas for my own writing challenges to test what I am capable as a writer.

[Miguel Ángel Alonso Pulido · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro muy interesante sobre planificación y flujo de trabajo para escritores. El experimento de escribir una novela en cinco días en sí está bien, pero lo mejor son los trucos y consejos que da King para preparar el proceso de escritura y cómo administrar tus tiempos y forma de trabajo. En ese sentido, es un libro muy recomendable.

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always wondered what it would be like to complete a 5 - Day Novel...

Mr. King has provided a unique inside view of the 5-Day Novel process. He offers useful advice to avoid distractions in keeping with the deadline. The author provides the reader a methodical breakdown for each day's work along with a personal journal and checklist for the day.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A whirlwind of writing advice

Part how-to-write-a-novel-quickly (5 days!), part join-me-on-this-crazy-thing-I-did, The Five Day Novel is a quick, fun read with some great advice for writers. I especially appreciated King's tips for revision, as that's something I'm currently struggling with.

[Deedra Hanekamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information

I doubt I will do a week of intense writing to produce a book, but this book is great for learning about how to be more productive. The check lists are good ones and the author covers the basics of writing a book. Helpful and informative.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Organized but not realistic

I liked the way King organizes preparation, but think the overall time frame is unrealistic and likely to produce both RSI and poor quality work. It did give me some ideas on preparing more efficiently.