Ann asked James V. Smith Jr.:

On average, about how long does it take you to write a novel?

James V. Smith Jr. Thanks, Ann, for engaging. It's a surprisingly tough question and not just because of my math deficiencies. I first wrote Prison of the Soul decades ago, a complex novel that took a year, but over time have rewritten it dozens of times. The last revision was begun in December after I posted it to Kindle and somebody told me I should cut the fat out of it. So eight months and a new cover later, here it is again, practically new all over.

One editor asked me to churn a Force Recon serial novel every 4 months. Y'know, how do I average that with Prison?

I've used voice-to-text technology for many of my latter novels and nonfiction books. Over time I developed a system that I'm planning to share soon in a nonfiction book. You talk to your digital devices and create text, which is faster than typing. But it can also be more productive. And even more creative, which is far more important than speed. What happens, you get into a flow, where the Incidents in a novel pour from your brain to your mouth to the computer's ears, as it were. Once you get into a groove like that, I think you could easily create a first draft in a matter of weeks. Making revisions is the money game, though, and that takes more thinking. And time. For instance, Prison began as an interesting setting of a teacher inside a max security one-room school behind bars. It evolved into a much larger story about the prisons we build for ourselves by allowing ourselves to be captive to the past and our own self-imposed limitations.

If I didn't answer the question adequately, get back to me. Thanks again.

flag