How long it normally takes and hwo to get it out there?

merc · 27-05-2010 04:46PM #1

HI All new to this in more ways then one.
Not only is this the first time I have ever posted here but I am also in the process of writing my first ever piece.

Read a lot and am a huge movie fan so one day just took a notion that I would write a novel probably with the idea in my head of how it would work as a film. After messing around with two or three different story lines I finally settled on one and have so far put done over 10'000 words.

However it feels like it has taken me for ever and in reality it has. At this rate of going I might never finish.
The other problem is I have not showed any of it to any body not even the wife.

So the question above is realy how long do you think on average should a novel take (answer is probably the same as how long is a piece of string).

If you have a lagre part available how is the best way to get it out there to get some feedback on it?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Memnoch · 27-05-2010 05:14PM

Okay,
Firstly, you're right, it takes as long as it takes and this figure varies widely. Some writers blast away and finish a novel in two-three months. I believe a very famous author wrote an entire novel in a couple of weeks once (can't remember the name). While Kiran Disai took seven years to complete her Booker Prize winning novel. Vikram Seth spent ten years compiling his 1,300 page mammoth, A Suitable Boy. Ian McEwan seems to take about two years between each Novel. While Pratchett in his hayday was pumping out one a year. Take your pick really.

As for getting it written and finished, everyone has their own method but a tried and tested one is BUTT IN CHAIR or BIC.

Make a commitment to write X words every day, five/three days a week.

So like 1000 words every Mon, Wed, Friday. Set apart one or two hours to do this in your day. Many famous writers used to get up at 6 in the morning to find quiet writing time before their day jobs.

If 1000 seems too much start with 500. Trust me, 500 words is not that much. Like 1 page single spaced to two pages double spaced. Just write, don't worry if it's crap (this part is easier to say than do), you will edit it later.

500 words a day for three days a week is 1,500 words per week. Thats around 67 weeks to finish a 100,000 word novel, which is a little over a year.

If you can write 3000 words a week you can finish the first draft in a little over 6 months.

As for feedback, join a writers group. It can be hard to find a good one, but there are a few around and once you get one it's great for encouragement, support and exchanging feedback.

There are many places online where you can ask for feedback such as here on boards. Another forum I can recommend is www.absolutewrite.com/forums. You will have to register to see the "Share your work," forum where you can post for feedback.

However, if you are looking for feedback for longer pieces, you won't get it without some form of reciprocation.

Good luck!

EileenG · 28-05-2010 08:24PM

A typical young adult novel is 50,000 to 75,000 words. An adult novel can be 80,000 to 120,000. Both can be higher, of course, but it's easier to get published if you have a standard length novel.

The main thing is to write and keep writing. 10,000 words is an excellent start, you should have your characters well established by now, and they are probably making their own contribution to your plot.

As for editing, that really does vary. Allow plenty of time, but don't worry, it's fun. You don't have that blank page staring at you, it's just a matter of improving what you already have.

If you want, you can put up bits of it here, but it's quite normal to finish the whole thing before you start asking for feedback. I write teen SF, and read out a piece at a writing group one time. An older woman looked down her nose at me and said "Absolute rubbish, not my sort of thing at all." A comment like that at the wrong time can completely knock you.

pickarooney · 28-05-2010 09:46PM

I kept my first draft completely to myself and only started showing it after 4 rewrites. In retrospect this was a terrible mistake as, haivng spent so much time on it, I just was not honest enough with myself to make the major edits I needed to do, with the result that I pissed away six months or more (actually close to a year, but I had practically no time for writing during that period) making minor adjustments. I also wrote about 100,000 words too many. It was only when I got some honest, objective feedback that I was able to start making the changes it needed.

It can be exceptionally hard to let people read your work but you will have to at some stage and that stage should be, I think, when you have a full, fleshed-out idea and a fair chunk of it written, so that any negative feedback won't put you off finishing the book but will save you time if you feel you need to take it on board.

How long it normally takes and hwo to get it out there?

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