The dichotomy between reading and writing

And the slow plod of Book 11

Have you ever thought about the difference between the speed at which you write a book and the speed at which people read it?

When you think about it too hard it makes your brain hurt, it makes you wonder why you bother!

I don’t know about you but I read a book every 5(ish) days on average.

How long does it take to write one? Well a first draft usually takes me three months. From opening a blank document to sending a proofread copy back to my editor is the best part of nine months.

In that nine months I’ve read, approximately 30-40 books.

But all those months of writing do add up to something special - a unique book that you wrote that will bring so much enjoyment to so many people (and snarky reviews from others) even if they read it in 5 days (or less!)

I was thinking about this as a read Cress McLaughlin’s lovely new book, The Happy Hour recently. Cress and I have followed each other on social media for years (since before either of us were published I think) and I’ve read her posts as she’s written this book - the hard work she’s put in, the structural edits, copy edits, proof reads.

And I started to realise that although it’s a lot of work, and although, when I’m writing a book I have no idea how well it will sell or what other people will think of it, that if one of my books can bring someone the happiness that the few days I spent with the Happy Hour brought me, then it is totally worth it.

Books have always been my escape when life and the world around me have been hard, an escape from my permanently anxious mind. When I started writing fiction in 2013 I didn’t think I’d finish one book, it seemed a monumental task and I had no idea what I was doing. But like reading it became an escape and in that escaping time I learned the basics of stringing a story together.

Eleven years later and book 11 is 25,000 words long. I’m still learning. I’m still escaping…

And I’m still finding those first 30,000 the hardest

Does anyone else find this? Getting into a new book always seems difficult, no matter how many times I do it. I always feel like a brand new beginner again. It takes that many words to really get the feel for my characters, to allow myself to let go of the reigns a little and let them lead the way. The words come slowly, sometimes as few as 300 a day. I feel as though I can’t do this anymore, as though I’ve peaked. And then I remember that my first novel was written in 300 word snatches in my lunch hours and that, while other people might write thousands of words a day, this is how I’ve always done it - little and often until a book is formed.

And feeling like a beginner every time isn’t a bad thing. It probably just means that I’m not taking those 300 little words for granted.

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-Just a short note from me this week as I am deep into Book 11 and hoping to break that 30,000 word barrier this week.

See you all soon.