I love Fast Draft. It’s done what I wanted it to do for me, got my momentum built up. And it’s a different rhythm then anything I’ve done before, but one that really seems to work for me so I’m going to keep using this.
I’ve tried book in a month and book in a week both. Book in a week is too overwhelming. It’s an impossible goal, so I feel like giving up before I even try. Book in a month is pretty manageable and fits my natural speed well. But I’m noticing a difference in the rhythm of Fast Draft, which is half a month. Instead of stopping at 2-3K and calling it good for the day, I push myself to go further. The results are interesting.
It’s not something you could do twice a month forever, but I think it’s useful in the project-switching life of a working writer. Because you bang out a proposal, than you have revisions for something else, galleys for another thing, promotional and business details, and all of them interrupt the flow of writing. If I can use Fast Draft to get my drafts done faster (the name is sooo appropriate) I have less interruption and don’t have to regain momentum from a dead stop.
I’ve really enjoyed the experience so far and I’ve gained another useful tool to add to my bag of tricks. Fast Draft.
Hey Charli. What’s Fast Draft — I don’t buy into all the “book in a..” either, but I also like to check out new things. Can you tell me more?
Sam
Sam, Fast Draft is a class run by Candy Havens, who came up with it to fit writing into her impossible schedule. The idea is to write 20 pages a day for two weeks, ending with a complete novel draft. No excuses, no procrastination, writing in whatever time is available. It’s really a very interesting experience. You can go here to learn more:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Write_Workshop/
The class is coming to a close, but you can still read all the material about what it is and how it works.
I just joined that group and have been reading Candy’s workshop notes on it. Wish I had joined sooner because I really needed this for the book I’m working on. I think it would really help me.
Glad to hear it’s working well for you. I’m going to have to try it.
Jaci, it’s saved me! I’m going to be doing this on and off through June so we can buddy up if you want. 🙂
I’d love to. Just holler at me when you’re ready.
Thanks folks. 🙂 That’s about what I have to write to meet my deadline this week, LOL. There’s so many neat things out there, though, to help writers. I’ll wander on over and take a look. Thanks 🙂
Sam
Will do, Jaci. 😉
Sam, I hope you find it as helpful as I did!