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resource box and all article content remain unaltered. Notification is appreciated, but not required. Notify author at jheisler@heislerink.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------Title: Ask Jeff- How do I get my novel finished? by Jeff Heisler
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Q: "Dear Jeff. How do I get my novel finished? I set a goal to have it done by end of year and I've still got a long way to go. Any suggestions?" - Pam.
Jeff: A lot of writers have this problem. Fortunately there's a tool you can use to keep you on track. What you need is a quota.
Some writers are lucky that they don't have to push themselves to finish. They enjoy sitting at keyboard so much- it's easy for them to finish novel after novel. Stephen King once described his writing output as "diarrhea of keyboard." What? Were you expecting something rosy from king of horror?
For rest of us- and it does include some major literary talents- we need a system to keep us on track. That's where quota comes in.
I highly suggest using word count for a quota. Set a number of words for day and be sure to meet it. Find a comfortable daily output. Many bestselling authors have 1,000 or 2,000 word daily quotas. Others have less.
Earnest Hemingway- THE writer, used a quota. People tell stories of Papa Hemingway sitting at corner of bar, hovered over his hand written pages. He mumbled to himself as he counted each and every word.
Others use a page quota. BAD IDEA.
Look, your brain doesn't like to work any harder than it has too. If you give your creative mind an assignment to write 2 pages of manuscript, you'll end up with a lot of this:
"Hey Sam?"
"Yeah."
"Sam?"
"Yeah, over here."
"How are ya Sam."
