That’s the number of words hammered out over a weekend in Hershey, PA, holed up in a hotel room while Beloved Spouse was at a professional conference.
That’s the number of words needed to finish the first draft of my new Arkady Bloom novella, A Study in Violet.
That’s the number of words I wrote in three days. I hadn’t written that many words in the month previous. The last time I wrote anywhere near that pace was when I was hiding in a hotel room in Atlanta while Beloved Spouse was at another professional conference.
I remember when I used to write at that pace without needing to hide away from the world in hotel rooms in strange cities. Granted, I was at the end of the story and the horse was pointed at the barn. I always write faster at the end of the piece, but still…
I need to remember how to do this on a regular basis. I need to figure out why my writing production has slowed so dramatically this year and correct that. I need to find a place or space where I can work for at least three or four hours a day with little or no distraction. I need to find a space (both physical and mental) where I’m comfortable as writer.
That said, A Study in Violet is complete in the first draft. I am intensely pleased by this. Where Horror at Cold Springs was Lovecraftian horror and The Curious Case of the Jeweled Alicorn was a Bondian spy-thriller, this one is (as you might guess from the title) a Holmesian murder-mystery.
Sounds like hotel rooms in strange cities agree with you, at least.
Are you still writing in Moleskine notebooks, or have you switched to the computer? I use the computer as you probably know, and I find the Internet in general pretty distracting.
Some people unplug completely from their network, which doesn’t work for me as multiple people make use of it. However, I do find that turning off my IM program and shutting down my browser helps.
I also set a goal, such as “once I write for 30 minute/1000 words/this scene I am allowed to take a break and play Alan Wake. That kind of thing.
Is it possible for you to kick all other adults and people out of your office for a predefined amount of time? I can’t, as a dad, but I can do the next best thing which is “don’t bother me unless it’s an emergency,” if the Mrs is home.