On Writing : The Fastest Book You Ever Wrote by Kat Spencer

I think so far Seed (and several others) are my slowest novels if having writers block counts. The fastest was Plastic Love, I managed 90k in just under two weeks. I was on FIRE lol it was awesome.

Four weeks 73,000 words.

Great question - My picture books that are on bookshelves in Australia were my quickest to write. They are 500 word 32 page children's books. Only a couple of weeks for those. It's the illustrator who takes quite some time to produce their work. But my screenplays and novels naturally take longer. Wow - @david - four weeks?! For the win!

If I didn't have to put words on paper, I could probably write a book in my head in a few minutes. If that doesn't count - three weeks is my best time.

Twelve weeks is my sweet spot. Although my upcoming novel took over a year, because it needed a lot of careful construction.

I love this. It's not always about the amount of time it takes, as much as it is fully expressing the story.

I can't remember exactly how long it took me to finish it, but the fastest book I ever wrote was the memoir about my 12th-grade year of high school. It started as a college nonfiction class assignment, but as I began typing, everything just came back. Before I knew it, I was 100 pages deep.

Right now: "At the begining there was the end." Bestseller!

The fastest I've ever written a book, (and i mean a full-length novel) was three years. The second fastest took much longer. My first book took only took a year and it showed! But I lived and learned.

Less than 4 days is really fast, Kat Spencer! Congratulations on finishing the books! You're right. Some books take years. Some seem to pour out all at once. Scripts too.

Maurice Vaughan it’s so good to see you!

So good to see you too, Raven Riley! How are you doing?

I’m good. Had to take some time off, but now I’m back and ready to write.

Glad you're back, Raven Riley! I took some time off too because of my health, and I'm still taking time off, but I get on Stage 32 when I can. Hope your writing goes great!

NaNoWriMo got me in gear several years ago to get through about 65,000 words of a novel. Total length was 110,000 and took about 2 months. That's not normal for me though. I tend to write for 1-2 hours per night, no matter what else I have going on, but that might mean 1 scene or 5, depending on how easily I can get through it.

Thanks for sharing this clear write-up.

Great storytelling process, thanks for the concrete tips.

This helps a lot, appreciate the insight.

Great point, thanks for sharing!

Great post, thanks for sharing.

Great post, thanks for sharing!

Great take, thanks for sharing.

Great post, thanks for sharing!

Thank you Maurice Vaughan! It was a great weekend (the one spent writing that book). It is great to hear from you too!

Thanks everyone for sharing!! Very impressive!!

Is it really a race though? Is a quickly-written book necessarily better? I write very slow. If I tried to go faster, I don't think it would help at all. But I might be wrong and would be interested to hear thoughts on how writing quickly can be an advantage to the work. I'm not talking about advantages to the bank balance, though that might certainly be an advantage.

Writing a full draft in four days sounds like a fever dream, but I once finished a 90 page horror script in six weeks because I was genuinely angry about something and the main character's voice came to me fully formed. Your three month book is impressive, but was that four day draft a novella or a full length novel?

My last book was written in 54 days (Nov. 2 - Dec. 25) - 412 pages.

My last book: 684 pages in 4 months. Historical fiction set in WW2 Vienna. Harrowing. Gnarly. Friends said, you need to slow down. I felt like a 19th century consumptive madly creating before The White Plague caught up to me. But damn, it's good.

Tui Allen - It's definitely not a race. Everyone writes at their own speed, and books develop as they are supposed to. I never intended to write a book in 4 days; it poured out of me. The first "competition" to motivate my friend was the only way to get him to start, haha. And I didn't write any of my books for a paycheck.

Samantha Rivera - The four-day book was actually my self-help book, Powerless to Powerful: How to Stop Living in Fear and Start Living Your Life.

It wasn't a novella—it was a full-length book inspired by six books that quite literally saved my life. I found them at a time when I had lost almost everything, was raising two children on my own, struggling financially, and trying to find my way through a severe depression. I wrote about the lessons, perspectives, and insights that helped me move from fear, uncertainty, and self-doubt to greater clarity, confidence, and peace.

People often tell me it feels like a user guide for life because it teaches skills most of us were never taught—how to understand ourselves and others, communicate better, navigate relationships, and make choices from a place of confidence rather than fear.

That's impressive Francisco Castro! Is it published?

That is awesome Kelly Neff!!

Unfortunately, no, Kat Spencer. I had to turn down a few indie publishers who wanted to publish my book, but wanted Film/TV rights. The indie publishers had never produced any Film or TV projects. They would not negotiate so I had to walk away.

30 days. NaNoWriMo winner

I took a year to write the first draft or my first novel, Ripple. Another year under guidance of a post-grad literary course to write the second draft, and another year to write the third draft after paying a reputable literary assessor for pro-level critiquing. I then got critiques from a marine biologist, a teenager and a psychiatry professional, before I was happy to publish. The book did well, was translated for sale in Europe and I am now adapting if for animated film, at the request of my agent in the UK. To help with the adaptation I did a Stage 32 screenwriting course tutored by Evan Anglin.

Carol M. Salter, what is a NaNoWriMo Winner? I know a little about NaNoWriMo, where you try to write a book in a month but I did not know it was a contest you could win.

I've been blathering on about how LONG it takes me to write my novels, in contrast to everyone else talking about how quickly they write a book. But now I notice (belatedly) that Kat Spencer did not ask us about novels. She just said "book."

That reminded me that I have written several books in less than one hour that were later published internationally and some in translation. One of those books was just 33 words long. These books were in the genre known in this country as "Emergent Readers" designed for use in classrooms for 5 yr olds taking their first steps in reading. But they are each separate complete paperback books.

Writing the first draft is only the beginning. As a book editor, I've found that careful editing is where a good manuscript evolves into a compelling story readers won't forget.

Francisco Castro - Good to listen to your gut. But walking away from one doesn't mean stopping. Any plans to publish somehow, even if you do it yourself?

Tui Allen Very cool that your work is getting so much reach!

I'm considering the self-publishing route. Thanks, Kat Spencer!

It took me nearly two decades to write all of my books, which is one reason they span so many different genres. Writing was something I pursued part-time—between classes, work, COVID, and summer vacations with family. Over the years, I kept returning to the stories whenever life allowed. Now, I have reached a point where I can fully devote my time to writing novels and screenplays.

Kat Spencer, I live is such a tiny country, selling internationally isn't really saying much. In America, your home market is so huge there must be hardly any motivation to reach other countries. Besides all my recent stories are aimed at spreading the kind of marine awareness that already exists in this little country sitting in the middle of an ocean that covers half the globe. It's the rest of the world who needs to learn what most of us here know already, almost by birthright. Although those of us, even living here, who can profit from ignoring what they know, don't hesitate to do so.

Francisco Castro - Awesome! If you need any help, let me know. I know it well.