The 500-word rule

I’m on a roll. Actually it’s more of a flop. But at least that’s something.

Having spent much of the summer trying to plot out the essentials of the second book in my as-yet-unnamed trilogy I’ve finally decided to stop prevaricating and to get on and write the bloody thing.

Which brings me to this: the 500-word rule.

The first rule about the 500-word rule is that it isn’t actually a rule. Largely this is because, when it comes to writing, there aren’t any. Or at least any that you need to take seriously.

The second rule about the 500-word rule is that you – well, me anyway – need to do it every day, even though you don’t (see part #1).

Because, according to my estimation, if I pen 500 words a day – even if they’re not always necessarily good ones – then I can reach my rough-guide target of around 60,000 words, which, coincidentally, is the sort of length I’m aiming for in terms of book size – in 120 days. Add another couple of months for sorting out the trash, re-writing scrappy bits and general jiggery-pokery, and that should mean that I reach my first draft proper in around six months.

Then I can put that draft in the freezer for six months while I get on to writing book #3!