Pressure to Produce

Deadlines. I don't have one yet, except for the screaming voice inside my head that yells from time to time, "Hey! Pump out another manuscript, you slacker!"

Knee-jerk reaction A): Hmm, wonder how little I can get away with to slap out another story.

Then there's the soothing whisper that I hear the rest of the time. "Take your time. Be the best you can be. Anything worth doing is worth doing well."

Knee-jerk reaction B): Huh, wonder how much more I can do?

Which reaction is correct? More virtuous? The reaction that best-selling authors would choose?

I'm going to go with C...both. Tipping the scale to either side will result in one of 2 things: fast bad writing or slow good writing. Let's take a peek at both.

Fast Bad Writing

Besides the obvious horrendously constructed sentences, what makes writing go to the bad place? Shallow characters. Predictable plots. Prose that doesn't make me sit up and beg for more. Yes, you can probably finish two, three, even four manuscripts a year if your only goal is to rack up words to a certain count, but don't count on anyone wanting to read those words.

Slow Good Writing

If your goal in life is to write one--and one only--fantastic piece of literature (think Harper Lee), then this style is for you. Most writers I know, however, have several stories floating inside their cartoon bubble. They want to sign more than one contract in their lifetime. Truth is, we live in a fast paced society. If you put out a book only once every five years, chances are your loyal followers are going to tag after someone else who keeps their name in front of their faces.

So as I've said, C...both...is the winning answer. Balance is always key. The goal as a writer in today's market is to write fast enough to keep your name out there and well enough to stand out as a 'must-read' author.