Sometimes things just aren’t going as fast as you’d like them too. Perhaps you’ve been stuck in a 200 words per day rut. Sometimes life has just gotten on top of you and you haven’t been able to write.

You’re behind schedule and wondering about throwing it all in and taking up collecting shoehorns. Don’t do it! Once you start down the path of collecting shoehorns forever will they dominate your destiny.

Ahem.

Don’t do it. What you need is a 10,000 word say. They won’t be good. You’ll emerge from your writing study like you’ve crawled from the mouth of hell.

10,000 words, if you don’t sweat quality, will take you anywhere between five and eight hours. You’ll have to prepare in advance. The big thing is that you not be interrupted. Getting this done at all is a feat in and of itself. If you can secure a house to yourself for an entire day then that’s ideal, otherwise you might have to secure a comfy seat at the local library.

You’ll need food. Specifically coffee, in large quantity and high quality. If you’re going to write 10,000 words in one day, coffee is a food group. I would suggest you eat healthy, but we both know I’m not fooling anyone there. Try to get some protein in at regular intervals so you don’t collapse into a carb induced coma around 2pm.

You can stop to pee, eat and stretch. Or if your house is on fire.

Otherwise don’t stop.

The quality IS going to be poor, so you will need a ruthless edit once your story is finished, but resist the urge to go back and edit it now. Once you get into the flow of ideas you’ll be amazed at the good stuff you can write even in your fifth hour.

A final note, the day afterwards, write just 400 words or so and then take the rest of the day off. Soothe your poor battered brain.

Time’s ticking, get to it!