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Quantity vs. Quality

3/7/2015

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I’m bothered by the number of people who write in obsessed with the number of pages or words they write daily. One wanted to know how many pages successful authors wrote daily. Another wrote in claiming to have written some thousands of words in a day wanting to know if that was a good number.
I’m working on my 4th novel since starting at age 82 and find I sometimes take a full day to write one paragraph. To set the right tone, to communicate exactly what I want my character to communicate, to find exactly the right word, to make sure everyone is in character takes time.
Add to that the fact that as your story develops you often have to go back dozens upon dozens of pages and make story adjustments to justify what happens today. (If on page 13 your character said he hated tuna sandwiches you can’t have him order and savor one on page 113)
And what about research?
To be successful in writing and finishing a novel goals and quotas are important. But they should be subservient to accuracy and quality.
I guess my message is, don’t be discouraged if you can’t write thousands of words daily. In the long run, quality is better than quantity. I’m not quite sure how it happened but my first novel took 4 years to complete and received an award from the Indie Excellence Competition. Wow!
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    Richard L. Wren

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    IN HIS NEW CAREER AS AN AUTHOR, RICHARD DESCRIBES HIMSELF AS TALL, DARK, HANDSOME AND A LIAR. A FOURTH GENERATION CALIFORNIAN, A SAILOR, FATHER OF FOUR BEAUTIFUL AND SUPPORTIVE DAUGHTERS, AND HUSBAND TO ONE OF THE BEST WIVES OF ALL TIME. [MORE]

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  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • Casey's Slip
    • Murder Made Legal
    • Joshua's Revenge
    • Justice for Joshua
    • Self-Publishing...
  • WrenSense Blog
  • Wits End
  • Videos
  • Contact