Novel How long does it take you (on average) to write a book?

I'm working on my first novel. I'm still on the first draft and it's taken me over a year so far. But, I don't get to write as often as I'd like.

 

Finally finished a first draft of a full novel manuscript this year. Took 150 hours of actual typing time over 5 months (not including the time spent developing it in my head). But I've been thinking about the story since 1993, so. It's impossible for me to accurately gauge how long any book will take.

 

Michael Moorcock wrote some of his most popular novels in more like six days (I think he said three to ten, but don't remember exactly).

But I'm quite some way from that myself. I wrote something like 30,000 words of Horror Movie in a week, but I'm still finishing the first complete draft three years later.

 

How can size be irrelevant? Admittedly if you want a general response to 'how long does it take to write fiction or non-fiction?' there can be no right answer because it is entirely subjective to that writer.
So given that my response is entirely subjective then size is relevant to me because it depends on how quick it takes for me to write a short piece with few characters to a longer piece with many characters. So subjectively, size is wholly relevant.

The OP didn't ask about quality. But then personally I don't go out of my way to write substandard stories. For the time it takes to write, and with all that competition out there, who would?

 

It also depends on how much time you spend writing. As in a previous thread (from @Garball) some of us don't have much time to write. I'm lucky - I have 10 hours a week dedicated writing time which is almost never used for anything else but writing (that includes social media and being on this forum - writing time is ring-fenced!). I have friend who takes several years to write a 120k word book but spends only a dozen hours or so a month actually sat down to write because of his shifts and hours spent on researching (which can be a killer for creativity).

 

...oh, about a lifetime, give or take

 

The first draft was about a year, but the editing continues. Every time I reread it I find thousands of new things wrong, but I comfort myself by thinking I must be improving if the mistakes are so clear.

 

For me it depends on a lot of variables: work, family obligations, etc... I started my current MS in July of 2013 and I only have in the neighborhood of three chapters written. Currently, I haven't touched it since mid-April due to long work hours and exhaustion from said job.

 

I have written 3 but they are absolute rubbish and everyone laughs at them, maybe about a year each on a part time basis

 

I LOVE love love that quote!!!

 

I can't actually put time aside to write as so many things seem to pop up to hinder me so I have to write when I can and also when my mind has brewed the bit I'm working on.

Saying that, my first fiction took me around nine months to write but had been in my head for 25 years) and two months to revise/check/edit/proof with the help of proofers/readers etc.

The one I'm currently working on has been on the go for 11 months and I am about 2/3rds way through but the hardest part is yet to come and that's the part where I sit and join all the pieces together.

I don't think there's any particular timescale for a writer. Obviously if you have more time to write it will be done quicker that if you have limited time to write. I guess it also depends on the amount of research that you need to do - especially if you have to wait for anyone to return your messages/queries (talking governments etc there - most do have departments that are there specifically to help writers/film makers etc).

Good Luck! x

 

My touch typing skills have increased ten-fold too. I was a pretty good typist to start with ... What makes me giggle now is the fact that my lappy is only 6 month old and already has shiny keys from overuse!

 

Three to four weeks for the 1st draft. After that it can take up to a year to get through the second and middle drafts. It's never final until an editor gets ahold of it.

 

Hah, yes, mine too. Many of my keys are missing letters now. Not so bad when typing stories, as keystrokes are usually instinctive, but oddly putting passwords in is trickier (I've been locked out of my computer more times than I would care for!).

 

But someone who invests years into a single novel isn't guaranteed to write a masterpiece either. The time it takes to write a novel has no correlation to the quality. It's like anything else with writing - what works for one...

Oh, and we shouldn't assume that "genius" and "entertaining" are mutually exclusive

 

Luckily, I made sure this laptop has the letters in the top left corner of the keys. I guess they will rub off eventually!

As I wear earbuds to listen to music while I type, I now also get told off pretty regular by the hubby for banging too hard on the keys! It's now become a standing joke "Oh, are you banging away tonight, love?"

 

I'm currently back at work on a book which went from Chapters One through Nine in about four weeks, and then stopped in it's tracks when I did a house sit over the winter. I thought I would easily wrap up the first draft over those months in that comfy house but it seems my muse likes the solitude of my cabin in the woods.

My hope is to finish the first draft by end of October, and then visit the story's location to fine tune some historically relevant data. I'd LIKE to be able to submit to publisher by year's end.... So, if that does happen, about 18 months from inception to submission, with a six month hiatus. It's my first book, so who knows what will happen.

 

Now that I'm more disciplined, I've been able to knock out a first draft in about 3-6 months (usually closer to 5). Revisions are still ongoing, however...partially because I do a draft of each work before doing the next draft, and partially because I don't know when to say enough is enough.

 

I haven't finished one yet. My wild guess would be that a range of three months to fifteen years would encompass the vast majority of novels.

 

Three months was my shortest time, and it was only 25,000 words. Thankfully no writer's block, so that helped.

 

However long it takes