I'm trying to write a book by August 1st.

I'm in a weird place where for the next three weeks I don't really have any obligations to distract me. I always come up with good reasons for why I should put things off, but right now I'm at a loss. I can't find any reason for why I shouldn't write this novel and I know if I don't write it quickly I probably won't. I have 1200 words done from before and I want the total to come in around 120k. The story is a time travel story, so hopefully it doesn't get too confusing.

Anyway, I'm going to do 5,000 words a day...about half the pace I'd write my college papers at. That might sound lazy but the thing is my college papers weren't the most coherent even if the grades didn't always reflect that. Going slower is necessary. I know that 5k x 22 doesn't quite add to 120k but I figure if I'm really close to finishing I'll be able to put in a couple of days at the end where I do more. Now, I'm not really going to be editing during this period beyond obvious things.

That means I'm going for a first draft by August 1st. I could see editing taking a couple of weeks but for now I'll focus only on the initial writing. I'll try to update this every day.

 

I'm rooting for you!

But if you don't finish just adjust your goal.

 

Divide your needed amount of words by the number of days you have, then try to get there each day. Do it as much as you can, and see how far you get.

If your goal is to get 120k done, and you fall short and hit 100k, then you still did fantastic.