Write a Book Every 3 Weeks At least…You Could If You Wanted To.

Write a Book Every 3 Weeks At least…You Could If You Wanted To.

A book every 3 weeks. At least a short one (180 pages).

It can be done!

Most Christian writers I know feel called by God to write.

Many of them aren’t doing it, which causes a ton of pain and even shame. As I’ve taught people to write, I’ve noticed that only half the battle is learning to write well. The other half is overcoming the inertia of not writing.

I think a lot of the blocks to sitting down and writing come from the feeling that we have to write a 40-volume encyclopedia, and the task seems so huge, we’ll never get it done.

But that’s just not true.

A while back, I set a goal to write 3,000 words per day for my clients. This ensures I can make enough to support my family while writing my own material and planting a church.

Then I realized I was writing the equivalent of a book every 3 weeks—around 45,000 words.

The truth is, I spend several months on a book because the time-consuming part is ruminating. I can write 3,000 words a day because I toggle between projects, which keeps me in writing flow longer than if I were focused on just one.

So here are two points based on this realization:

1. You can write a draft much faster than you think.
2. You should consider taking on two big writing projects at once.

Let me break these down.

You can write a draft much faster than you think if you commit to a word count goal. It’s not glamorous, and some days your writing will be bad, but that’s what editing is for. Writing something bad is still better than writing nothing.

I can write 3,000 words in 90 minutes to 2 hours. What could you do if you sat down and wrote for an hour? If you’re serious about writing, carve out that time. Even starting with 20 minutes can have a huge impact over time.

You should consider taking on two big writing projects at once. My cousin, the valedictorian of his class, studied every night by toggling between subjects. The novelty kept him interested. Try the same with writing: tackle a novel and a nonfiction book, or a book and a newsletter and write both each day.

I want you to believe in what’s possible, because that’s the first step toward achieving your writing goals.