Unless something special is planned, I write at least a couple of thousand words for my books every day. This is in addition to paid ghostwriting, blogging, emails, and promotion. The idea is to always make progress on the next book, as that’s important to maintain momentum and build up a following. For more, see The Productive Writer.
Three days a week, I set aside most other activities and write 10,000 words toward completing a book. It takes dedication, willpower, and resistance to temptation, especially from the internet, to be able to do this. There’s always something else that seems more fun, and the excuse of “writer’s block” is constantly available. However, regardless of distractions and excuses, it’s possible to write that many words in a single, eight-hour day.
Can you write 10,000 words in a day? Some people set their goal at 1,000 words a day, some at 750, and others at 200. The important thing is to set a goal and meet that goal every single day. I wrote an entire book on building a writing career around this kind of discipline: Make a Living as a Professional Self-Published Author.
Set a Goal the Night Before
Setting goals is important, and before I go to bed for the evening I jot down my goals for the next day. Some of these are business related (finish a proposal), others have to do with writing (proofread six chapters of new book), and some are personal. Once I’m done with the list, and I have to be careful to keep it achievable, I put a number beside each one indicating priority, from 1 (must complete) to 4 (optional). This tells me what I need to work on first. For more, see writing motivation with adhd and the hidden cost of weasel words.
It’s important not to stress out too much if the goals aren’t met. They’re intended as a guideline, not a straitjacket. Setting goals adds focus to the day and helps prevent distractions that don’t align with my longer-term objectives.
Eliminate Distractions
Heard elsewhere
Producing at this volume depends on sleep, health and environment more than on technique, and Richard has described treating writing as a profession instead of an inspiration on The Biblio Files.
Distractions are the bane of anyone who works from home. There’s always something else to do, something to look at, or someone to talk with. Simple phone conversations can chew up hours out of a day, answering emails a couple hours more, and playing on social media ties up even more time. If not controlled, these unproductive activities can easily consume the good portion of a day.
To write 10,000 words in a single, eight-hour day, you have to eliminate and ignore distractions.
- Create a workspace in your home and make it clear to everyone in the household that when you’re in that space, you’re not to be interrupted except for urgent, life-threatening emergencies. You’ll have to enforce this to make it work, and sometimes others won’t be happy with you for not giving them attention. Nonetheless, to achieve your goal you must enforce your limit and space.
- Turn off the cell phone and other distractions. Don’t just put it on vibrate, because you’ll still know when it’s ringing. Either turn it off or put it in another room, far away from you.
- Ignore the temptations of the internet. Sure, I know how much fun it’s to “just look at the news for a minute” or “scan Facebook,” but don’t do it. They can drag you away from your goal for minutes or even hours.
- Don’t answer emails, social media, and other messages. During your productive time, make an effort to ignore all emails and other messaging. Believe it or not, you lose hours each day just reviewing, answering, and getting caught up in related activities.
- Eliminate any other distractions. As you identify other things that cause you to deviate from your writing, tune them out or turn them off.
Write in Chunks
I’ve found it’s best to divide up my writing day into smaller chunks of time. This allows me to schedule short breaks for stretching, snacking, answering email, and so on. I set a timer for 45 minutes and write for that length of time. When the timer goes off, I reset it for 15 minutes, the length of the break. This seems to work very well and vastly increases my productivity. It also gives me a chance to stretch and get on the exercise bike for a few minutes, which is better for the back and the body.
Eight hours of writing in 45-minute blocks gives you about six solid writing hours. At a moderate pace, that’s more than enough to hit 10,000 words.
Don’t Edit as You Write
You’ll never be able to write 10,000 words a day if you attempt to multitask editing and writing. When you write, just write. Don’t go back and change words, delete sentences, and restructure things. Save that for another day. You’ll find that by just writing all in one shot, you’ll get far more done. Then you can edit the manuscript at once, with a clearer picture of where you’re going with it all.
This is the single biggest productivity killer I see in the writers I coach. They write a paragraph, reread it, change three words, reread it again, delete a sentence, and wonder why they only produced 500 words in four hours. First drafts are supposed to be rough. That’s what revision is for.
Does Dictation Software Help You Write Faster?
Dictation software has allowed me to improve the speed of my writing by over three times. It’s far faster to speak than it is to type, at least for most people. For some, dictating their works to the computer works wonders, and for others it’s a meaningless distraction.
I use dictation for most of my first-draft work. The cleanup takes time, but the net output is dramatically higher than typing. If you haven’t tried it, give it a serious test for a full week before deciding it’s not for you.
Reward Yourself
Once you’ve successfully completed your goal to write 10,000 words in a day, reward yourself. You’ve done well, and you deserve to be rewarded for your efforts. I’m a fan of a good movie or a few episodes of something I’ve been saving. The reward doesn’t need to be expensive. It just needs to be something you enjoy that’s separate from work.
The point is to build a positive association with hitting your targets. Your brain remembers what gets rewarded, and over time the habit becomes easier to maintain.
For a complete system covering writing schedules, AI-assisted workflows, block management, and sustainable productivity, see the AI-Enhanced Writer’s Productivity Handbook.
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