Finding Your Pace When Writing

In many of life’s major, endurance-related endeavors, pacing is the difference between success and burnout, achievement and frustration.

Start a marathon at a sprint, and you may enjoy an early lead but run out of steam halfway through. Start too slowly, and everyone may have gone home by the time you reach the finish line.

Writing a book is like running a marathon. Finding the right pace is key.

In my experience, a book project requires a more than one speed. I often switch between three general speeds in the course of one project:

1. Slow background work: Idea collection, research, consideration
2. Active work: Researching, note taking, early drafting, as well as revision and self-editing
3. Intense immersion: Serious drafting as the major focus of my work; revision often entails immersion

Authors often talk about the immersion part of the process, sharing stories of their sacrifices. This is the phase that that scares many writers from writing a book. So, let’s tackle what’s going on in immersion and how to make it less painful.

Immersing yourself in your writing