Secrets to Becoming Prolific

[Philip Overby]

I was browsing around, wanting to become more prolific as of late (that is, not just working on one thing or one genre), and I found this article that I think gives some pretty good tips.

12 Secrets To Being A Super-Prolific Short-Story Writer

I also have recently decided to do a 52 Week Short Story challenge, partially inspired by SpoonyBardon who posted something similar in the Word Warriors thread.

What does this mean?

This means I'm going to write a short story a week for a whole year. For me, this means anywhere from 100 word flash fiction to 10,000 word story. Also partially inspired by another blog post (who was inspired by Ray Bradbury), a writer said a good technique is to write a story then submit it to your number 1 most desirable market. Then wait for a response and once it's accepted/rejected then go to the number 2 market and keep working your way down. By the end of the year, you may have 52 rejected short stories, but at least you've improved your craft by constantly working on it. By staying in a cycle of writing/submitting/re-submitting/writing/submitting/re-submitting, you are keeping yourself moving at least.

Now some people may say, "What's the point if I'm not writing anything good? I have to make the best first impression on markets the first go around."

Well, to that I say, "Pfft."

Anyway, 52 stories may be too much, but I'm going to give it a go. I've done one so far and I'm on my first week.

I'll also be documenting this at my blog, where there is a link below in my signature.

Any thoughts on being prolific vs. non-prolific? If you don't write and submit much, what is your reason?

 

[Feo Takahari]

I take a lot of pride in putting every word in the right place, so I feel a little embarrassed if I churn out a story quickly--I know I'll look back on it later and see easy improvements. Still, I'm beginning to think I'm hitting a point of diminishing returns, so I'm experimenting in writing quicker. (In the Cosmic Waiting Room, a story I wrote as a breather from Growing Strange and Different, is complete after only two days of work.)

 

[Philip Overby]

I think it's also important to make sure I'm not just churning out crap, but Ray Bradbury was probably one of the most prolific short story writers ever and he is considered one of the greatest writers of all time. I think being able to speed up your process in whatever way you can helps make writers more efficient. I tend to write a short story, let it sit for a day, then I edit, proofread, etc. I probably only spend about a week in general on polishing up a short story in any case.

I think if I attempt to be more prolific in this artificial way (challenging myself instead of just doing it naturally) then I think eventually the habits will come naturally and I'll be able to write quicker and stronger. As most writers say, you have to write to building up your "writing muscle." It's training like anything else. If writing a story a week is just a training exercise for me, then that's good enough. If I get some publishing credits out of it, then all the better.

 

[Devora]

I'd probably be able to write a lot of short stories if i was able to focus.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

Ray Bradbury believed that quantity produced quality. Stephen King believes that old model (writing shorts to gain credits so that you can eventually write an accepted novel) is outdated. He would advise you to write novels if you want to learn to write novels.
I'm not Ray Bradbury or Stephen King...both who are considered prolific. However, I'd say your goal is commendable. Regardless of the outcome, your writing will improve with that much time dedicated to the craft.
I wish you the best of luck. Please keep us posted on your progress.

P.S. Bradbury also believed he had to gorge himself on books, poetry, films...anything and everything to be able to maintain a stream of fresh ideas. That will be a challenge for you. Have you thought about how you will maintain a steady stream of ideas?

 

[Philip Overby]

Ray Bradbury believed that quantity produced quality. Stephen King believes that old model (writing shorts to gain credits so that you can eventually write an accepted novel) is outdated. He would advise you to write novels if you want to learn to write novels.

As far as using short stories as credits to cut your teeth before writing novels, I think in today's age being active on social networks probably helps more. So in some ways, I agree the "writing short stories to become a novelist" method may be outdated. However, there are plenty of writers who still write stories and novels--Stephen King amongst them-- and do fine. I don't see myself as wanting to be a novel writer or short story writer, but more like just a writer. I want to see where the path takes me. One great thing about being a writer is that you can be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none if you want (although I'd love to be a master of something. )

P.S. Bradbury also believed he had to gorge himself on books, poetry, films...anything and everything to be able to maintain a stream of fresh ideas. That will be a challenge for you. Have you thought about how you will maintain a steady stream of ideas?

I think my best bet about maintaining ideas is something I'm already doing. Taken from Brandon Sanderson's series of lectures, I've made a file titled "Cool Stuff" which is full of ideas for anything. These include random thoughts I've had, articles on science, politics, history, whatever. I read a lot as well as watch lots of movies, so sometimes I get a kernel of an idea from those that can steamroll into something bigger.

One thing that sometimes helps me is to just Google something like "writer prompts." Sometimes a small prompt is enough to get me thinking about something.

I'm also of the philosophy that it's impossible to run out of ideas. To me a person that runs out of ideas should probably go outside once in a while. Most of my ideas just come from walking around and looking at stuff. They almost never come from just staring a computer screen.

That isn't to say that I'm going to figure out how to make myself more prolific from doing this, but I think it'll definitely help, regardless if I reach my goal or not (which I hope I do.)

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I don't see myself as wanting to be a novel writer or short story writer, but more like just a writer. I want to see where the path takes me. One great thing about being a writer is that you can be a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none if you want (although I'd love to be a master of something. )

Agreed... I think this is a great view to have when approaching a goal like this.

I think my best bet about maintaining ideas is something I'm already doing. Taken from Brandon Sanderson's series of lectures, I've made a file titled "Cool Stuff" which is full of ideas for anything. These include random thoughts I've had, articles on science, politics, history, whatever. I read a lot as well as watch lots of movies, so sometimes I get a kernel of an idea from those that can steamroll into something bigger.

I concur here as well. I have been doing this for a long time...notebooks full of unused ideas and creative sparks. That's going to help a ton with a project of this magnitude.

I'm also of the philosophy that it's impossible to run out of ideas. To me a person that runs out of ideas should probably go outside once in a while. Most of my ideas just come from walking around and looking at stuff. They almost never come from just staring a computer screen.

I don't disagree with you here either. After all, I am a firm believer in the idea that ideas are cheap. That being said, I've never taken on a project like this. I'm very interested if your views will change during the course of this project.

That isn't to say that I'm going to figure out how to make myself more prolific from doing this, but I think it'll definitely help, regardless if I reach my goal or not (which I hope I do.)

You'll certainly get some positive movement out of effort like this... Again, I wish you well...please keep us informed on your progress.

 

[Chilari]

I like the idea of trying to write a short story a week. It's a good way to force yourself to write, and if they're all set in the same world it's a way to build up knowledge of a world without the boring hard slog worldbuilding. Plus it gives you something to write that can be anything, giving a break from whatever the "main" project is. I might give it a try myself.

I don't think that short story writing is obsolete in the current fiction climate. I think it's more relevant than ever. Now you don't have to persuade a traditional publisher to take up your work if you want to get published, you can go self-publishing - but you still have to persuade a reader that you're worth their time. A free short to promote a longer work is a great way to give readers the chance to "try before they buy" without leaving them with something that doesn't standalone, like the first chapter of a story. Actually that's what I did when I first started reading Michael Sullivans's stuff - I read his free short first, enjoyed it, then bought Theft of Swords. I think that could well be a model by which readers chose what to invest not only their money but also their time in.

And if it comes to it, you can always pick a bunch of shorts and publish them in a collection.

 

[Philip Overby]

I also think the "free short" idea is a really good one. I've thought of using that technique also when/if I get one of my novels out there. I think it's a great way for a reader to see if they like the author and are interested in the world they are trying to present without buying the whole novel. Of course with Kindle and the like offering free samples, that can solve the "I don't know what I'm getting" issue, but not everyone has those.

Glad you're interested in trying as well, Chilari. If you want, it would be great to keep progress reports going so we can encourage each other.

Once again, I have to give all credit to SpoonyBardon who is already doing something similar and got me excited about the idea myself.

 

[JBryden88]

For me, short stories are more about getting into the mindset. Since I'm writing in a big fantasy world I've crafted, I'm using short stories to slowly get myself back into the mindset to get ready and work on my badly needing to be rewritten and revised novel. It helps that I can self publish on kindle, get support from friends/family, and even promote the hell out of it in the circles I hang out in -> I'd much rather that then sit on it for years waiting for someone to publish it. To start with anyway.

 

[Penpilot]

After I finish editing my novel and before I start the next, I was planning on doing something similar. Not a story a week but 10 in a month. Besides working on my craft, the goal is to get down a bunch of ideas I've had floating around and get them circulating to magazines. But after reading this article, I may expand that to writing a short story a month in addition to writing my next novel.

 

[Ghost]

The "12 Secrets To Being A Super-Prolific Short-Story Writer" were pretty good. Most of those made sense to me because they were conclusions I'd come to on my own. Risk-taking is my favorite, especially if the plan is to grow as a writer. Even if you fail, you'll learn something from it. I haven't done 12, Write for different markets, but it sounds like an interesting exercise.

Number 5, Don't be afraid to stare at the blank screen for a few hours, is the only one I hadn't thought about. When I sit to write and the flow isn't there, I get anxious and quit. Maybe it would be better to sit through it even if nothing happens. There are worse ways to waste time.

If you don't write and submit much, what is your reason?

I tried the story-a-week thing and it didn't work out. So this year, I decided one story every two weeks might be better. The 0/26 in my signature shows how far I got with that. Laziness seemed like the culprit until I realized I've been depressed for a while.

I have a file of 70+ concepts waiting to be written. (That's after thoroughly weeding out bad/boring/half-baked ones.) When I'm in a better frame of mind, I'd like to try again.

Whether an author is prolific or not doesn't matter much to me. Myself, I'd love to be able to write a book every year or two on top of short stories, songs, poems, etc.

 

[Philip Overby]

I'm coming along pretty well with the ideas suggested in this article so far. I have written two stories in two weeks and I am working on a third now. I also have three other stories in progress that I'm working on as well. Prompts help me a lot, but I don't always rely on them. I think anything that can get your brain sparking is good for writing period. Sometimes being in a bad frame of mind gives you some of the best writing. Also, I do recommend trying your hand at something out of your comfort zone. When writing in a genre or style you don't usually write it, it can open up new ideas and maybe lead to something really good.

 

[BrianRathbone]

For me, the key to increasing my writing output while maintaining quality, has been time management. I used to write a little here and a little there but my writing was disjointed and stifled. I started writing on weekends, and my writing was much better, but I was exhausted. Eventually, I was able to get a 4-day work week, which gave me 2 writing days and a day off. I'm fortunate to have 4 days a week now to devote writing and editing. I've been far more productive and have produced higher quality work by setting aside entire days for writing instead of just a few hours every day.

Best wishes on your writing!
Brian