So I’m on my second day of implementing the Hocking Principle. There are two parts to the principle I’ve uncovered so far: 1. Write like a machine. 2. Publish multiple books one right after the other.
Since 2. is utterly dependent on 1., I have been working hard at writing like a machine the past two days. Yesterday, I managed to pump out about 3500 words on The Elixir of Life. So far today, I’ve pushed out about 4K words on Patriots and Tyrants.
I’m aiming for 10K words a day. Yes, that would be a completed book in a week and a couple days. I know. It’s wicked hard, but I’d rather shoot for 10K and only reach 5K, than shoot for 5K and only reach 1K.
There’s been a lot of discussion over at ChristianWriters about whether or not producing such quantity reduces the quality. I don’t think it necessarily does. Of course, I’ve only been at it two days, but I don’t want to just assume that quality and quantity exist in tension with one another. It’s a false dichotomy. In fact, it may be just the opposite, for the simple reason that writing more instantly gives you more experience. True, you have to learn the ground rules of writing, and submit yourself to critique so you can refine your senses of what works and what doesn’t, but that’s what editing is for.
Someone cautioned me against burn out. Right now, I’m more in danger of a cop out than I am of burn out, but we’ll see how I’m doing in a week.
In the meantime, I’ve signed up on Twitter @AuthorMichaeJS , and I’m still trying to figure out how to get my profile picture uploaded. I’m gonna kick out some household chores now, and then knuckle down on more Patriots and Tyrants.
I hadnt heard of “The Hocking Principle,” but this sounds like Fast Drafting to me. Fast Drafting just boils down to roughly 5,000 words a day for a 2 week/70,000 word completed novel. I’ve done that before, and I loved it. Hope it went well for you.