Can You Produce Like the Prolific Pros?
By Melinda Rucker Haynes
Copyright 2005, All Rights Reserved
Imagine that you can finally finish the book and produce several more a year like the Prolific Pros and still
have a life--maybe even a much better one.
Perhaps you've wondered how prolific writers actually find the time and the motivation to write so many books?
Do they possess something you don't such as an iron will to succeed? Do they produce via a rigid production
process? Do they have help with the house, the kids, and the DH? Do they write because they're obligated by
contract or motivated by personal and professional goals? Yes and no.
To improve your production, you first have to observe what you are doing that is working, helping you achieve
your writing goals. You also must know what isn't working. Then, as you evaluate others' experiences and processes,
you can better decide what from their processes could be adapted to help you improve your production.
Production Secrets of the Prolific Pros Survey
Everyone wants to know how prolific writers overcome their creative blocks, aka life, and write. I devised a
survey of production processes and am continually cajoling writers to share their methods. The survey contains
questions about time management, individual writing processes, story and production planning, self-motivation
and care of the innerwriter.
How the Prolific Pros Produce
The following is a very small sampling of six Prolific Pro processes regarding setting production goals, planning
and tracking production and story planning methods:
- Set a production goal
Marthe Arends, w/a Katie MacAlister/Maxwell, has "herds" of paranormal, YA, historical and contemporary romances
coming out in the next few years. She sets a minimum daily word count that she has to achieve before she can quit
writing and read e-mail, play online, or chat with friends.
Ruth Glick w/a Rebecca York isn't exactly sure how many romantic suspense and paranormal books she's to deliver in
the next few months. She tries to write ten pages a day and advises that the best way to be very productive is to
WRITE.
Jane Porter tries to write four contemporary romances a year and thinks she may have somewhere between 9-12 books to
produce in the next couple of years. She spends approximately two and a half months writing, takes two weeks off and
back to writing again.
Pat Pritchard has contracted to produce a novella and a single title historical in 2004, in addition to her teaching
job. When writing a book, she sets a weekly page goal and tries to write at the same time everyday, editing in the
morning before work and writes "new" after dinner.
Cathy Yardley has four Blaze and Red Dress books due in the next year. She isn't a "write everyday" person and says
that at her most prolific she can write up to 50 pages a day, sometimes more and is figuring out how she can dig in
and write everyday.
- Plan and track production
Marthe Arends, w/a Katie MacAlister/Maxwell uses a spreadsheet to track deadlines and which book must be worked on
next. She also tracks when edits and galleys are expected or when a new book is coming out so that she can budget
time to promote and answer fan mail. Marthe sells on proposal and by the time the editor reads the proposal, she's
finished the book.
Ruth Glick w/a Rebecca York says that she doesn't have a formal production schedule. "I just keep track of my
deadlines, then chug along making sure I meet them." Ruth also works on more than one book at time and may write
100 pages on one then switch to another or outline a different book. She believes that working on several projects
increases her productivity.
Jane Porter generally keeps to a schedule but feels that the quality and quantity of the writing varies. She says
that she works "however I need to work for a particular book."
Pat Pritchard graphs her pages/weeks' production as a visual reminder that she's making steady progress. She says
that by making weekly production goals she can work around the days when life interferes with her writing time.
Cathy Yardley has a daily routine, but doesn't use a particular planning system. She does track annual commitments,
speaking engagements, deadlines, and promotions on a calendar.
- Story planning, plotting, outlines and character sketches
Marthe Arends, w/a Katie MacAlister/Maxwell doesn't do character sketches or interviews. She used to work from a
detailed synopsis, but now plots less and less, though she does still write a one page synopsis with a "bare
framework of the story." Though Marthe feels it may be beneficial to have a plot outline which might increase
productivity, she thinks, for her process, the time spent on creating an outline is better spent on writing the
actual book.
Ruth Glick w/a Rebecca York uses the terms synopsis and outline interchangeably and feels that outlining produces
a better book. Depending on the size of the book, her outline may be from ten to thirty pages and she breaks the
outline down into chapters. Ruth believes outlining saves her time as it's "much easier to fix a fifteen-to-thirty
page outline than it is to fix a 300-400 page manuscript.
Jane Porter lets the characters live in her head, then brings their stories to life. She doesn't outline and finds
that she's plotting less and less. She writes "via discovery." She stays immersed in the characters, focusing on
conflict and lets the plot and conflict stem from character goals and motivation.
Pat Pritchard creates very brief character sketches and does not write detailed story plots prior to writing the
book. She says, at most, she has a six page synopsis that she works from. Pat writes linearly, editing as she goes
and when she's done, she's done. Her final revisions are usually word choices and straightening out awkward sentences.
Cathy Yardley calls herself a compulsive plotter and believes that character sketches are crucial to understanding
the book. She says that her novels are character driven, though "they may morph when you're writing the rough, but
overall, if you don't know the characters well, then you can't know why they've got the goals that they have . . . If
you don't know their goals, then you don't have clear plot points." She also does a comprehensive scene outline for
every scene in the book before she writes the draft and believes that her planning process definitely saves her time.
Realistic Expectations
Many writers I performance coach have been sabotaging themselves with the same unrealistic expectation: They believe
they should produce more quality work, faster and faster, even when the cat is making hot laps in the dryer and the
three year old has plugged the toilet with the cell phone. Many pre-contracted writers judge their performance by the
Prolific Pros' production. Even though they don't have contracted deadlines to meet like the Prolific Pros, the
self-sabotaging writers think they should write as much and as fast as the contracted writers.
We all want to improve our craft, and our production. Achieving personal goals are just as important as goals
imposed from the outside--the kind we writers want, the book contract. However, with all the other pressures on your
time, if you don't have a contracted deadline that legally binds you to producing a 400 page book by next Tuesday,
perhaps you'll want to ease up on yourself a bit. Many of the Prolific Pros I've surveyed admit that they want to
"slow down" and enjoy that other four letter word more--life.
I believe that we have all the resources within that we need to succeed. Let me encourage you as a writer to observe
the outer world, and spend time journeying within on a personal treasure hunt. There you may discover that any Prolific
Pro's successful process is positively motivational for you rather than a competitive edge possessed by another. Under
the influence of such inspiration, you may discover that the authentic writer within is more joyful and productive than
you've ever imagined.
Melinda Rucker Haynes is the award-winning author of eight romances. Her latest paranormal romantic thriller, ESSENCE
OF TRUST, is a May 2005 hardcover release. Melinda's Production Secrets of the Prolific Pros workshops are fun,
motivating experiences for writers wanting to improve their production methods, experience on-demand creative flow and
actually enjoy writing and have a life. The Prolific Pros' interviews are a regular feature of Melinda's Creative Centre
Newsletter. Subscribe at www.melindaruckerhaynes.com or
Melinda@melindaruckerhaynes.com
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