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Squidge posted an update 6 years, 11 months ago
So… I’ve seen an advert for a ‘Write a book in an hour’ event run by a bookshop. To give the author credit, he has actually written a book that’s been well received.
But surely, ‘writing a book in an hour’ is a poor description? Surely, the most you can hope to achieve is the outline of your story? There is no way on earth you can write teh whole blasted thing.
I’m not sure why it’s made me so cross – perhaps it was the £14 price tag for attending. Could be the unrealistic expectations that some people will, no doubt, attend with. Or maybe it’s the fact that having produced two short story collections and two novels of my own (plus two in development and another being drafted currently) it takes SO much more time than one hour.
Maybe I’m just being a grump today?!
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YEah, that would irritate me too. LIke one of those godawful gimmicky diets/fitness regimes/etc. It’s both deeply unrealistic and misleading, but also demeaning to the effort it takes to create worthwhile writing. If he means an hour to *plan* your novel, then, meh, perhaps, in the roughest of rough outlines. But *write*? At 80k for a book, that’s typing 22 words a second. Impossible even with no pauses to think, breath, drink tea or wrestle the cat. Yeah, no.
Yup. Irritating in the extreme. You might be able to have the glimpse of an idea in an hour if you were lucky…
So glad to hear it’s not just me, then. Mind you, I don’t suppose it would have the same appeal if it was called ‘Write a book over the next few years that might never see the light of day.’ 😉
No but it would be a lot truer! Which brings me to a serious question…. if you had known just how much work was involved in writing a passable book, would you have started in the first place?
A single book, yeah I’d probably have still dived in. Being six zillion books in and still nowhere… I think I’d run a mile, screaming. Maybe I still will!!
The “How to write a book in an hour” thing is a one hour course in how to write a book.
In this case, I’ve been told it’s an hour with the author explaining how he wrote his book – hints and tips, kind of thing. Not even a course, more of an author talk.
THAT IS MISLEADING ADVERTISING, SURELY! So funny that we all interpreted it the same way!!! “Grr, how can anyone claim to write book in an hour, grrr!!!!”
I’ll come with you…