I’m curious, Reader, do you write every day?

I didn’t used to. I used to be like a lot of new, fresh-faced aspiring storytellers out there and would wait to put fingers to keys until inspiration struck me.

I’d also carry around a pretty little notebook too, “just in case” the Goddess of Storytelling decided to bop me on the head while I was out and about.

But…

You want to know the awful truth, Reader? When you wait for the Muse of Inspiration, she tends to hide more and more frequently.

Soon, that blank page becomes all that you’re gifted. And then you find yourself on an epic saga to hunt down Sága (the Norse goddess of history, storytelling, and prophecy).

The truth is, if you wait to write, all you’re going to be doing is waiting.

So I bet you’re thinking, there has to be a better way, right…? I mean, we all can’t go questing Lord-of-the-Rings style.

Trust me, there is.

And it’s easy too. It doesn’t take a magic item or a masterclass at a prestigious academy. It just takes a little bit of practice and dedication.

Simply put, how I went from meandering writing and blank pages in 2018 to 5K days comes down to routine, no-pressure daily writing.

Just writing a 500-word scene a day can take you from those meh 🫤 writing days where you stare at the blank screen to something amazing. I’m talking about those days where you intend to just write down one quick thing and instead find you’ve written 5K words!

Doesn’t that sound incredible, Reader? Just think of how much you could create!

But maybe this sounds sus to you? Maybe you’re like 5k in a day? Won’t I get burned out writing that much? Won’t I have to skip lunch and drink waaay too much coffee?

Nope, I can promise it’s perfectly within reason. I mean, if a dyslexic autistic girl like me—who only types with two fingers—can do it, you can too. I’m sure of it.

That is, if you build toward it with healthy writing habits.

So how do you get started?

It all starts with the 500-word scene.

Back in the summer of 2019, I made two characters (who were literally just named after 2 pieces on a Shogi board to start) and started writing a 500-word scene a day. Once I hit that, I could stop if I wanted, or continue. The characters could do anything they wanted and go anywhere as long as they did it on the page.

And you know what happened? I wrote 455,000 words in 2019. Yes, you read that correctly. 455,000 words. That’s several books worth!

So let’s get started shall we, and name those two characters of yours. And to do that, we’ll be heading over to one of my go-to sites: Behind the Name. You can use the various settings on this tool to generate random names for your characters.

Next, let’s head to Threads where Writing Prompts Re posts short daily writing prompts you can use like…

Writing Prompt: 113

Now that you have 2 characters and a prompt, why not try your hand at a 500-word scene? Or even just a 250-word one? It doesn’t have to be the best thing ever written. Hell, no one aside from you ever even has to see it. It’s enough that it merely exists.

From there, it’s just a matter of writing another 500 words each day until you find that what seemed impossible to accomplish is a feat that now takes no time at all. And even 50K in a month will no longer feel like much of a challenge anymore.

It might seem impossible now, but an epic quest always seems that way from the start.

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Your cohort in storytelling,

Kat Vancil

🐱

PS 👉 Does the idea of trying to summarize your 100K fantasy tome make you cringe, Reader? Maybe fill you will dread? Or even make you consider writing a whole new book to avoid writing marketing copy for the one you just finished?

You’re in luck! I’m putting together an easy-to-follow mini-course to take the pain out of writing those book descriptions for your sales page and website.

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The Saga Quest

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