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How to Write a Book in Seven Days

In 1994, BBC Books published "100 Recipes in No Time At All". This aptly named release—clocking in at 64 pages—was written in less than 48 hours as part of a challenge by British TV producer Anneke Rice. Just imagine what you could achieve yourself if you had five extra days and nothing else to distract you (including sleeping). Before you leap to your computer and start typing, however, it's essential that you already possess excellent writing skills and know your subject well enough to bypass the need for outside research.

Things You'll Need

  • Word processing software
  • Calculator
  • Calendar
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose a subject for your book, identify your target demographic and estimate how many pages you're going to shoot for. The less complex the topic, the narrower the focus and the younger the reader, the easier the task of writing your book in a week. A children's picture book, for example, is much shorter than an epic novel that rivals Michener.

    • 2

      Calculate a daily writing quota for your project. If, for example, you're going to write a 70-page book, you'll need to write a minimum of 10 pages a day in order to reach your goal. Quotas can also be determined by word count. If you're writing a children's picture book, for instance, you're not likely to have more than 20 words per page. Assuming the book is 20 pages, you only have to come up with 400 words to fill it. That's either 57 words per day or dashing off the entire thing in an afternoon.

    • 3

      Put your benchmark quotas in print on your calendar as a reminder of how much you're supposed to accomplish. This can either take the form of jotting down your defined minimum for each day or summarizing as follows:
      Day 1: Introduction
      Day 2: Chapters 1 through 4
      Day 3: Chapters 5 through 8

    • 4

      Write your book straight through without pausing to edit any of it. Whether they're taking seven days or seven years, aspiring writers often spend way too much time trying to find that perfect word or coming up with the best opening sentence. When you're on the clock, it's critical to say what you want as fast as you can and only revisit your content after you've reached the end.

    • 5

      Recruit an enthusiastic support network to keep asking you how the book is coming along. Writing is a solitary craft. But if you don't tell anyone that you're writing a book, it becomes tempting to let deadlines slide and get farther behind. If your family, friends or coworkers are brought into the loop, they can push you to stay on track. Just make sure you don't get distracted too much by talking about the book with them during the time you should be knuckling down and writing it.

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