How to write a book in 6 weeks

It’s not crazy to think you can write a book in six weeks. And I genuinely believe anyone can do it.

Would I recommend it? It depends. My life, for example, is pretty wild. For two thirds of the year, I live and work in a boarding school as a pastoral carer and tutor, and this makes huge demands on my time. A typical school week, for me, is in excess of 50 hours. With my freelance work on top, it’s usually 90 hours. My record is 100. I work all seven days and free time is at a premium.

And so deciding to write a book on top of this would literally require me to write through the night – i.e. not sleep, and I hear (on the grapevine) that this can be bad for one’s health. Therefore my writing time is usually restricted to the school holidays, which isn’t as restrictive as it might sound as boarding school holidays tend to be quite long. In the summer, for example, I get two whole months of R&R.

And as the summer of 2023 rocked around, I had an idea to write a book and I was determined to do so. I knew that, as soon as September hit, my free time would evaporate in the scorching sun that is school life. This gave me eight weeks to get scribbling.

The thing is, I’m a confirmed over-committer, and in reality I actually had six weeks as I had already signed up to lead on a Christian summer camp, and then spend a week in Southampton rehearsing and performing a 90 minute production of Mark’s gospel. Just to top it off, I’d also signed up for a weekend in London attending a money management seminar. Yikes.

Now, none of these are insurmountable problems when you want to write a book, but they are factors. I had six weeks. And in the case of this particular project – Brackenwood Falls – I decided that I was actually going to start a series of teen horror stories in a similar vein to the Goosebumps books of the 90s, but set entirely within a boarding school, and with a tech / sci-fi twist.

Thus, I didn’t just intend to write a single book – I planned to write a series of books, 20,000 words each and 60,000 words in total. (I’d already penned the first volume earlier in the year.) Certainly, I would have my work cut out – but I am stubborn and furiously committed when I get fixated on an idea. Not finishing was, simply, not happening.

So was it easy, to write a 60,000 book in six weeks? Of course not. But I enjoyed it immensely. And it’s incredible what you can achieve when you set yourself a clear goal.

Actually, I became a bit smug after I’d finished; I received an email with the tagline “So, how would you like to write a book in just 3 months?” Pfft. Hold my tea!

I’m not pretending that any person with zero writing experience can necessarily lift their laptop lid and write a book in 42 days on their first attempt. But I would like to share some of the tricks that helped me.

1. Go walking, if you’re able. Walking is so good for the mind, body and soul – and the scribe. I have done some of my best writing when I’ve been out on my strolls, structuring entire novels in my head as I’ve bounced along the pavement. I usually fit in two, three mile circuits per day, once in the morning, and once in the late afternoon or evening. If nothing else, it gets the blood pumping.
2. Have a plan. Before you actually start to write a book, you should plan it to within an inch of its life. Have a clear idea of where you’re going to land. This is the hardest part, and actually you will do most of your ‘writing’ during this time. I can confidently and truthfully say that I have never had writer’s block, because I’ve always had a plan to guide me. It’s my crutch; it’s pulled me through on the days when I’ve been feeling tired, unenthused and caffeine-deprived.
3. Have a daily writing limit. I’m no mathematician, but even I figured out that if I was going to write 60,000 words across 42 days, I’d have to hit about 1,400 words a day. In reality, I actually needed a higher daily target because I’m a Christian and don’t work Sundays (except when I’m at school. Someone has to play Mario Kart with the kids…) You have to stick to it, no matter what. Your plan helps with this. I did, admittedly, get a tad desperate towards the end, and accelerated. My personal record for a single day was 6,000 words, and it remains unbeaten.
4. Put your shoes on. In fact, you may still be wearing them if you’ve been out walking, nudge nudge. This might not be the most obvious advice when planning to write a book, but I swear by it. For me, putting my shoes on signals that I’m in ‘work mode.’ Taking them off triggers relaxation. This is a key hack when you’re working from home. Try it.
5. Read your work out loud. Write a book, and then read it – slowly, so you can hear how it sounds. This will help with the inevitable audiobook (aim high!) but it will also alert you to any repeated words and phrases, and let you know if your sentences have the right tempo and rhythm.
6. Keep thinking and keep thinking and keep thinking. I’m an introvert so most of my conversations take place in my brain, but I believe these inner chats are essential for writing prose. I have uncovered some of the most spectacular plot holes during my thinking time, churning the story over and over in my head (usually when out walking – are you getting the hint yet?) I have also been awakened to new ideas – new possibilities for my characters that hadn’t previously crossed my mind. Think and then think and then think some more.

So there you are – just a few ideas to get you started as you plan to write a book. I’ve kept the list brief as my aim with this blog post is to simply provide a quick overview. I could literally write a book on this subject, and maybe one day I will (but perhaps not in six weeks.)

What of Brackenwood Falls, though? How did it turn out? This may surprise you, but I genuinely think it’s the best thing I’ve ever written. I spent time away from it when I returned to school, and then went back to it, and yes, made some adjustments. But I was struck by how well it was working, particularly the final quarter, which was written at lightning speed. This is ironic, given that its title is The Speed of Darkness!

As mentioned previously, Brackenwood Falls is all one volume as I published the four stories together under the umbrella of the characters’ first term at the school (subtitled Season One) but I also published them as individual books: Ghosted, The Vessel, Hush Now and The Speed of Darkness. They all make sense on their own, but they feature the same characters throughout and are linked by a larger plot arc, like any good Netflix box set.

As mentioned above, The Speed of Darkness is a story that I am particularly proud of, and it involves a demented chemistry teacher who believes that he has discovered the key to immortality. But I love them all. The Vessel involves a creepy homework club that won’t let people leave, while Ghosted deals with a possessed smartphone and an internet phenomenon known as ‘creepypasta.’ (Read Ghosted to find out more…)

Anyway, I hope this brief article has inspired you to write a book. I wish you all the very best, and if you’d like to judge my efforts for yourself, you can pick up your own copy of Brackenwood Falls right now on Amazon. I designed the cover, too, but that’s a blog post for another day…

Happy walking!