A sprint is a timed exercise for writers, usually used to get lots of words onto the page.

Today, six of our Winged Pen members give their 7 best sprinting tips. Let it fly!

Laurel Decher: Chris Fox’s 5,000 Words Per Hour reminded me that it isn’t always about getting more words or the right voice. I made myself a doodle:

1. I want to aim for the end of the scene.

Following tips from Christopher Downing’s FoolProof Dictation, I tried just that:

• free Voice Record Pro app (Apple) (Android) app. 
• freewriting on audio: Downing records 2 min, 5 min, 10 min, and 20 min sessions, expanding the story until he gets a complete scene.

What I learned:

• Dictating uses up a lot more “story” in the same time.
• Easier to try out and discard story ideas on the fly.
• You don’t actually have to talk fast.
• You can use software to have your computer transcribe for you, but I just listened to my recordings, expanding on the story as I typed.

Halli Gomez: For first drafts, I am all about a word count goal. So many words per day or week. That helps me get the story out without editing too much.

In the revision stage, I set my goal on chapters. Revise a certain number of chapters per week. If it’s a regular week without a lot of appointments or extra work, I strive for 3 chapters a week during a revision.

2. I like to aim high 🙂

Everyone has their own life conflicts that get in the way of writing time. Do what is best for you. For me, deadlines help.

Rebecca Allen I set word count goals for drafts, but not revision.  At that point, quality is more important than output. Like Laurel says above, I do find it helpful to think in terms of chapters to get through and have a goal. Similarly, where my targets might be stretch goals in drafting, I try to make targets realistic in revision to keep my focus on getting the words right.

This summer I’m drafting and have less writing time than usual. I’m trying for one big day a week where I’ll get a few thousand words down and quicker 500-word sprints on other days of the week to

3. Keep my head in the story

and get words onto the page at a faster clip.

I’m pretty bad about tinkering with words already drafted. I’ve decided to let myself tinker if I have time to do it (like an hour to get 500 new words rather than only 1/2 hour), but force myself to move on if I won’t hit my goal otherwise.

Richelle Morgan It depends…I set a word count goal when I’m drafting, and when things are going well and I have time in my life, that works well for me. But when the writing is not going as smoothly as I’d like or my time is limited, I set a timer for 15 minutes and force myself to write until the clock runs out. Either way,

4. I aim for stopping mid-scene

because I find it easier that way to re-immerse myself in the story the next day. Starting a new scene is daunting to me, so I try to do it mid-session, when I’m all warmed up and feeling creative.

During revisions, I set longer-term goals, like “finish this revision by the end of March.” When I’m revising, I like to really give myself permission to sink into each scene/the story without trying to meet a daily quota. Hmmm…I think maybe a combination of both? 

5. I keep a page of revision notes as I draft

-things I know as I go that I’m going to want to fix-so I usually have a good idea of what I want to do/what’s not working/etc. I can put a timeline on that, but I definitely take into account life stuff. Like, I know I’m super busy with work in October and November, so fiction takes a back seat and any revisions I do will take longer then. And sometimes I find something during revisions that needs more time, so I try to be pretty flexible.

Julie Artz I do a lot of sprinting while drafting, as others have said. I almost always have new scenes to write as part of revision, so I’ll sprint those out too. But when I’m getting close on later revisions,

6. I make a chapter list on my chalkboard and get to X out the chapter

once I’m through revising. It keeps the revision in manageable chunks, gives me some accountability, and gives me some satisfaction each time I get to cross off a chapter!

Rebecca Petruck I used to do word count goals and writing sprints (created and hosted #30mdare for 3 years) Now I do something that’s more like a blend: I set a timer and commit to do nothing but. . .

• work on the WIP for 30 minutes.
• at least 4 times
• to earn a sticker for my calendar that day. 🙂
• 5 days a week*

What works for me about this method is it allows for time to THINK and for quality over quantity. Especially between drafts, I do a lot of. . .

• free-writing,
• craft book exercises,
• drawing charts,
• outlining,
• and plain ol’ reading or thinking.

I still do all of this in 30-minute intervals, at least 4 times.

7. “Progress” isn’t defined by only number of words.

For me, it’s “easy” to put down words–the trick is the RIGHT words. Changing the focus to being intentional about the story, whether or not that means typing or “only” thinking hard helps me to maintain momentum.

*NOTE: I do 4 x 30m 5 days a week, but it can be anything. When I had busy life stuff, I changed it to 3 x 30m 3 days a week. If a person can do 2 x 15m 2 days a week, that’s great, too!

How do you get your writing project done before a deadline? Or do you use deadlines at all? If you’ve got a tip for us, please share in the comments!

Laurel Decher lives in the outskirts of a mid-sized city in Germany, between a medieval chapel on St. James’ Way and a boundary marker tree complete with scary face. It’s a little surprising, since she expected to live in Vermont for the rest of her life. You just never know when adventure will call.