How to Write a Book in 10 Days – Road Map

Good morning! We're kicking off a personal challenge today with a book that I plan to write in 10 days or less. This is a tough goal, one that requires I dig down deep and hard to create the tale I want to create.

So what do you do for the first stage?

Generating a Road Map

The plot is the road map to where I want to go with the story. I actually put the plot down on paper three weeks ago. I pitched the idea to a few friends, then toned the idea down to the basic components that make it a story I want to read. For the purposes of this adventure on paper, the plot is just a fit, 183 words.

The story focuses on two characters; their past, their present and their futures and how they collide, collude and ultimately climax together. Yes – that last word choice was on the deliberate side. This book will also take me in a different direction than previous works as I spice it up with some red hot action between the characters.

The road map includes the 183-word plot blurb and the chapter breakdown. The chapter breakdown is vital to the success because I know that my word count goal is 25,000 to 30,000 words. The word count goal means I need to hit 2,500 to 3,000 word count each day of the 10 days, preferably a little more so that day 10 is the day I trim, nip and tuck.

Chapter Breakdown

Each chapter must be broken down by:

• Summary
• Goals
• Motivation
• Destination

These details are vital to the success of the chapter. Knowing the answer to each of these helps me create the cleanest copy from the beginning. But and this is an important but, even with all this planning ahead – the day's writing goals comes down to the word count between me and the page. So now, I've done my thirty minutes on the treadmill, covered two miles at a brisk pace to get the blood pumping and we're off – check back tomorrow for day 2 of how to write a book in 10 days.

Be sure to share your story if you're writing too! Oh and one lucky commentator will find their name in this tale!