Staging a Book Blitz
By Barbara O'Neal | June 28, 2017 |
When I’m in the middle of the book, there nearly always comes a time when I have to sit myself down and go all the way in—just write and write and write for 5 days straight, shutting out all outside distractions. I’m there now. I know a lot of what needs to happen, but there is a lot going on and I need to just go over into that world and let the story roll out. I need to do this without the distractions of my ordinary life, social media, or even my beloved partner.
I need to go all in.
My name for a week like this is a book blitz. When I posted on Facebook that I was going to do one this week, writer Lexi Ryan said she was going to do Camp Book, same idea, showing up for the book and letting other things go for the week. Loreth Anne White also said she had to do this, and she’d join in. She’s calling hers Book Boot Camp.
Whatever you call it, the idea is the same: for a period of a week, the book comes first, all day long. No appointments, no external commitments, just writing. Lexi is setting a time goal. I like a word count goal, something that’s much higher than I would ever do in an average day, in this case double my usual 2500 words per day, or 5000 words.
Some writers go for the full seven days, but you might, like me, find that too intimidating or exhausting. I go for five days, Monday through Friday, with the happy reward of getting the weekend off when I meet my goal.
The trick to making this work is to figure out what gets in your way, and then set yourself up for success. Some things to consider are family obligations, appointments that might break your concentration, and that old favorite, the Internet.
But the main stumbling block many of us face is simply not giving the time to writing that we give to other things. Drafting a novel is challenging work, and it requires a huge amount of mental and emotional focus. It’s exhausting to live all those lives, think the thoughts of all those people, arrange their tables and drive with them to their assignations and make love with them. A couple of hours is usually about all most of us can manage if we want to have any energy or emotion left for our real lives.
A blitz week reverses that equation. You give the book world all the mental and emotional energy, the focused attention, the physical showing up that your ordinarily save for your actual life. You let the housework and other mundane matters of real life go.
In a way, it’s a bit like NaNoWriMo, but a book blitz week is much more concentrated and demanding. It also only lasts a week, which is a lot more manageable. How do you go about setting such a week up for yourself? A few tips:
- First, set a goal, obviously. Will an hours-per-day goal work? Or will you be more productive if you set word (or page) count goals? Write it down as a promise to yourself.
- Clear your schedule as much as you can and block out the hours in your day that you’re going to be writing. No errands, no quick shopping trips, no lunches or coffees with friends. Just you and the page.This isn’t always perfect. I have to take my new puppies* to the vet for their third round of shots on Friday morning. Maybe you have to drive a kid to swim practice or something like that. Do what you can to move things around, have other people drive, etc. but don’t beat yourself up if you just can’t.
- Get the people in your life in on the plan. Tell partners, children, and friends that you’re going to focus totally on your book just for this week. Let them know it is important to you and you’d like their support. It’s only a week, after all.
- Automate your routines. Stock the house with healthy snacks and decide on a menu for the week ahead of time. I like the relief of cooking at the end of a long day of writing—it brings me back into my body to have a glass of wine and listen to music and chop things, so I have stocked things I can chop– but I’ll only cook every other day. Some people stock up on frozen foods or plan on take-out. Whatever works for you. Just make it easy, whatever it is.
- Also make it pleasant. Get your favorite healthy snacks, but also plan for a nice reward at the end of the day. Maybe you like a beer, or a little candy bar. Maybe you like to go swimming late or bingewatch that show you’ve been saving. You get the treat whether or not you make the goal.
- Build in breaks. For Whitehall, we had to storyboard the entire first series in a weekend. Seven writers and an editor worked for three days in stints of 48 minutes on, 12 minutes off, with time off at lunch. It was remarkably effective, and not nearly as tiring as it seemed it should have been. That 12 minutes off gave us all a chance to stretch our legs, talk, focus out of the book world. When I’m drafting, I prefer a longer stint so I go for 90 minutes on, 20 minutes off. Any longer on the break, and I tend to drift away. I will walk around, stretch, do some tai chi, make a snack. NO INTERNET! I do allow myself to get online at lunch time. I also allow a short nap after lunch, which resets my brain. Your mileage may vary.
- I also have to have exercise every day or I don’t feel well, think well, or sleep well. In my schedule for the blitz are slotted spaces for a morning walk, a few minutes of tai chi at lunch, and if I’m not too tired, a little puttering in the garden after supper. Fresh air is good for the brain. Wordless pursuits allow the girls in the basement to work on problems in the background.
- Decide what you’re going to write. I have a section sketched out and I’m going to make more detailed notes tonight. Each day, before I begin, I’ll sketch out the scenes I’m planning to write. This helps prevent delays born of indecision.
- Turn off all social media. This is not negotiable. I use Freedom, which lets me make a list of sites that will be blocked, while allowing me to look up facts and figures.
- Know that it will not be polished work. That is not the point of this kind of writing. The point is to draft quickly so that the editor on your shoulder doesn’t have a chance to say anything. For me, the reward is in much more passionate, powerful work, and it allows for a lot of happy surprises.
- Reward yourself at the end. Do not skip this part, seriously. Plan the reward, and at the end of the week, carry it out just like the rest of the steps in the blitz week. Enjoy the reward even if you don’t make your goal. Enjoy it because it’s a gift to the creative side of you.
Do you ever feel the need to do a book blitz of this type? Do you have tips I might have missed? What are your major sources of distraction?
*For those who have followed the saga of Jack, the dog I lost last summer, the circle has turned and two new puppies have joined our household. Introducing Peaches and Tucker.
[coffee]
Barbara O’Neal is the author of more than a dozen award-winning, bestselling novels, including the runaway bestseller, When We Believed in Mermaids, which has been published in more than 20 countries and spent many months on the Amazon Charts, as well as the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Washington Post bestseller lists. Barbara lives on the beach in rugged Oregon with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent and their zoo of cats and dogs. You can find more information on her newsletter and where to find her on social media at barbaraoneal.com.
There’s so much I can relate to here, but one thing that really stood out is your 90 minutes on, 20 off pattern. There’s been research done on this to show that’s the sweet spot for creative work — we tend to pass through ultradian rhythms of 90 or so minutes from day start to end, and need about 20 minutes to recover. This is actually related to sleep in genreal — at night when we slumber we cycle through the phases of sleep over about a 90-120 minute period, and the overall pattern persists throughout the day. Knowing this when you do creative work, or other work that requires focus, is especially important, because it lets you economize on your natural physiology. We also get less effective in each of these periods as the day goes on, which is why I always have my 2 hours for writing before I do anything else in the day.
I’m going to try your Book Blitz sometime, an exellent idea. Maybe I’ll call mine a Writing Marathon.
P.s. if you find nuking your phone helpful, check out the Forest app. You can grow a tree for a set period of time and can’t back out of the app, lest you kill your tree. Given that I feel like I might have been Tolkien in my last life, the concept of killing a tree is reprehensible to me, so this app works wonders.
I will definitely check out that Forest app. I’m pathetic and must lock myself in whatever ways I can.
Good to know that 90/20 cycle is backed up by science. It’s crazy how often I emerge from my trance to realize it’s almost exactly 90 minutes.
I’m right there with you — embracing our weakness opens the gateway to our strengths. Hope you have a great Book Blitz week!
Thank you for bringing the Forest app to our attention. I bought it–it’s such a delightful app!
Hope you enjoy it Grace — the incentives are also addictive. You get points for every tree you grow and eventually you can unlock more trees, shrubs (for 5-20 minute focus periods), and even sounds. As we speak, I am listening to a thunderstorm playing on my phone (I’m growing a 20-minute mushroom).
:=)
I’m currently outlining a new book and getting ready for a drafting “blitz.” Thanks for these really practical tips and ideas. I’m almost there! (And, oh my, those puppies!)
I’m working on a late revision, but these wonderful tips still apply, especially the part about rewarding yourself. It’s important, and usually the thing I overlook. I’m printing this out for the drafting of my next book. And congratulations on the beautiful new puppies!! I lost my lab 2 years ago and am finally feeling ready for a baby. You inspired me on all levels today. Thank you, Barbara.
This is so timely for me. We’ve been renovating our family room for what feels like an eternity but is in actuality three months. The piano is in my office, along with some other things. Other parts of the room are scattered throughout the house. It is Clutter Central, naturally, and it’s messing with the system I had in place, which was already in need of an overhaul. I really, really need a book blitz. I spoke with a friend yesterday who suggested I find a very small place that can be cleared of everything–the clutter of things and to-do lists and the mental press of everything that obviously requires my/our attention–but a desk and my work. The new closet in the family room comes to mind…
Welcome, Peaches and Tucker!
If you want to do a blitz next week, you know where to find me.
For all that artists are expected to be cluttery and scattered, I find that most of us need external order in order to corral the girls in the basement. That closet might be just what the doctor ordered. (I also like my good headphones.)
Great ideas, Barbara. I’m going to do something similar in the near future and will definitely adhere to your list. Oh, and what sweet puppies!
I love this! Since I have multiple projects going on at the same time right now, I’m going to employ your idea. Thank you!!!!
This is exactly what I need. I’ve been trying to balance summer household projects with getting a creative project started, and I keep getting burned out by the chores before I really get anything done creatively. I’m going to try the 90-20 cycle.
Thanks, Barbara, for such a useful post!
I do that, too–get sidetracked by all the summer chores (some of which I like, some I do not) in the cool of the morning, and then by the time I sit down to write, I’m tired and hot. Hmmm. Never thought of that in those terms. Maybe I need to set a timer for the puttering around the garden, save those chores for evening. Thanks!
That’s it! I’m doing it. Starting tomorrow. Sooooooo long overdue.
i set both april and june for my person “RemWriMo” to get caught up on my current series – and have flopped both times. for starters, this series is overwhelming, then i was sick for 10 weeks at the beginning of the year ( i NEVER get sick!), and i live alone – can’t let too much go for too long… yeeps!! LOL
i’m slowly-but-surely getting caught up (on the blog too) and have already determined september will be another go at RemWriMo, which will get me set up for release in november and on target for NaNoWriMo for the third book in the series! WHEW!!
Thank you for sharing this! You inspired me.
My first few books weren’t deliberate book blitz creations, it just happened. After the second book, my family gave me a tongue-in-cheek farewell party when I started the third.
As I grew more confident in my writing, I needed to do this less and less, and I could go into this writing zone in a matter of moments.
This is a great approach – really inspiring to consider! And I think one of the keys is to inform your friends, family and support system – in addition to setting expectations, it also makes you accountable.
But I bet Peaches and Tucker will need some extra explaining… :)
That was kinda my thought, Keith. “I’m taking a week off everybody — oh, good luck with the pups!”
Great scam: at the end of the day, Barbara gets to soak in their adorableness, while everyone else up to then is, like, “This is a shoe! It is not a chew toy!”
Barbara: I have Freedom, but have slipped off the wagon. I’m rethinking getting it up and running, because current events are swallowing me whole.
Now — back to head down, fingers on keys.
P.S. Mette came up, cooed at Peaches and Tucker, and immediately pronounced: “I want a puppy!”
Hehe!!!!! Who can resist puppies?
Mette is right…puppies are fantastic. Chaos, but pure joy.
I have lost a pair of flip flops…
Your puppies are adorable!!! They’d be the hugest distraction for me. I used love it when my husband took the kids for a week-long road trips, camping, hiking. It hasn’t happened since last summer but in just a couple of years we’ll have an empty nest so I’m no longer in any hurry to have a week to myself. You’ve covered all the necessary things — food (I cook ahead to have a good variety), freedom from the net, and the daily walks. Pets are essential. I love having my furry friends to keep me company, who listen to my stories attentively.
Happy writing Barbara!!!
Thank you for this piece Barbara — helped to assuage some of the guilt I’ve felt these past two weeks while finishing up the final round of edits on my fourth novel.
The opening lines of an email message I sent to an old friend just this morning say it all:
“Sorry for the delayed response, Bridget. I’ve been completely glued to my manuscript, ignoring the needs of family and friends and pets. Writers are not good people.”
I’m sure you can sense the “sorry not sorry” subtext.
Now back to the blitz!
-GL
Excellent post and one I needed right now! I’m recovering from spinal surgery following a fall in January 2016 which has caused chronic pain since the fall. Chronic pain and pain meds tend to leave the mind in a foggy state making it impossible to allow your creativity to break through. I’ve got a memoir draft I’m almost ready to publish. This is going to be perfect to help me get through this last round of rewriting and editing. I’ve been thinking of how I could put into focus what I need to do and make it my primary task each day. You’ve done it for me! Thank you!
And welcome to the new babies!
Thank you for this affirming post, Barbara. I was in the middle of a “book blitz” when you published this. Now my book is done and off to the publisher. And now I know what to call that critical week. It truly felt like an extended and deeply involving new iteration of the all-nighters I so often relied on to complete my university essays. Puppies are the best reward!