One Year - 24 Novels
69
Write 24 in one year
A recent online headline: "Writer aims to write 24 novels in one year"
What? Shouldn’t the headline be "writer" aims to spew enough words to technically say he wrote 24 novels in one year, with the aid of assistive technology, not the least of which is word processing, a technology that has made us all "writers."
Don Britt, a Canadian writer, was a participant in what was billed as "literature's most grueling marathon: a 3-Day Novel Writing Contest, where writers are challenged to write a novel in just 72 hours."
What? Why does this contest even exist? What about readers enjoying a novel in just 72 hours. I’ve read novels in three days or less but I’m guessing they took much longer to write.
"Don is now embarking on a challenge to write 24 three-day novels in one year, starting November 5, 2010. The novel must be a work of fiction, averaging 100 pages in length… a coherent story."
Coherent? So 100 pages starting with "It was a dark and stormy night" and ending with "everybody died" qualifies? Averaging? So some can be 50 pages or even 20 and less? Wouldn’t that be a novella or short story? All right, maybe I’m quibbling. Let’s go on.
"What's more, the whole enterprise will take place live online. You can keep up with Don's progress at http://24novels.com."
Okay, I went online, and have concluded that I don’t need to feel too frabdoozled (my made up word so give me as much credit as you would S. Palin). The work is passable and sort of engaging, but can he keep it up? That is the question. Everyone will be asking it, won’t they? People will want to know -- can he do it? Brilliant! Marketing at its best. (After all, aren’t I providing publicity for Don?)
Here’s what I found online: "The Redemption of Wilbur Blake page 1 Finished!! in 2 days, 15 hours, 15 minutes, 3 seconds THE REDEMPTION OF WILBUR BLAKE by DJ Britt (DAY ONE GOAL - TO FINISH PAGE 40)"
Wow! Okay, it took him that long to "write" one page. Let’s do some math. Roughly two and one half days or 63 hours. Twenty-four times 365 equal 8,760 hours. Divide that by 63 and you get about 140. At this rate, he will write 140 pages in a year. Hmmm, not exactly the 2400 pages he will need to write in order to crank out 24 100-page novels. He better crank it up a bit. He fell far short of his goal of 40 in one day.
Here is the first paragraph. "The strikers showed up early on that cold November morning. The sky was still dark and flurries were in the air as the thirty men, chosen at the meeting the night before, gathered around the flatbed truck. There was no sense of bravado that day, outside the chain link fence of the machine shop on Official Row. The men hardly spoke at all as they took their hastily painted pickets and their weapon of choice, crow bars chief among them. There was only the grim, silent knowledge on every face, the look of every man of every age upon being told that he was to be in the front line of the coming battle."
Not too bad, but I’ll bet he did some revising and rewriting.
"An application has already been submitted to the Guinness Book of Records to have the effort acknowledged as a record attempt."
If he’s going to make it, he might have to stop acting like a writer and start acting like a crazy fool trying to set a Guinness record.
 | Amazon Price: $4.40 List Price: $7.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $5.04 List Price: $10.99 |
 | Amazon Price: $3.92 List Price: $7.99 |
CommentsLoading...
Interesting...never heard of this challenge...doesn't sound like one I would want to do...if you are a fast typist you can crank out all sorts of stuff...but will someone want to read it?
Thanks for the update Georgia!
Just an update. My husband Don is writing his 13th 3 day novel on stage at the West Edmonton mall in Edmonton Alberta. It is his third public appearance, he has written tow of his novels at different Chapters locations. He has been getting great press coverage and lots of support and encouragement from the writing community. He will have a full length novel " Cambrian " which was written the traditional way available through Kobo Books in May. Come by and check out his progress at www.24novels.com
Hello Patricia and Patricia,
Thanks for stopping by and especially for purchasing a copy of "Where the River Splits." Obviously, I hope you enjoy it and believe that you will, but even if you do not, please feel free to excoriate me online. And thanks for you royalty wishes. The whole process has been so bewilderingly complex that I honestly don’t know if I will get anything from UK Amazon or my publisher. I have just started a blog at www.askwritefish.com which examines 35 years of trying to be a paid fiction writer and will try at some point to sort through it or at least offer insight.
As my British friend up the street always says, cheers,
Jeff
I enjoyed the Hub, and thought that the pictures were perfect to illustrate the idea of excess.
This is one of those Hubs were the comments have interested me more than the Hub.
How wonderful of DJ Brett to join in the discussion!
I seem to recall that Trollope sort of 'cranked it out' , getting up before dawn every day to write for a set number of minutes. His books sold well in his lifetime, and many have since been turned into popular BBC TV programmes. In my opinion some of his novels are classics.
With so many people writing and trying to get published (and then sell) I am in awe of anybody who comes up with a good idea for publicity.
On the subject of publicity, I was so impressed that you had a published novel that I flicked over to Amazon (UK) and ordered a copy! (It is actually coming from an affiliate bookseller, so I hope you will get some royalty.) There is one review on the UK Amazon site and it makes me look forward to reading the book.
Hi Lisa,
Apology certainly accepted, although they're not really needed in a forum like this. I enjoyed getting irate! But I also could only assume you were talking about my project. Your comment began '24 novels in one year? Personally, I can only imagine that they would not be worth reading.' Which is the understandable, majority view I've run into so far.
All the best.
Wow, DJ Britt, I am truly sorry if you thought I was talking about you when I wrote that. I didn't read your comment about me but I was referring to myself when I wrote that. I do apologize for not making myself clear and I would not want you to be offended. I commend anyone that can set a goal and that can write quickly. I am the one who writes a whole lot about nothing. I have no formal training in writing or anything for that matter and was honestly talking of myself. Please forgive me and accept my apology. I feel really aweful now. I am nobody and would never critique anyone's dream, passion, or writing.
To lisap,
I’ll bet you have to crank it out quickly when you write newspaper stories. Pleasantly amusing that you worked for an Ohio newspaper. Thanks for sharing that.
Hi DJ,
I'll bet you get all sorts of comments that make you a bit testy. And you make some valid points in your blog -- “just write” and crank it out. When you’re finished, a year from now, you will hopefully have loads of work to build on.
Recently, I finished my own “personal masterpiece,” Roobala Take Me Home, a novel that I initially wrote in 1977, and in 1980 had correspondence with Scribners about publication, and completely rewrote at least 15 times (some chapters and scenes obviously much more) over thirty-plus years. Maybe lisad had something like this in mind when she referred to “one great masterpiece that may take a lifetime to write.”
Perhaps it was the phrase “quickly producing a lot of nothing” that made you irritated. On that point, I think lp may be a little off target. You will have produced more than nothing. Enough, I hope, to sustain you for quite some time. So again, good luck and don’t forget the vegetables, and the exercise to work out some of your frustration.
Jeff
DJ Britt here. An easy going to a fault Canadian, finally pushed to the point of writing an irate blog, regarding lisadpreston's entry above.
Feel free to check it out at:
Thank you for the information as to how I can get a copy of the book. How interesting that your grandfather was an editor for a Columbus newspaper. I have been working with my writing partner, Jon Craig, as a statehouse reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer for 3 years, although I recently took a break from it.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for you intelligent comments, including of course your interest in "Where the River Splits." It’s available in St. Louis bookstores, but (since you’re in Ohio) I’d recommend getting a copy online, probably best through amazon. You can find a St. Louis Post Dispatch review by clicking on my website link www.askwritefish.com or following the url below
http://more.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/re
Again thanks for stopping by and I appreciate your comments. By the way, my grandfather was editor of a Columbus newspaper, and I spent lots of childhood time there.
Jeff
24 novels in one year? Personally, I can only imagine that they would not be worth reading. I would be happier with quality, not quantity. I will strive for and use my energy toward that one great masterpiece that may take a lifetime to write instead of quickly producing a lot of nothing. Maybe I just think differently.
By the way, having just read your profile, your novel, Where The River Splits, sounds brilliant. What a story line! I will certainly want a copy for myself to read.
Hi Jeff,
Thank you for your follow up. And your critique was actually helpful. My site has just been updated with hopes of making things clearer.
I just read a couple of reviews of your novel, and I see that you are the real deal. Congratulations on achieving the very thing (in fact the only thing) to which I aspire.
Take Care,
DJ
Hi DJ,
Thanks for stopping by. I am impressed not only that you have responded here, but that you have taken on your crazy 24-novel stunt. And I believe I gave you a little credit when I wrote that I wasn’t too “frabdoozled,” and that your work so far was “sort of engaging.”
As for a fair hearing, fair enough. Hopefully, my astonishment at your task wasn’t to critical or expressive of “dismissive contempt.” And as I indicated, the marketing is brilliant. (Is it more fun than giving signings, presentations and readings in dark and obscure coffee houses? Not many writers, including me, enjoy marketing -- often feels like singing in a strip joint.)
Those of us who have sweat blood over the years (probably includes you as well) getting the words just right only to be confronted with an impossible marketplace, should (I think) applaud your efforts. At the very least, it takes stamina. (Hope you’re getting your vegetables and exercise.) And you must know how to write novels of course.
So good luck, and I hope you get lots of feedback from hubpages.
Jeffrey Penn May
Acclaimed Writer, Teacher, Speaker
Pushcart Prize Nominee
Author of Where the River Splits
(Speaking of marketing)
DJ Britt here, the guy writing twenty four 3-Day novels in one year. First of all thank you very much for the publicity. I am sincerely thankful for the coverage.
Just a couple of brief points. You need to click on the library link from the homepage to find the full stories. I'm sorry if the site was confusing. The homepage simply shows a single page from the story. I will look into making this clearer. But three stories are now completed (all on schedule) and are available for viewing at 24novels.com.
Secondly, as I freely admit on my blog, this is a publicity stunt. Certainly I am hoping to draw attention to my work. I would welcome critiques of any of my work. For those who only feel a dismissive contempt for my project all I can do is offer the words of St. Paul - 'Give me a hearing'. You might be pleasantly surprised.
My next entry will begin this Friday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Again, thanks for the coverage.
Ha, the pictures to go along with this hub are great. Excess, excess, excess. I'd rather write one good novel in my lifetime, just one, that people still identify with long after I'm gone. Not one of these 24 novels will ever be remembered outside of the context of this silly stunt. Good hub, Jeff.
Thanks Crewman, appreciate you stopping by.
Thank you for re-introducing common sense. I wish more people had some! I enjoyed your hub.
Jeff May Hub Author 9 months ago
Hi Enlydia, good question. But you have to give him credit for undertaking such a task. Speed novel writing. Another way of looking at it -- he'll have 24 rough drafts to develop over his lifetime, hopefully a good career as a novelist. Thanks for stopping by, Jeff.