How to Finish Your Novel: My Writing Sprint Method (11,000 Words in 4 Days)
I'm often asked how I get books written alongside everything else I do: running Generation Women, mentoring writers, and working as a developmental editor. The honest answer is that the most demanding part of my working life is drafting novels, and one of my favorite tools for it is the writing sprint.
At the start of a project, I like to do a massive sprint to get the book off the starting blocks. Things start happening once the characters are more fully formed and the ideas in the outline come to life on the page. On my latest sprint, I wrote 11,000 words in four days. Here's exactly how I planned it and pulled it off, so you can try it with your own draft.
1. Clear your schedule
A sprint only works if nothing else competes for your attention. Plan for it like you would a holiday. It might be something you book months out. If you're a parent, ask your partner or a family member to handle childcare.
Consecutive days are ideal, but two weekends or four Sundays in a row can work too. Then clear everything: no other work, no family or social commitments. Tell the group chat you're going dark. Stock up on groceries and get chores out of the way. You should have nothing to think about except the work.
2. Set clear goals before you start
Know exactly what you're writing before day one. For this sprint, I was completing the first act of a new ensemble romantic comedy. In my books, the first act generally covers:
The setup: introducing the point-of-view characters and their worlds, personalities, problems, and opportunities.
The inciting incident: the thing that kicks the plot into gear and promises to thrust the characters into a new, uncertain world.
The debate: the characters wrestling with that call to action and resisting it, which shows us the stakes.
Breaking into act two: the characters accepting the call. Then we're off to the races.
I'd already outlined the act and drafted just under half of it, so the sprint's job was to finish it. I estimated what I could realistically write each day, so when I woke up on the first morning, I was ready to go.
3. Just write
On a sprint day, I start writing as soon as I've made coffee, often in pajamas, for the first two or three hours. I turn off the internet completely, using an app like Freedom or simply switching off the Wi-Fi.
Then I shower, move to my desk, and keep going. Days are for drafting: getting words out with as much forward momentum as possible. First drafts are intellectually demanding, because you're bringing a whole world to life: every setting, every side character, every detail of every life. I take a short break every two hours to eat or do a simple chore, like washing dishes, and ideally draft until 6 pm.
Evenings are for reading back. I pour a glass of wine and review what I wrote in a relaxed way, without the pressure to keep producing.
4. Listen to your work read aloud
My biggest recommendation for reading work back is a text-to-speech app. I use [Speechify]([your link]), which reads your writing aloud in a natural, human-sounding voice. Hearing your draft is a completely different experience from reading it silently. You'll catch typos your eyes skip over, notice clunky rhythm, and can set the pace as fast or slow as you like without stopping.
5. Crawl over the finish line, then hand it off
By the end of four days, I felt like a sponge that had been wrung out. I crawled over the finish line and immediately sent the pages to early readers and my editors.
Funnily enough, as soon as I did, I had a big "a-ha" moment about a change the book needed. I don't think that insight could have come while the manuscript was still in my hands. Handing work over seems to free up big-picture thinking that's impossible when you're deep in the weeds. So when you finish a sprint, let the work go for a little while. Clarity often arrives once you step back.
Finish your novel this year
A sprint can get you unstuck, but finishing a whole novel takes more than a few intense days. It takes structure, accountability, and support over months.
That's what My Novel Year: The Draft is built for. It's a year-long novel writing mentorship with monthly word count goals, a live two-hour workshop and a one-on-one coaching session with me every month, and a small cohort of writers working alongside you. It ends with a one-on-one pitch session with a literary agent and an acquiring editor. We meet live on Zoom, so you can join from anywhere.
Already have a finished draft? My Novel Year: The Revision will help you revise it.
Applications for the next cohorts open in November for a January start. Join the waitlist to get a reminder.
