I achieved a milestone in my writing a couple of days ago. I passed the one hundred thousand word count in the first draft of my first novel. The process has taken me twenty months to date, and I am probably a couple of months away from finishing the first draft.
There has been elation in getting to this point, and frustration in the time taken. In my defence, I have not suffered many bouts of procrastination, and have been working on a couple of different writing projects in those twenty months. For a bit of Friday Fun, I thought I would conduct some research and compile a couple of speed tables to see how I measured up to other published writers.
The Quickest Novels Ever Written
| Book Title | Author | Time Taken |
| 1. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | John Boyne | 2.5 days |
| 2. Rasselas | Samuel Johnson | 1 week |
| 3. On the Road | Jack Kerouac | 3 weeks |
| 4. A Clockwork Orange | Anthony Burgess | 3 weeks |
| 5. A Christmas Carol | Charles Dickens | 6 weeks |
The Slowest Novels Ever Written
| Book Title | Author | Time Taken |
| 1. Sphere | Michael Crichton | 20 years |
| 2. The Lord of the Rings | J.R.R. Tolkien | 17 years |
| 3. Les Miserables | Victor Hugo | 12 years |
| 4. The Catcher in the Rye | J.D. Salinger | 10 years |
| 5. Shuggie Bain | Douglas Stuart | 10 years |
It seems although I have missed the boat for the quickest written novel on record, I still have time to make the top five for the slowest. I could be heading for Ezra Pounds feat of fifty-seven years for his unfinished, The Cantos.
Do you know of any novels that could make either of these speed tables? I would love to know. Have a good weekend.
Congratulations Davy on a writing job well done. I’d rather not make it to either of the ranks. Medium-paced wins the writing race. I wonder who said that? No one? Now, that’s a shame. 🙂
Thanks, Terveen. I think I am with you on that one. I like your line. If I use it I will credit it to you. You might go viral 👌😊
Haha! One never knows… 🙂
I love that you found those slowest and quickest novels. So interesting! And congratulations!
Thanks Wynne, that is most appreciated.
Sometimes I find myself wanting to write a novel as quickly as I can, just to see if time really affects ‘quality’. I just haven’t found the… time :p
One day, maybe Stuart. I suppose, as writers, we are always writing, even if it is just in our own minds. Time is definitely a factor. Maybe that is why I prefer writing poetry; you can get the story out much quicker. Thank you for your thoughts.