Confession of an Overwriter: How My Writing Process Led to 140,000 Words in 10 Weeks and What Happened Next

Earlier this year, I joined a novel accountability group. We had two shared goals: write at least 500 words a day and finish our 50,000-word drafts by September 1.

That 500-words-a-day target got in my head right away—not because it was hard, but because it wasn’t. I rarely struggled to hit that number, and from what I could tell, most of the group did.

Instead of feeling confident, I worried I was going too fast.

But then I remembered something I’ve read from countless authors: get the first draft out fast.

For me, that made sense. Staying fully immersed in my story meant I could keep the emotional threads and plot details alive in my head without having to constantly “reload” them each time I sat down.

Here's a look at my writing process as an "overwriter" to get my first draft out fast, and a quick look at what happened during drafting and revision...

1) I switched from word count to writing time

Around that time, I read The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt. He suggests writing for two hours a day instead of chasing a daily word count.

That clicked for me instantly. I swapped out my 500-word target for two hours in the chair, and something shifted. Once I let go of the daily number, I started to really jam. I got through my story in just ten weeks.

I called it my “zero draft” instead of my first draft, because it was really me telling the story to myself. It came in at nearly 140,000 words—far too long for a suspense novel (which should be closer to 90,000 at most).

But instead of panicking, I reframed how I saw revision: chiseling away from a big block of raw material rather than building the story up piece by piece.

2) I learned where my extra words lived

A lot of my excess lived in Act 1, where I was still figuring out the story. I wrote extra scenes I didn’t end up needing, and in some cases, I could replace a whole scene with a single sentence. That was easier to spot in revision than I expected.

I also learned I have a habit of doubling back on myself. I’ll write a moment vividly in scene... then immediately explain it in a more “tell-y” way. Those were easy cuts.

Same with stage directions. If a character walks across the room, picks up a glass, and takes a sip, I don’t need to spell out every step unless it matters, so those were easy cuts, too.

3) I found freedom in owning my writing process

Accepting that I’m an overwriter—and that my process involves cutting down rather than filling in—was freeing. I stopped comparing my word count to everyone else’s and leaned into the way I naturally work.

I also learned a lot from the process. Next time I draft a novel, I think I’ll avoid some of the over-writing traps I fell into this time...

...but I won’t try to change the fact that my first pass is always going to be long. That’s just how I get the story out. And as long as I’m willing to pick up the chisel in revision, I’m okay with that!

Is being an overwriter part of your writing process?

I’m always curious about how other writers approach their first draft! Do you overwrite like I do, or are you someone who writes lean and then fills in later? I’d love to hear about your process. Leave a comment below or send me a message here.

Peace & plenty,