I've never understood writers who could crank out 40k+ words in like...a month. Yeah, I'm looking at you NaNo Nerds! How do you do it? Chug down a pack of Four Loko drinks in one sitting?!
I've been around the writing circuit for a while and I believe there are three kinds of writers when we're talking about speed.
1. The Technicians: These guys are the ones like Stephen King. They set aside a daily word count and find the time to crank it out on paper. These writers are the planners. They can plod through an entire 70k novel in like...two months and who successfully finish NaNoWriMo. Technicians are diligent and methodical. They make writing look easy (when it isn't!) and can publish 5 or 6 books in a year while balancing a 9-to-5 job and 3 kids. I am in envy of these people.
2. The Dreamers: These are the ones who rely on "inspiration" alone to finish their manuscripts. When the mood strikes them, they can sit down and create something. However, because inspiration isn't necessarily a "timed" or "consistent" phenomenon, it can take these writers months...even years to get through a novel. Dreamers can spend 24hrs+ writing feverishly and then go months between projects waiting on their next "muse." I happen to be a Dreamer. When I do sit down to write, I do so for hours at a time--often at the expense of other things, like attending classes, eating, sleeping, or feeding the dog. I once spent 27hrs straight writing a novella. My poor step-mother actually brought food to my room and forced me to eat because I hadn't eaten that day. I was too "juiced up" to think about food or sleep.
3. The Hobbyists: We all know these writers. These are the ones who hardly ever finish a novel, or who start five or six novels at a time without any real concern to publish any of them. These writers take pleasure in the writing process itself. They write because it gives them something to do. When they get the time, they might write a poem or two...but Hobbyists don't take themselves too seriously and usually don't expect anyone else to either. Their motivation does not stem from compulsion (like the Dreamers) or ambition (like the Technicians) but from recreational pleasure. Some bloggers and fan-fiction writers could fall into this category.
So which are you?
