A Demo for the Anthony Trollope Writing Method
Anthony Trollope was an English novelist who published “47 novels, 18 works of non-fiction, 12 short stories, 2 plays, and an assortment of articles and letters” over the course of his career (Clear, “The 15-Minute Routine”). This incredible volume of writing was reportedly achieved through a demanding personal system Trollope would conduct everyday:
- Set a timer for 15 minutes (in Trollope’s case, he would just check his watch)
- Write at least 250 words before the timer was up
- Repeat for 3 total hours of writing
At the end of the day’s session, Trollope would have completed twelve 15-minute rounds of work, resulting in 3000 total words per day.
Considering the simple yet specific nature of Trollope’s method, I wondered if trying the method out myself would solve my recent issues with writing anxiety.
Today, I sat down, set a 15-minute timer, and got to writing. Here are my results:
Journal Entry #16. 20240128
I am currently experimenting with a new method to get over writing anxiety called the Anthony Trollope method, which I learned a few months ago from an article by James Clear that I had since forgotten but only remembered today. The method consists of setting a 15-minute timer and challenging yourself to write 250 words or more in that time frame. 250 words is approximately one page, whether you’re writing on a computer or by hand in a journal like I am right now.
My reason for picking up this method is that I needed a way to get over the barrier of staring at a blank page and overthinking/freaking out over how to perfectly word things or how my writing would be received or what people would say about my work. (God, does my hand hurt.)
I was at a boba shop today looking through help articles by college writing workshops and random Reddit posts when a comment reminded me of that one really famous quote people usually attribute to Hemingway (but I guess no one really knows) saying, “Write drunk, edit sober.” Whether or not Hemingway meant this literally or metaphorically (or even said the quote at all) is up for debate.
Still, I think the advice still stands when interpreted metaphorically (not that I could follow it literally anyway given I’m not of drinking age): On the first draft, write without restraint or control. Write like a drunk person, vomiting words without filter or thought. Write before you can comprehend what you’re saying. That seems to be the bulk of the advice (at least the first half).
So here I am, one page through my journal. Whether or not this exceeds the 250 words goal is to be determined when I copy this over to a Google Doc, but I can definitely say this is far more than I could have written if I were not using this method and instead just sitting in front of a blank page like I usually would. Of course, this is still one trial, so the resilience of this method over a long period of consistent use is to be determined.
If I were to implement this method into my daily routine, I’d probably schedule a 15-minute writing block right after my 7PM shower (If you’re planning on assassinating me, you should at least know this part of my routine).
Yeah, this worked pretty well for a first trial. Would recommend.
Sources:
Clear, James. “The 15-Minute Routine Anthony Trollope Used to Write 40+ Books.” https://jamesclear.com/anthony-trollope
