On the Absolute Write website there is a grand tutorial - a thread running to more than 300 posts, which i am slowly reading through. A very great resource!

The link:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6710&page=1&pp=25

And here is just one quote from Uncle Jim which I would dearly love to expand on here, perhaps on another thread:

A term y'all may not know is quadrigia. That's a four-horse chariot, with the horses all side by side. If any of the horses is stronger, or faster, or slower, than the others, the chariot won't run straight. It takes a skillful charioteer to drive one. "Quadrigia" was also a medieval term for a theory of sermon construction. The four horses of this quadrigia were the literal, allegorical, moral and spiritual (or mystical) senses. The sermon had to function on all four of those levels, simultaneously, and equally. If any one were faster, slower, stronger, or weaker, the sermon would run off-course. I'm a believer in hidden structures. You can do worse than to have your novel function on those four levels, simultaneously. Remember, to stand out from the slush, your novel has to have more, and be better, than 98% of the other manuscripts that are piled on the editor's desk. Adding levels of meaning, layers of discourse, a structure, will make your novel stand out. Writing is a skill. It is an art. Some people can do it unconsiously, but I can't. I'm the calculating, analytical kind of author. So far it's stood me in good stead.

Thanks Aruna, that's very interesting. However, by about the fourth posting, I already feel intimidated:

By "my work" I mean ten pages of original prose fiction every day. That isn't so bad, really. It's only about 2,500 words. It's only two hours or so.

He makes it sound so easy!

Adele.

Adele,
I don't think we should worry about the number of words - if you can only write 500, then so be it. The point is ti think that we sinply MAKE TIME -however long - each day for writing, and no escuses. Sit down at the desk and write - or not - but keep that time apart for writing. That we make it a habit - so that our minds know "this is writing time". Whether it is 200 words or 2000, 2 hours or 15 - that we train ourselves to be there for writing.
It gets really intersting the further you get. I'm now on about page 10. A long way to go!

Adele,
I don't think we should worry about the number of words - if you can only write 500, then so be it. The point is I think that we simply MAKE TIME - however long - each day for writing, and no excuses. Sit down at the desk and write - or not - but keep that time apart for writing. That we make it a habit - so that our minds know "this is writing time". Whether it is 200 words or 2000, 2 hours or 15 - that we train ourselves to be there for writing.
It gets really intersting the further you get. I'm now on about page 10. A long way to go!

What about that "quadriga" thingy? I find it very intersting but I'm not quite sure wjat he means by "literal". Would that be style, ie the actual use of words, or structure, plot, etc? Or something else? The other three - no problem.

Phew, I'm glad you don't think that's an ideal target word count. I have no trouble sitting down and writing every day, but very rarely hit that word count!

<Added>

Ok, most days. I must 'fess up to downtime!

I've never heard of quadrigia before and, unfortunately, it makes me think of quadroplegia and then Quadrophenia (the X-rated Mods film that I tried and failed to get into when I was 13)

As for the literal meaning, perhaps he means the words taken at face value without considering any kind of subtext. I'm not sure.

Adele.

Thanks, Sharon for posting this and drawing it to our attention. I've had a look and there's a lot in there of interest.
It did make me think, though, about how differently our American cousins view the writing process. They place much more emphasis on the reader and his/her reactions. In Europe we seem to talk more about the writer and how he/she feels about the act of creating. Also Americans are very interested in productivity, words per hour, books per year etc whereas this kind of discussion tends to embarrass us, maybe because we have the (flawed, probably) impression that quantity and quality are inversely proportionate.
I'd be very interested in hearing what American members of WW think of our attitudes to writing.