The stupidest complex I have given myself (by comparing myself to more productive writers) is the anxiety I feel about taking too long to write. So here’s a reminder for anyone who needs to see it: It’s ok to give your book time! Here are some famous books that took time to write

- Peter Pan at around 47k words took 9 years
- diary of a wimpy kid at 20k, also 9 years
- charlotte’s Web at 32 k, 3 years
- a monster calls at 33k, 4 years
- mortal engines at 77k, 6 years
- Artemis Fowl at 66k, 1 year

If you find yourself freaking out and stressing out and just generally feeling like an unproductive lump because your book is taking time, just remember it took four years to create the absolute masterpiece that is A Monster Calls. Your book deserves all the time it needs.

Next month I’m going to be embarking on the umpteenth round of edits for my Djinn book. And I found myself resenting the two months it will take to make the book even better. Imagine resenting pouring two more months into the book of my heart written as an ode to desi parents

More important books that took time:

- the curious incident of the dog in the night time, 62 k, 2 years

- Alice’s adventures, 26k, 1 year

- Matilda, 40k, 2 years

- the little prince, 16k, 3 years
- the lion the witch and the wardrobe, 36k ten years

This list focuses on books for kids because that’s what I write (and also in my personal opinion the most influential and important books are the ones that are written for kids), but I suspect there’s a similar list of data for adult novels.

But if you’re writing for kids it’s specially ok for you to take the time to make your book as good as possible. You are writing some kid’s future favourite book! They’re going to read it to bits and share it with their kids some day. Give the book the time and love it needs

Peter Rabbit at 975 words took Beatrice Potter one whole year to write. That evens out to a grand total of three words per day. But the value of those three words! The sheer cultural significance

Part of my anxiety as a poc writing books about poc characters is that if I take too long they’re not going to be acquiring books like mine. Maybe they’ll decide they have enough Djinn books by POCs (even though there are hundreds of Djinn books by white writers). But I have to

believe that if I write a good enough book they’ll want it. Even if the hurdles I have to jump are higher