My word count and I are best friends and also horrible enemies. Frenemies, I guess? When I had time to write every day, I aimed for 1000-1500 words, which made me pretty happy. Then life happened (of course), and now I get what I can. On a bad day, 200 words isn't much, but it's a lot better than zero words.
It's my opinion that writing every day -- or say, 300-plus days out of a year -- is even more important than word count. I'd rather write 1,000 words five days a week than 5,000 words one day a week. But you're right, even a couple of hundred is far better than nothing and it builds over time, including juicing up your momentum.
I think 1500/day is a fabulous goal. I don't set a goal until my outline is done, prequel scenes written (these are just for me, to explore voice and backstory), and chapter 1 is under way. But when I do, it's usually 1-2k/day. I agree with you that those WC goals help keep you on track, writing in the flow, until the job is done!
Thanks for your reply! I did an outline for book 2 for the first time in my life, but otherwise I just began to write. However, having just finished book 1 (and revising it so many times), book 2 is coming very easy thus far because the plot, characters, and setting are so fresh in my mind. So this is sort of like what you mentioned about writing prequel scenes.
That seems a great, reasonable pace to me! I’m decidedly slow, much as I’d like not to be. It’s perhaps just part of who I am as a writer, given my creative process. On a good long day with minimal research, 1k words. On a slow day, 500 words. But most of that work happens in 3-hour bursts, so I try not to write for longer blocks.
Thanks for the reply! Yes, I tend to only write in 3-hour bursts as well (though I do try to find an additional hour sometime during the day to edit what I wrote the evening before). I also find myself fighting the constant urge to write a couple of paragraphs and then scroll social media and then write a couple of paragraphs and then ... I'm getting better.
I've gone in the opposite direction. I've had to fight the Inner Editor big time but now I just allow myself to write crap, at least some of the time. So my first drafts are definitely not polished. :)
Yes, poetry is a whole different animal that you can't just churn through and then improve in the revision process. Inspiration is the key to great poetry. With novels, you can permit yourself to write crap for the sake of meeting a word count because the revision process is where a book truly begins to shine, anyway. IMO.
My word count and I are best friends and also horrible enemies. Frenemies, I guess? When I had time to write every day, I aimed for 1000-1500 words, which made me pretty happy. Then life happened (of course), and now I get what I can. On a bad day, 200 words isn't much, but it's a lot better than zero words.
It's my opinion that writing every day -- or say, 300-plus days out of a year -- is even more important than word count. I'd rather write 1,000 words five days a week than 5,000 words one day a week. But you're right, even a couple of hundred is far better than nothing and it builds over time, including juicing up your momentum.
I think 1500/day is a fabulous goal. I don't set a goal until my outline is done, prequel scenes written (these are just for me, to explore voice and backstory), and chapter 1 is under way. But when I do, it's usually 1-2k/day. I agree with you that those WC goals help keep you on track, writing in the flow, until the job is done!
Thanks for your reply! I did an outline for book 2 for the first time in my life, but otherwise I just began to write. However, having just finished book 1 (and revising it so many times), book 2 is coming very easy thus far because the plot, characters, and setting are so fresh in my mind. So this is sort of like what you mentioned about writing prequel scenes.
That's great! Speaking of prequel scenes, my plan is to write one today...
Don't stop until you hit 1500 words! (Just kidding.)
Here's to that!
That seems a great, reasonable pace to me! I’m decidedly slow, much as I’d like not to be. It’s perhaps just part of who I am as a writer, given my creative process. On a good long day with minimal research, 1k words. On a slow day, 500 words. But most of that work happens in 3-hour bursts, so I try not to write for longer blocks.
Thanks for the reply! Yes, I tend to only write in 3-hour bursts as well (though I do try to find an additional hour sometime during the day to edit what I wrote the evening before). I also find myself fighting the constant urge to write a couple of paragraphs and then scroll social media and then write a couple of paragraphs and then ... I'm getting better.
Ah, social media. I mostly fight distractions in the process of settling down to write. My nemesis / frenemy during writing is the Inner Editor.
Ha! I think it might be the Inner Editor that nudges me toward social media. :)
I have one of those Inner Editors, too! But lately I've decided to stop fighting it and let it help me create a fairly polished first draft.
I've gone in the opposite direction. I've had to fight the Inner Editor big time but now I just allow myself to write crap, at least some of the time. So my first drafts are definitely not polished. :)
Everyone is so different in their process!
Yes, poetry is a whole different animal that you can't just churn through and then improve in the revision process. Inspiration is the key to great poetry. With novels, you can permit yourself to write crap for the sake of meeting a word count because the revision process is where a book truly begins to shine, anyway. IMO.