Sept 18, 2023
Do you keep track of your word count on a daily basis? What’s your record for most and least words? (Not including those days when you don’t write anything.)
In the past, I’ve obsessed over the numbers of words I’ve written in the day as a measure of my productivity. I got into the habit when I participated in (NaNoWriMo) National Novel Writer’s Month. The goal is to write 50,000 words during the month of November. It’s a way to force myself to not obsess over the nitpicky bits of writing and just get words on paper.
Can I remember how many words I wrote daily during my last Nano? The goal is about 1660, The best I remember is around 2000. The worst during a sprint was less than 400. No, I no longer know the exact counts.
Now? I don’t keep count of exactly how many words I write when I write. I’m not even writing every day because of the projects I want to finish outside before cold weather moves in. I’m more focused on getting the story right. If that means I slow down and pay attention to word choice, so be it. The story I’m writing is darker than my normal style, and I’m crafting it versus just writing it. Some days I may write 500-700 words, other days squeak out 100. Then there are the days when I strip out 300 words and replace them. It’s a slow process.
Yes, I am still obsessing over my work-in-progress, but not its word count. I’m currently around 33,000 words, which I figure is about half the book. I have loose ends all over the place, but plenty of time to tie things together. I’m obsessing about the balance between action and emotions, and how to tie the two together. Nothing is simple. Everything and everyone is suspect. It slows down word count and for this book, that’s okay.
I’m making guesses on who among the authors on this hop count words. (I got a sneak peek at one of the posts, so I’m cheating!) Find out with me by following the links below.
Until next time, please stay safe.
Sept 18, 2023
Do you keep track of your word count on a daily basis? What’s your record for most and least words? (Not including those days when you don’t write anything.)
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
I like to get the words down, as many as I can, and then edit them. Giving myself a target to reach for helps me to concentrate. And, nothing is ever wasted. Anything I’ve edited out of one story may well end up in another one.
I’ve started saving decent ‘outtakes” even if I never use them.
I think it’s better not to count words and just write when you feel like it.
There are days when I have to force myself to sit at the computer or I’ll never get any writing done!
I haven’t written anything for weeks. I tend to write more in the winter.
I’m an every day writer, but I let myself count the time even with as few as 250 words. @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
If it moves or colors the story, it counts!