There have been many articles written on the subject of a daily word count, and it seems there’s an equal number of writers for and against the idea. Over the past two months, I’ve used this technique while writing the first draft of my latest novel and would certainly recommend it. Read on to find out why.
1. Transform Daunting to Achievable
Even for experienced, successful authors, starting an 80,000 word draft for a new novel can be daunting. Days and weeks go by, and it’s still the 80,000 target that looms in the distance like a huge stinky ogre, intimidating and insurmountable. However, if we break it down into tiny chunks of 500 or 1,000 words, hey presto, it’s transformed into a smiling puppy, playful and achievable. Why? Because it’s measurable, and it’s predictable. We know with certainty that if we write 500 words per day, we will definitely finish our 80,000 word draft within six months. There is no doubt. It will happen.
2. Improve with Regular Practice
We know from past experience that the more we practice something, the quicker our skill level improves. It’s also true that the more frequently we practice, that our learning increases at an exponential rate. For example, writing 300 words per day develops our writing competency much quicker than sitting down once a week and churning out 2,000 words.
3. Do Enough
Setting a specific goal and reaching it can infuse a great sense of achievement. Without a target, it’s easy to feel like we haven’t done enough, that we should do more. Hitting our goal stops that nagging voice following us around all day. It gives us a sense of freedom and of a job well done.
4. Have an Inner Knowing
Repeating a task every day bestows us with a knowing that we can do it. We often hear about self-belief, how important it is, but ‘knowing’ is stronger than ‘believing’. Knowing has zero doubt, it cannot be shaken. When we hit our daily target on a regular basis, a time comes when we know that we can write that quantity whenever we choose. We have no doubt. And if asked to write something at short notice, our answer will be an automatic yes. I think that’s quite powerful.
5. Overcome Resistance, Procrastination & Writer’s Block
These troublemakers can often stop us from going near our writing desk. All three are fueled by the fear that maybe today the words won’t flow, or that anything we write will be absolute rubbish. However, now we know that the more often we write, the quicker we improve and the chance of us being happy with our work increases. When you know you can write three or four hundred words, then resistance, procrastination and writer’s block lose their power and vanish.
6. Write Without Distractions
Some writers prefer to write for a specific length of time every day, e.g. for one hour. I prefer a word target simply because I know I could sit for a whole hour, editing & deleting, mulling over plots & twists, researching locations and looking for character names beginning with the letter D. By the end of an hour, I might not have written any new words at all.
7. Silence Your Inner Critic
When I started using a daily target, my writing style changed from wanting to get it perfect, to a desire to make progress. My inner critic is a slow-moving gremlin who likes to stop and examine every word I type with a judgemental eye. However, my inner creative is a free spirit who wants to dance and flow with the story. My writing has benefited hugely from this more natural approach. Writing without judgement is way more fun.
Last Thoughts
If you like the concept of working with a daily word count but feel some resistance towards it, consider sitting with that feeling and exploring why you feel uncomfortable. My struggle came from the pressure of having to hit the target, but once I lowered it to a number that I felt was both achievable and sufficient to progress my project at a pace I was happy with, my fear changed to enthusiasm.
In the past two months, I have written over 30,000 words. I know that would not have happened without my daily motivator. Also, I now know for sure that I can write a certain number of words with ease. Those words may not always be great, but they’re something I can work with, that I can improve upon.
If you’re curious what writers like Mark Twain, Stephen King or Nicholas Sparks think on this subject, here’s a link to an article entitled ‘The Daily Word Counts Of 39 Famous Authors’, on the Writers Write website.
Happy writing,
Harry
Useful Links
‘The Daily Word Counts Of 39 Famous Authors’
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