I could probably write 1,000 words of crap, but I've already stated why I think that's a bad idea. In fact, I've also stated why I think it's a bad idea to work via word count at all. So why do I still have a daily word count at all (hypocrite!)? Why am I still keeping this chart?
- I need the motivation. I need a goal, and I need to meet it.
- Words written are what show progress toward a goal; time spent does not. I need to SEE the progress.
- It's pretty.
So maybe I was wrong before; maybe I was right but I'm not smart enough to heed my own advice. In any event, I still have a daily word count goal. And I'm finding that 500 words is perfect for me. I find that I can accomplish it even after a bad day at work, and that makes me feel satisfied and productive--key to keeping up a daily writing pace. I find that after a fairly calm day at work, I can accomplish twice my goal or more, and that makes me feel like the queen of the world. And it also means that when I have a particularly godawful shit day at work and can't do anything but pour myself a gin and tonic and stare at the wall, I don't lose much ground.
So I'm making measurable, consistent progress, AND bonus: I feel good about myself. I'm about one-third through the book, and it's going to be exhausting as a marathon to get it done. Keeping myself feeling GOOD about myself and my writing each day, again and again, is the key to progress. Feeling accomplished without feeling overwhelmed is awesome. I know what burning out feels like. I don't, I can't burn myself out on the thing I love most in the world.
The slope may be shallower, but the progress is still upward and onward. I'm aiming for publication by December 2012. Can I do it?
3 comments:
You know, 500 words is a perfectly respectable daily output for a writer with a day job and a life. Trying for double that is fine for NaNoWriMo or other testing-your-limits projects, once in a while; it's not really reasonable as a lifestyle when you have obligations outside of the work.
Hell, lots of pros - the ones who get to do this full-time - don't manage a grand a day consistently. So I think you're doing just fine here.
Thanks, Dan! I read a blog post the other day by a woman who averages 10k a day, 5 days a week. It demoralized me. But then again, I don't ONLY write--and that's a Good Thing.
My raised-eyebrow reaction is, "Yes, but are they ten thousand good words?"
...But really, that doesn't matter. Maybe they really are and she's a rare genius. Maybe that's just the way she works, and she needs to get all that out to get the two thousand good words she really wants. Maybe she finds so much glory and edification in the act of creating that it doesn't make any difference if they're good or not.
The point is, what works for one person isn't going to be reasonable as a universal standard. Every creative field generates a lot of buzz about the rate at which you "should" be generating output - much of which, I tend to believe, is more or less hoo-ha. If your work is compelling and of sufficient quality, your audience is not going to sigh and give up on you because you don't give them something new every six months like clockwork. (Indeed, I suspect that's an excellent way to oversaturate your market and give your fans Customer Fatigue.)
Indy creators do their thing on all kinds of schedules and do just fine. Nick Saloman put out close to an album a year for over two decades, and then took a seven-year hiatus before the latest release. I assure you that Frond fans did not begrudge the wait, and turned up like anything to get our hands on The Leaving of London and put it into heavy rotation with the rest of the catalogue.
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