This week: 14,000 words, for a total of 69,000. I’m past the halfway point by my overall word target (125,000 for the first draft), though I suspect the story itself won’t work out that long – I’m not one for padding just to make a thicker book and the second draft usually offers some opportunities for exploring under-explained or unresolved threads.
Last week, I pointed out that my 2000 daily words now are better than my 2000 NaNoWriMo daily words, but that forcing yourself to write a lot in adverse circumstances can work. I left a thought half-finished with that post.
Yes, forcing yourself to write when tired and uninspired is one of the most basic ways to establish the all-important writing habit. And yes, sometimes we surprise ourselves with just how much we can produce even in adverse conditions.
But, unless deadline looms, go-slow is a valid approach. Yes, you must write every day, even tired and uninspired. But 2000 words in that condition? Especially when you’re just starting out? I can’t think of a faster way to make someone quit.
Start with a reasonable limit for yourself and your own situation. 500 words. 200 words. Even 100 words a day still gets you a decent-length novel with a thousand and one nights of perseverance. Your word target has to do not just with how much time you have available, but the quality of that time: one hour, hurried, harried, squeezed in? One hour, but uninterrupted, an oasis? The first is 100 words, the second maybe 500 (I discussed choosing minimum words verses minimum hours in ‘writing tips and techniques’ entry a few weeks ago).
Start by writing what you can think you can handle. Challenge yourself later with what you think might be more than you can handle.
