This award is so perfect for me! I didn't make this, but I decided to bestow it upon myself, nonetheless. I am definitely the type of writer inclined to be slow. So, with a new year and the tradition to start a new path that is better than the old one from last year, I've decided to set an intention to write everyday.
I realized that if I were to write at least 300 words a day for the entire year, I would have over 100,000 words completed by the end of the year. That's not hard! That's so doable, so this is what I'm intending to do for the year of 2015. 100,000 words written is great for one year, especially for a slowpoke like me. Maybe I'll be able to make this award not apply to me anymore.
The most important trick to making this work is to set a low word count that is so easy to meet everyday, there's no excuse not to do it. Like brushing your teeth twice a day, which takes so little time and reaps huge benefits compared to never doing it. Also, write any sort of fiction, even if it's just free-writing or fanfiction. It all counts toward your overall word count goal for the year, and you can worry about writing a best seller later. Most of what we write as fiction authors never sees the light of day, anyway, so just write!
Happy New Year to everyone!
Any New Year's Resolutions for you writers out there?
I love this resolution! I've implemented something similar myself with 700 words as my goal. Meeting it is super easy now and I feel like I've accomplished something each day and hopefully it'll lead to being able to finish a draft without too much hassle. Best of luck!
ReplyDelete@Lan: Thanks! It's the chipping away at it technique and allowing yourself the entire year to get a lot of writing done. Best of luck to you, too!
DeleteHappy New Year, Cathy! It's a great goal to have! Every little bit of writing does add up.
ReplyDelete@Cherie: Happy New Year to you, too! Hope your writing goes very well this year. :)
DeleteThanks, Cathy! I hope your writing is going well so far.
DeleteThree hundred a day is doable. That's a blog post. Happy New Year!
ReplyDelete@Alex: Yeah, it's a like a short blog post everyday. Easy-peasy! Happy New Year to you, too. :)
DeleteI'll bet I could give you a run for that award. The real problem for me comes during the revisions, when all those words i wrote the first tine through have to be thrown away. Again and again. That's when my progress grinds to a halt. Good luck with the writing in 2015!
ReplyDelete@Ken: Even if those words have to be thrown out, they still count in your overall writing word count goal. So, don't get too discouraged! Good luck to you in the new year, too. :)
DeleteI hotly contest your award. I'M the slowest writer, dagnabbit! I completer my novel, Soul Cutter, in Aug of 2012 and have yet to complete another. I finally got writing a bit last summer, and then trunked the book when I got tired of it at 45k. Now I'm 10k into a new one. Yes, that's a total of 55k written over 2 and a half years. I just did the math and that's 60 wds a day. Ha! I definitely win the underachiever award!
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your goal! I really hope you finish your book even before you think you will! :)
@Lexa: You might be right! I hate to admit it, but you have 'Slowest Writer' written all over you! Well, at least you finished a novel once (or more than once, considering unpublished words you might have). I still need to actually finish something more than 30K words long. Good luck to you, too, on reaching your writing goals this year. We both need more than our fair share of it! :)
DeleteHappy new year to you! Your self-bestowed slowest writer award made me laugh ;-) 100k words for the year is a fantastic goal -- and definitely achievable!
ReplyDelete@Rachel: Happy New Year to you, too! Well, I have to just embrace all of myself, good and bad. Thanks for the comment! :)
DeleteGreat idea! I had thought of doing something similar at the start of the year, one page a day for a year. But.... I got sick, the whole family got sick, yada, yada, yada.... you know how it goes. Anyway, I'm hoping to start something similar this month. Good luck, you totally got this! :D
ReplyDelete@Elise: Yeah, I definitely got this! I realized that the simplest resolutions are the best ones because they can actually be achieved. So far, so good. Good luck with your writing goals this year, too. :)
DeleteLOL! You're not the slowest writer. I hear you though, a little bit a day adds up over time.
ReplyDelete@Crystal: Definitely! That's all I'm trying to do--just write a little everyday and see the word count add up. Thanks for your comment. :)
DeleteGladly! You see these writers who pump out 10K in a week, but I'm more a fan of the 300 to 1000 a day, as much as the brain will put out. =)
DeleteWishing you are having a roaring start to the New Year!
ReplyDeleteLove this! I feel like I am the slowest writer! :) Thanks for making me smile today!
ReplyDelete