Update On The Big Writing Goal 2012
It’s just on a month now since I posted about my big writing goal for 2012, here—namely that:
“I would like to try and complete Daughter of Blood, The Wall of Night Book Three, by 31 July of this year–without compromising on the quality of the work.”
I should add that 31 July is the end date for my current writer’s-in-residence stint at the University of Canterbury, so that is one reason for aligning my ‘big goal’ to that date.
I also talked last month about how I thought I might go about achieving the goal, including:
~ internet free writing time (keeping my residency office at the Uni internet free is the biggest part of that plan)
~ treating every month like NanoWriMo, ie aiming for a monthly target of 50,000 words on paper
So here’s the data for ‘month the first’ :
Overall word count for the month: 26,786 words
Chapters completed: 5, with the 6th well in train.
Highest New Word Count Per Day: 3200
Average New Word Count Per Day: 1100
(I almost always revise the previous day’s work and then write forward from there, so ‘new word count’ means on top of any revision done.)
Clearly 26,786 words is a long way from 50,000—but I am also very mindful that it’s not just about the quantity of words. It’s also, to paraphrase Coleridge, about getting “the right words in the right order.” So 1100 ‘right’ words in their ‘right order’ can be as valuable, if not more so, than 3000, or 5000, or 10,000 that need to be totally rewritten.
Having said that, getting words on the page at all, no matter their quality, is absolutely vital—as even having something (whether 100, 1000, or 10,000 words) that must be totally revised is still 100% further along the track than an empty page. A set word target can really help with that process—but it has to be a means to an end, not an end in itself.
Another reminder that consciously embarking on the big writing goal has brought home, is that the project can’t all be about getting to the destination, ie the finished book. Completion is very important, certainly, and so too is getting one’s writing out there—but a big part of being a writer has to be enjoying and feeling rewarded by the actual process of writing and creating the work. An undue concern with word counts per day could potentially mitigate against that: a lot, in fact.
As always it’s about creative tension, walking that highwire between getting a book written at all and writing it right. This point seems “obvious”, a truism even as I post these words now. But the great thing about writing books is that with each one I am starting afresh as well as ‘making it new’—and the early stages, with all those blank pages still stretching ahead, is a very different place than the final reworking of a completed draft. And a good place to remind myself about what’s really important in the process.
So that’s it from month-the-first: close on 27,000 words and 5-6 chapters. Having said that, I’m pretty sure that one of the first things I’m going to be doing this next writing month is tearing up one of those chapters and if not starting again from scratch, at least rewriting it substantially. And the whole “no internet” thing—definitely part of the solution!
Toot toot!
Thanks, Jan! 🙂
I’m glad I read this post, Helen – not just so I can congratulate you on the excellent progress you are making, but also because it took me back through the chain of posts as far as Rachel Aaron’s post on how she manages to write so many words per day. I very much doubt I will ever emulate that, or even come close to it, but there are some excellent techniques there (and in your posts on the subject) taht I can use to help increase my own more modest productivity. So, congratulations – and thanks.
Thanks, Tim–I’m glad you found it useful. I was very interested in Rachel Aaron’s post as well, but like you am not sure whether I shall ever get to 10,000 words per day … Perhaps I should also note right now that she also has RSI apparently so another considertaion to bear in mind. And now, off to that wriitng desk for me.:)
Very impressive word count!
Would you be able to write without access to the internet? Don’t you surf for inspiration if you’re a bit stuck and can’t think of the word you’re looking for? “No internet” can be helpful for a short while, but if it lasts too long it might be counter-productive.
Your method is also how I usually work: revising the previous day’s work and then go on from there.
Marion, I find no internet while actually wriitng is brilliant as the internet is the ultimate means of procrastination and distraction–even better than picking up leaves in the yard when one has an exam to study for, or work deadline looming. I do have my trusty hard copy dictionary and thesaurus on hand of course, and if I want to research something I make notes for net surfing or librray research once I am in non writing time. 🙂