Why Word Counts Are (IMHO) Bollix
… as a measure of writing progress that is.
For some years now, particularly on Twitter, I have observed writers citing word counts as a record of progress on a w.i.p. Two thousand (2000) words per day, in particular, appears to be a favoured indicator of the same.
While acknowledging that every writer’s process is different and that for some 2000 words per day may genuinely represent progress, my own experience is that word counts are complete bollix in this respect.
The reason why is that the only true measure of progress is whether the story advances—and one can, not unlike Penelope of Ithaca at her web, write those 2000 words one day and spend the next unravelling them. Two thousand words (or any number, in fact) that take a story in the wrong direction represent no progress at all, except in the very crude sense of having explored a storytelling direction and found it wanting. But this may bring you no closer to the “true north” of your story, which may well require more trail and error yet.
Now some readers may protest that if one is a “planner” (as opposed to a “pantser”) that situation will not arise. My counter argument is that having duly planned (yes, I do indeed do that some times 😉 ), knowing full well what one wishes to achieve in a section is not the same as instantaneously finding the best words in their best order in terms of delivering on that objective. And no plan, as Graf von Moltke so percipiently observed, survives contact with the enemy…
Sure, some days the words I get onto the page, whether 200 or 2000 or 20,000 (I could wish!), will indeed survive intact and form a vital part of the book. On others, however—but then again, perhaps a veil is best drawn over the blood bath that is those other days, purely in the interests of preserving reader sensibilities.
So I’m very much afraid that whenever I see a post or tweet celebrating a word count as evidence of writing progress the balloon over my head does rather paraphrase the excellent line from the film Sliding Doors: “Helen says bollix to that” — certainly in the context of my own writing although I suspect my experience is far from unique.
And if I am, alas, unique then well done all the other authors: clearly you are made of awesome. 🙂
Well, having read your books we know that you are made of awesome
Thanks, Andrew. 🙂