Skip to main content

Word Count Woes



I'm the kind of writer who needs a target or a deadline. So much so that I set my own when I have nothing else in the pipeline.

I often pick a competition or two to enter and work on a project which fits in with it or start something which specifically fits the brief. These days I don't need to start something as there's always another idea just waiting in the periphery or a character clamouring for me to tell his/her story.

I'm also lucky that I attend a fortnightly writing group. This in itself serves as a kind of deadline as I know I have to prepare a set piece for the group to critique. But what happens in the in between times?

Well, this is where my word count chart comes into play. I first started up this little marvel of coloured boxes when I read a blog post by Emily Benet on how she keeps track of her daily words. And until recently it has been a fabulous tool to keep up the habit of writing on a daily basis.  It's a way of tracking achievements as I edit ongoing projects, start new ones and complete blog posts such as this.

The word count chart was going fabulously as I was regularly exceeding my monthly count.  So I decided to give myself a challenge. I upped the anti for April and increased my weekly word count from 3500 a week to 4000. This is not all that much in the scheme of things. However, I was not counting on the first 2 weeks of April being the busiest I've had so far this year.

There was:


The making of the pickled fish for Good Friday – a whole day process involving fish frying, onion chopping and bubbling vinegar. My kitchen turned into a crazy fish pickling factory/alchemists bubbling crucibles affair. It was so well worth it though. Was licking my fingers for days after with the left overs.




Preparing for Georgia's (my second cousin) stay – as I was working Saturdays all of last year and the year before it was very difficult for her to come and stay with me so we could have quality time together. No more Saturday job means we can get this practice back on track. Yippee! But forgot that having young people around means organising things for them to do and keep them busy.






Suggesting I host Chantal B's birthday lunch on Easter Monday.  Whose bright idea was that? Oh yes, mine.










And the final topping on this crazy fortnight – preparing to run a 3 day Inkhead workshop on superheroes.






The end result:






Word count spreadsheet for March – first fortnight










Word count spreadsheet for April – first fortnight





Can anyone spot the difference?

So the moral of this tale dear readers: don't set yourself a new target unless it's achievable or you're going to set yourself up for failure.

But there is some good news. We're nearly at the end of April and I'm back on track getting words down on the page. I might yet make this crazy new word count target I've set myself.







Comments

  1. Thank you for another great Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such information.
    online word count tool

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My pleasure James. Will try to keep the useful stuff coming.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It's much appreciated as is the time you take to write a comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Faetaera: Through The Rabbit Hole

  Larell’s heart was full to the brim.  His audience with Aurelia had been unexpected and full of wonder.  He was not surprised she was aware of his plans to send a force through to the other side.  Aurelia always knew everything going on in her world.  At times he thought he saw the weight of it bearing down upon her.  Then he wished to take her in his arms and carry her as well as the burdens she bore.  But of course he would never do this, merely imagine it.  It made him love her all the more.  She thought he did not know how she came by her information and he planned on keeping it that way.  It was the only way he knew to express his love for her without feeling foolish.   In the crystal lined chamber he felt her load more palpably than usual.   He knew it was simply his foolish love-sickness for his Queen but he let the feeling soak through him regardless.   Aurelia's lips twitched briefly as though she was amused.   She was kind in her tolerance of his ridiculous obsess

Faetaera: A Triumvirate

  A Triumvirate Brairton’s minions slipped through a barely noticeable fissure.  The tear would close shortly.  Despite the increase in their regularity the breaches rarely stayed open very long.  To the three insidious spies, the stink of the new world was almost unbearable.  But in time the triumvirate would each become so used to it they would scarcely notice it at all.  That it poisoned them they did not know.  Brairton was not in the habit of informing his operatives of fatal consequences.  Their programming precluded any thought beyond the mission they must complete.  In this Brairton had been exact and had performed the necessary rituals himself. Each had their mission branded into their being.   They would travel together for some time but then slip off to their secret destinations one by one, never to see each other again. The threesome latched on to their individual targets and began their particular brand of individual mischief immediately. Minion one skulked off to en

Aphasia - Phase 1

It was one morning of May 2021. I woke up and I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know I had a stroke. I carried on as though I was okay. I even tried to negotiate with my guest when she was leaving. I tried to talk but only mumbles came out of my mouth. She left me with a big hug. I knew something was wrong. I tried to call my cousin, Michelle. With a few grunts, I convinced her to come round to my place. In the end she came round and she was very worried. She stayed with and we had lunch together. After she left, I called my friend in Sheffield, Bev. I tried to say what was wrong with me. I couldn’t speak. She rang my neighbour, Kathy. Kathy was out with Nelson, her fabulous dog. Bev rang her so she came round. When she came to my house I was sitting in the dark. Bev said she should call an ambulance. I took the phone from her and shook my head. Before long my neighbours Lizz and Leo came to see how I was. Kathy told Leo to ring the ambulance because I took her phone. She did not know w