The Roadblock of Word Counts
By Stephen Zimmer
Being
the writer of an epic fantasy series, and an epic-scale urban fantasy series,
generating a sizeable word count for a novel is something I am fairly familiar
with. Yet I never lose sight of the fact
that writing a novel echoes the process of building a house or other
significant structure, in that it is put together piece by piece, day by day,
over the course of time involving many variances in productivity and elements. Some of those elements are large, and others
are small, but all are components of the end result, and that is what I want to
discuss here in regards to writing.
Now
that I am on the verge of having my seventh novel released, and being a guest
panelist at many conventions and conferences, I am finding myself increasingly
in situations where I am talking to writers who are just starting out on their
journey. One of the subjects that often arises
in conversations is the issue of word counts, and what kinds of daily goals
some writers set. This is a process that
becomes very focused upon during an activity like the well-known NanoWrimo,
which definitely stimulates a desire for setting a daily word count goal in the
quest to write a novel-length work over the course of a single month.
I’m not here today to talk about the pro’s or con’s of
something like NanoWrimo, but I am here to discuss the idea of word counts and
what I’ve personally observed with many writers. I realize that many wonderful and
well-established writers advocate setting a word count goal for every session. As every writer is different, this route may indeed
work well for some, but I don’t think it is helpful to view this method as an
absolute one-size-fits-all for all writers.
In a nutshell, I’m not a fan of setting a hard word count for every
writing session, and I have some reasons I’ve gleaned over the years as to why
I feel strongly about that and do not recommend it for many writers.
Ultimately, I believe that it is much more important to
focus on writing regularly, than it is to focus on a minimum word count figure. Whether you get 250 words done or 10,000 in a
writing session, it is much more important to establish a regular rhythm of
writing. Building upon your writing
project daily is perhaps the most optimal goal, but many things in life can get
in the way of being able to carve out a chunk of time on a particular day, so
the key I advocate is to make sure you are on a regular pattern that is as
close to daily as possible for your own circumstances.
I have seen many writers become highly daunted by the idea
of word counts, and it affects them enough that they end up not writing as a
result. I always try to get them to
focus on the idea of writing regularly, and ignoring word counts, just so they
can see how a short story or novel can build up even if you are only able to
find time each day to write 500 or 1,000 words.
My books in the Fires in Eden series, especially, and the
Rising Dawn Saga, go well past 200,000 words, but many of the increments in the
creation of those novels involve days where I only had time to do a 700 or 800
word count session. Yet each and every
day I know I am building my work, no matter what, and I feel that instills a
positive, pro-active mindset that will keep you on course until you cross the
finish line. I urge you to never, ever
forget that those small word count days are building blocks that become part of
the whole.
I’ve also found my writing to be much stronger when I am writing on a daily basis than when my writing sessions get a little scattered over a week or two due to special work circumstances. The process of walking away and returning fresh to your work regularly helps you to see things you might need to brush up or correct much more clearly, and it also gets you into a good mental zone continuity-wise for the project you are working on. Even further, it gives you a feeling of accomplishment, even if it was a low word count day.
Contrast this with a situation where a writer with a heavy
work schedule, family obligations, and other factors in life has set a hard
word count goal whereby they begin to regularly find themselves falling short
of the mark. Instead of focusing on the
regular progress being made, the writer will often tilt towards the negative of
not having met their word count goal.
Over the course of time, a level of frustration begins to mount and they
slow down further or halt altogether.
I’ve watched this happen, and in every case it was simply a matter of
the word count goal not being met that caused the frustration.
After seeing so many writers either slide into non-activity,
or worry themselves to the point that they never leave the starting gate to
begin with, I think it would be much healthier for a great many beginning
writers to simply put the full focus on writing regularly, whether that means
200 words on one day, 600 the next, and 2,000 the day after that. Write on a schedule keeping you as close to
daily for sessions as you possibly can, without any set word count goal, and
you will amaze yourself as you see short stories, novellas, and novels alike
take form and be completed.
Writing regularly and often is, in my view, the most
important thing by a long shot. If you have been daunted by the idea of completing
a novel due to having a busy schedule with family and work, or if setting a
hard word count goal has not worked out well for you over time, I advise you to
simply focus on writing on a steady schedule without obsessing about how many
words you have written in an individual session. I have more than a hunch you will be
pleasantly surprised by the end result!
-Stephen
I always love to hear from readers and other authors. Please feel free to connect with me at:
http://www. Twitter.com/sgzimmer
stephenzimmer.blogspot.com
and Google+
Thanks so much Stephen for being with us today, I really enjoyed this post and hope all the readers out there does as well.
About the Author
Born in Denver Colorado in 1974, Stephen Zimmer is an author and filmmaker currently residing in Lexington, Kentucky. The Exodus Gate, the first book in the Rising Dawn Saga, was Stephen's debut novel, published through Seventh Star Press. Stephen's independent films as a writer/director include the indie feature Shadows Light (Modern Fantasy/Supernatural Thriller) and the horror short film The Sirens (on the Indie Movie Masters Festival of Horrors Vol. 1 DVD)"
5 comments:
Thank you so much for letting me visit! :) really appreciate the chance to get to discuss word counts!
I am an alum of 5 years of NaNoWriMo, and have huge enthusiasm for the challenge. NaNo, and it's insane wordcount drive have brought me success in writing that I would not have dreamed of before.
That said, I agree that a daily wordcount goal is not easily sustainable over a long period of time, and could easily become discouraging to the point of quitting a project or perhaps giving up writing entirely.
The important thing that NaNo teaches isn't just churning out the words, it's forging ahead, gagging the internal editor, and leaving doubts about quality behind.
My feeling is that a flawed finished work that needs repair is far better to have than a half-finished abandoned project that's beautifully edited but killed by frustration or doubts. Just write it and fix it later.
Forward progress daily is much more important than meeting an arbitrary numeric goal. Just set aside time, however much you have, every day. If you miss a day because your kid needed to go to the dentist or your day job required extra overtime... so be it. Pick it up again tomorrow, whether it's 15 minutes or two hours, 100 words or 2,500.
Thanks. That's a pleasantly timely post for me to read today.
@Eric - You are one of the types of writers that something like Nano is helpful too, it sounds, but I'm glad you see what I'm getting at in regard to the importance of writing often as opposed to strict word counts.
@Sheila - You are very welcome! :)
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