My #writemotivation goal was 25000 words in September and I wrote 55000 (over two ideas) so I think I succeeded in that one ;)
I was taking part in Candace Havens Bootcamp and I thought you might be interested to know how I found it.
The aim has been to write 5k words a day over 2 weeks. We had a planning week first (which really helped) and are about to revise for a week. If I had succeeded in 5k a day for 2 weeks I would have 70k now. I didn't. 55000 averages to 3928 words a day.
I discovered:
- The importance of butt in chair time. Because my 'aim' was more words than I usually do in a day, I found more time in the day. I squeezed in half an hour here, and stayed up later there.
- The importance of motivation. Because we were all doing it together, encouraging each other, I felt motivated to succeed.
- The importance of planning - I plan anyway - and I did realise how much of a help it is for me in getting the words out.
- Drafting quickly helped me maintain the voice/plot in my head easier, without lots of going back over things.
- That 5k/day was too much for me. 3k is probably my 'sweet spot' where I can rely on the words to be okay and over this they were starting to be pedestrian. Given that my usual daily word count would have been 1-2k, this has shown me what is possible.
- That it's okay in a 1st Draft to make a note and carry on. If I had forgotten something or wanted to change something I merely added a comment, and carried on. Now in my first revision I'll deal with those. This helped me maintain the flow.
Overall this has been a very positive experience. I don't believe in word count over everything, and if I had felt that I was really producing rubbish I would feel negatively about this. But you know what? I didn't. Okay the last few paragraphs of the day were always pedestrian and need work, but that was the point where I allowed myself to stop. I didn't achieve the overall 70k aim but I achieved a heck of a lot more than I would have in 2 weeks otherwise!
The aim of getting words out every day really propelled me forward. I have become more disciplined in finding time and writing every day. I am going to carry that on as I a) finish my stories and b) revise.
Which brings me to revision! How much revision to do? How do you approach it? Revision Motivation Club anyone? :)
I asked a similar question before about editing and got interesting answers and I ask again now ;)
Great job on your progress! It's amazing the things you can learn when you get involved with something like this. :D
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I've always thought 3k would be a good goal for me to shoot for. I seem to get to 1k and even 2k some days a bit quickly, especially when drafting. Sometimes I think I could push myself more...this post will definitely make me think about doing it :)
ReplyDeleteI think you do great on both accounts. I couldn't even do five thousand in one day, let alone for two weeks solid.
ReplyDeleteDID great. Forgot how to write there...
ReplyDeleteI am a new follower and I am impressed with how much you accomplished. Wow, that's quite a number. I am sure that having other writers' supporting and encouraging you makes a difference. 5K a day just sounds overwhelming and frightening to me. I know that there are days when I write five thousand without even thinking about it, but having that as my daily target might overwhelm me. My biggest problem is utilizing the thirty minutes here and thirty minutes there that you wrote about. For some reason, I cannot make myself get into my writing if I know that I don't have very long to write. I know that I use this as an excuse because I get a good bit done waiting in carpool lines, but I do that to pass the time. I need to quit waiting for the perfect time to write- when I will have a couple of uninterrupted hours. Your post has helped me see that.
ReplyDeleteKyra - thank you, it's definitely been a useful experience.
ReplyDeleteKelly - I would see how you go, I definitely found there was a limit before it all went a bit rubbish so don't push too far but worth getting a few more out if you can I say!
Alex - thank you!
Melissa - thank you for following, nice to have you! It really did help being part of a 'boot camp' like that. I definitely would advise having a go at using those 30 mins, just see how it goes for a week. If you feel like it didn't help, no need to carry on with it!
Thanks everyone for commenting!