This week I wrote 1441 words on a project.
Some of you are looking at that number and saying, "That's nothing." Others see at that number and say, "That's a lot." Here's the important thing: in one respect, the number doesn't matter.
What matters is that it's progress.
The most important step to publication is getting something complete, from beginning to end, that makes sense. It may not be good, but it makes sense. A person could read it and turn to you, frowning, to say "Lisa Stone vanished without a trace on page 107, and I wish I had some idea how the phases of the moon determine the strength of unchanged werewolves, but I love how they had to use the moon to trap the werewolves and launch them into space, since the main character's a rocket scientist and they spent the first half of the story trying to solve the werewolf murders."
...I'd actually like to read that. Maybe I should try to write it, once I have fewer projects.
But to get back to the point: completing a draft is the hardest part. It's the part most people fail at. To get from 'Chapter One' to 'The End' without leaving long sections blank, without saying 'Rocks fall everyone dies.' And the best way to get from point A to point Z is to make a commitment.
There are plenty of writing books and guides out there that advocate writing every day. That doesn't work for everyone. What matters is you make a commitment and stick to it. That commitment can be anything, so long as it's something you can stick with.
Stephen King, in his book On Writing, advocates reading for 3 hours a day and writes every morning until he gets 2000 words. I've had my 2000 days, but doing that every day leaves me exhausted. So instead, every day, I get my 100. I don't do it at any set time-- possibly a good thing, since I work fast food and never have a set schedule-- but I get my 100 words. That's just a paragraph, not even a long one; I can get that, surely. And almost always, I get more than 100, because just sitting down and writing leads to more writing. That's an every-day approach that works for me, and I think it's recommended to new writers because it's so easy to fall into. Small numbers, no pressure. It's not like blocking off 5-7 PM every Wednesday, something I tried that lead me to spend 90 minutes staring at my ceiling. But it guarantees 700 words each week... and sometimes more.
I currently have four projects. I'm ignoring one; I can't edit until it's sat for another month or two. Another is in the final stages of editing before being queried. The last two are works in progress. Rough drafts. Unfinished. One less than 5000 words; the other less than 15000. They were started at the same time, but one of them I decided-- months ago-- to focus on. The other gets a word or two... when I feel 'inspired'. This week, it got 253. I doubt that one will ever get finished. For the other? 100 words a day is 3-5% of a novel a month, depending on length... but once I start, it's hard to stop.
If I only ever wrote 100 words a day, I would finish a novel in 2-3 years. That's a long time, but it's a finish. And it's a commitment that I can keep.
Try finding something you can keep to. Make your stance. Start writing.
And enjoy it.
Happy Writing!
-Alaina
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