My Secret to Logging Great Word Counts Every Single Day

As I’m winding up proofreading on Storming, my proofreading sessions are involving lots of chocolate-covered pretzels—I’m favoring the Bark Thins right now—and much sitting on my hands to keep myself from fidgeting, checking email, and otherwise not paying attention as my Kindle reads aloud to me. Honestly, I think if I just got into the habit of writing more sloppily and sticking in more typos, the proofreading part would at least be more interesting! It’s also hard not to get sucked into my own story, so that I’m paying more attention to what’s happening with my characters than sussing out those sneaky little typos. But the good news is that I should finish up this first round of proofreading this week. Next up is typesetting and getting the chance to hold that first beautiful, shiny hard copy proof in my hands!

Even though I’m not a NaNo-er, I believe heartily in and know the value of writing first drafts quickly. When I write quickly, I’m less likely to over-censor myself, I definitely chew through the story faster, and I always have more fun. I know that. And yet I still sometimes get sucked into the bad habits of dawdly, over-conscious first-draft writing. That’s definitely been a pitfall for me this year in writing Wayfarer. So I’ve instituted a new writing plan: write 300 words every 15 minutes. That's 1,200 words every hour!

It may sound a little overwhelming, but it’s actually not. I know from past experience, I am perfectly capable of knocking out 1,500 good words in an hour. Breaking that down into fourths and holding myself accountable every 15 minutes is not an unreasonable goal. So far, the plan has been doing an awesome job of keeping me on-target, focused, and—let’s hear a yeah, baby!—productive! Give it a try during National Novel Writing Month, and if you want some added incentive, check out Dr. Wicked’s Write or Die app.