The Writing Process: The Word Count.

I noticed on Twitter X recently that authors will occasionally mention their word count for the day. Some are quite impressive, writing several thousand words in a day. I'm not that productive, and I felt for some time that I was more of a binge writer than someone who could just write every day. However, I have tried to change this, and that was because of Covid.

When I tested positive for Covid, I decided that while under the weather, I would try to do two things. The first was to catch up on my reading. I have many books that I want to read, but just don't get around to it. Second, I was going to write more consistently. I ended up doing neither. I did some reading, but not much. Furthermore, I did no writing at all.  

For two to three weeks, I just waited for Covid to do its thing and then clear up. Fortunately, It did, but then I thought about all that wasted time. I did very little because I did not feel like doing anything, but this wasn't just procrastination. I did think about what I should be doing, and then I set a goal that I would write every day. So far, that is what I have been doing. In the past, I have never really thought about doing a daily word count, but now that is what I'm doing.

So, in the last four days, my numbers are 1050, 1183, 2286 and so far today, 1058.

This is writing on two WIP. One, is my first attempt at fiction. I will write more about this in due course. The second is non-fiction. 

Somebody posted on Twitter X the writer Ian Fleming's (he of James Bond fame), daily routine. Here it is.

Of course, it does help that he was a successful author and making decent money. For most of us, it is not realistic, but the general principle to write something each day if you can is a good one. 

What works about writing every day, if you can do it, is that the numbers soon add up. Average 1000 words a day, and that is 365,000 in a year, and potentially three or four books. Of course, you need to have the ideas, and then there is all the editing, the promoting, etc, etc. So, it is never that easy as life, and procrastination gets in the way. However, while there is not much I can do about life getting in the way at the moment, I can do more to avoid procrastination.