From 2000 to 300—Why You’re Writing Too Much
By Steven James | January 30, 2018 |
photo by Jon Fife
Odds are, you’re trying to write too many words a day.
You’ve probably heard that you should write a thousand words per day. Or two thousand. Or five. Or ten.
Or maybe you signed up for a program in which you (supposedly) write a novel in a month. But for whatever reason, you’re trying to hit an arbitrary “word count” each day and if you don’t hit it you end up feeling somehow disappointed in yourself.
I tried that routine for a while.
One day in ten hours I pumped out six thousand words and I felt way ahead. Amazing! So productive! If I could do that every day…
Oh, yeah.
So then the next day I spend the same amount of time writing, and wrote exactly one word.
Yes.
One.
In ten hours.
Of course, I typed in more words, and then revised, deleted, rewrote, and so on, ending the day just one word further into the book.
That was the last time I tried to hit a certain word count. It was just too depressing and the ups and downs of good days and bad days wasn’t helping motivate me.
The whole paradigm strikes me as an odd way to go about producing works of art.
I’ve even heard authors say, “I’ll write until I reach my word count and then stop. It might be at eleven o’clock in the morning, or at eight o’clock at night. I know the book will be eighty thousand words, so that means I will be writing eighty days.”
Think of asking a song writer “How many notes do you write in a day?” Or asking a carpenter how many cuts he makes, or a painter how many times she dips her brush in the paint every day.
I’m guessing most composers, most carpenters, most painters don’t keep track. And yet, when it comes to writers, word count has become a big deal, a measure of progress, and even of proficiency.
A movie director doesn’t say, “We’re going to shoot ten minutes of the movie today and then we’re going to stop. We might get done at eleven o’clock in the morning and then you’ll have the rest of the day off. Every day we’re going to shoot exactly ten minutes of the movie. This film will be precisely two hours and ten minutes long, so it will take us twenty-six days to shoot.”
How could you know exactly how long a film will be until you’ve filmed it? How can you know how long it will take to get a scene right or how many takes you’ll need?
A composer doesn’t say, “I will compose exactly one page of music every day. The symphony will be forty pages long, so I will be done in forty days.” How can she know how long the work of music will be, or how to resolve all of the musical progressions before she has written them?
So, as far as I can see, writers are unique in this mathematical approach to producing art. I should say, I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong about the technique, but I do think it can be restrictive, arbitrary, and doesn’t take into account the realities of the unforeseen, the bursts and surges and bubbles of creativity. In short, I think it puts an artificial constraint on the artistic process.
(1) Try AMTs.
If you need to set small goals to keep yourself moving through the book, try timing yourself. Set a goal for the day: two hours, or six, or ten, or whatever you decide, and then set a timer. If you check your email, get a cup of coffee, or step away from your desk to reply to a text, stop the clock so that you’re counting only Actual Manuscript Time.
(By the way, it’s terribly difficult to hit ten hours working like that. When I use AMTs I consider that hitting five hours by one o’clock in the afternoon is a strong start to my writing day. Then it’s nap time.)
(2) Focus on progress, not word count.
Most readers are more interested in logic than length. Some novels are too long already at ten thousand words, while some are enthralling all the way to the end of a hundred and forty thousand. Or more.
But, as long as the book is entertaining, well-written, and enthralling, readers will stick with it. Create an intriguing voice. Tell a unique story in a gripping way. Give your readers what they want or something better and stop worrying so much about word count.
(3) Write smarter, not faster.
If you can’t help but keep track of your word count, try this: write 300 words a day for 300 days this year. That gives you 65 days off for weddings, Sabbaths, trips to the rodeo and the beach. You’ll end up with a 90,000-word book every year. Do that for a decade and you’ll produce more enduring works of art than most of the world’s greatest novelists ever produced.
All at 300 words a day.
That sounds realistic, doesn’t it?
In short, strive for quality, not quantity. Rather than tracking word count, make sure every word counts and create work you can be proud of and that will entertain and impact readers for years to come.
Steven James is the award-winning, critically acclaimed author of more than fifty books, including seventeen novels. Publishers Weekly calls him “[A] master storyteller at the peak of his game.” His groundbreaking books on the craft of fiction, Story Trumps Structure and Troubleshooting Your Novel both won Storytelling World Awards of Excellence. When he’s not working on his next book, he teaches fiction writing at conferences spanning the globe and hosts the podcast The Story Blender. For all things Steven James, click to stevenjames.net.
Well Said Sir,
Could you say more about the necessity of Writing Naps? My Wife thinks I’m being unproductive when I’m not awake.
Naps are great!!!
I agree, naps are great…and absolutely vital! The writer’s nap is a wonderful tool.
Actually, there’s scientific research that shows that short naps (twenty minutes or so) are helpful for creativity and productivity. Also helpful—brisk walks, showers, muted lighting, short breaks every hour or so, and working standing up. I wish I could put my finger on the exact research, but do a quick online search and you should find some.
The idea of words-per-day as a goal always reminds me of a thought expressed over the years by many famed writers:
I have made this longer than usual because I have not had time to make it shorter. — Blaise Pascal (translated from French)
I have already made this paper too long, .. not having now time to make it shorter. — Benjamin Franklin
Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short. — Henry David Thoreau
‘I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead. — Mark Twain
Woodrow Wilson, on preparing a speech: “If it is a ten-minute speech it takes me all of two weeks to prepare it; if it is a half-hour speech it takes me a week; if I can talk as long as I want to it requires no preparation at all. I am ready now.”
Now, there may be something to be said for words-written-per-day as a metric for a first draft, followed by words-removed-per-day as a progress metric for the second, and perhaps words-replaced-per-day for a third. You’d have to ask people who write that way, not me.
My own process is as-the-mood-takes-me: some parts of my 250K-word WIP are in their N-th highly-polished revision (N greater than 5) and others are just an outline of the scene. So word counts don’t really correlate with “progress” for me. But I have the luxury of the hobbyist, who may measure progress by the smiles their endeavors bring them.
These are great! I knew about Pascal, but not the other examples.
Love these quotes. So true!
It’s encouraging to read an article that validates my writing process. I edit as a write but still tend to be wordy. Whittling away the words in revision, trying to perfect my sculpted elephant from a chunk of marble is a long, hard endeavor. I can’t imagine doing it with a piece that I’ve written having a word-count goal. The AMT method strongly resembles my MT method (microwave timer method).
“Story Trumps Structure” sounds like a book that reflects my philosophy on storytelling. I think I’ll be getting that book.
Thank you for your article.
So much of it comes down to what works best for the writer. Some things are out of our control. Work and home life, those dasterly little critters, do get in the way but that’s life. The key, at least for me, is routine. Most of us are routine by nature. I write at the same time every day. I may stop at a different time but the key is starting.
Yep, that’s it exactly. Some people need to pump out their thousand words. It’s practice. It’s habit forming. And like you some people write at the same time.
As the saying goes, everyone is different.
I limit myself to 1000 words-ish so that I have time to edit, but also because if I am struggling it forces me to be creative. One day I had serious writer’s block, so I spent 1000 words detailing all the houses in my street (I got about half way down the street before I ran out), and it helped.
So yeah, you’re spot on.
Steven, I’d argue that quantity breeds quality.
Mozart wrote perfect scores from the beginning. I’ve heard that E.B. White didn’t need much editing at all when he turned in a ms. But few of us have this capacity to pen the perfect page. It is in writing a great many words that helps me to find my voice. Right now I’m writing poems and a decent day’s writing might produce one good line.
We’re on the same page when it comes to valuing multiple drafts and rewrites. I once reworked a scene more than 50 times before it was ready to be published. Good luck with your writing.
I agree. That’s my process as well. I usually have to write at least 1,500-2,000 words at first, to then be able to edit down to an 800-900 Word blog post.
I’ll be starting a first draft of a novel soon. I’m going to shoot for at least 150,000 words at first, because I (my process) need something to shoot at. I fully expect the word count total to evolve over time. But the way my brain works, I have to write a lot to get to the core of what I’m saying. Then, I’ll edit down to keep the reader from slogging through my process.
It’s all part of every writer finding what works for them.
I’ve never been a numbers person, and the idea of a word-count gives me visions of Bob Cratchit bent over a ledger book. A dedicated chunk of daily hours seems to work best for me at all stages, so far,anyway. Every time I start thinking that the present groove is is my process and that I’ve found the key to this thing, it changes. So I’ve learned to roll with the punches, keeping ‘a good story, well told’ as the carrot I dangle in front of my face. Oh, and the naps. Always the naps…
Steven–
Everything you say here makes sense. The American obsession with quantitative data is, well, distinctly American. That goes with writers keeping track of word count on an hourly, daily basis.
I see people in my neighborhood checking their Fitbits as they lope up and down the street. They’re checking their heart rate in relation to the time spent running. This is more of the same kind of thing. Why not run until common sense tells you you’re tired, that you’ve run long enough, and should now go home and take a shower?
But as you say, AMT or actual manuscript time does make sense. Time actually given to focused attention on the manuscript, not time commingled with something else, like dithering over social media (what I’m doing here). But for people often being unavoidably interrupted by duties, I imagine knowing you’ve reached a target word count can be reassuring.
As for NANO, I think you can guess my view of that. As Truman Capote might say, that’s typing, not writing. Thanks for your post.
I like the Forest Gump running story. After all the crowds and interest, no one understood when he stopped in the middle of the desert and said, “I’m done now.” I’ve had two opposing writing modes. Wake up at two AM and write for a solid seven hours, and think about the story line for days and then write til I’m done with that scene flow. It might cover two or three separate scenes. And what I know about myself is, I need the 300 words a day challenge to take effect.
I’m a pantser, and have never imposed either a word or time goal. I feel that I have a “creative bladder” and that, when it’s emptied of words and story, it’s time to leave the keyboard and let it refresh itself. It’ll be there tomorrow, filled by my unconscious with fresh words and scenes that tell more of the story that I’m discovering through writing it. Sometimes there’s a stop for a day or two while my inner story engine figures out what happens next. When it does, the story rolls on.
I once wrote a novel by working on it just one day a week–every Wednesday. It turned out that my creative output on that one day per week was between 1,000 and 1,500 words. (Although I did make notes during the intervening week.) In 53 weeks I had written a 70,000-word first draft. By making no demands, by establishing no goals, it was a relaxing and rewarding way to mine a story vein.
I’ve never counted words. In fact, I’m grateful I wasn’t aware of a word count technique until after the fact. It’s because, if you concentrate on the story, the word count doesn’t really matter. It’s the choice of words and sentences and paragraphs, whatever best conveys the story to the best of my ability. Story. The spark. Well told, BUT it has to be a good story or the words don’t matter.
When I am in the zone, writing naturally, time has no meaning. I forget to eat, to go to the bathroom. On days it feels forced, I still make the effort, but know when to call it quits and head outside or read a book / magazine. The key, for me, is to listen to myself. My body and head know when they need a break, a refresher. The clock lies.
Great post, Steven!
Dee Willson
Award winning author of A Keeper’s Truth
Very encouraging post, Steven. Thank you. Lately I’ve been trying the 1,000 words a day approach, and it’s been driving me crazy. Since I am at the beginning of a project, I am still floundering around and changing elements of the story. And I don’t know the setting and characters well enough yet either. So it makes no sense to hold myself to an artificially imposed word count standard. There–done with that!
The NaNoWriMo count helped me push through “I can’t” — as in I can’t write 1,500 words a day. I can’t coalesce 50,000 reasonably coherent words into a story in 30 days. But since NaNo, thinking I need to write 1,000 words a day has hurt more than helped. If I don’t have time to reach the summit today, why start climbing? I’ll plan better tomorrow.
Setting aside writing time, and making it sacred, seems to work best for me and the long haul. So when I figure out how to do that, I’ll have it made.
THANK YOU! 😍
Actually I always put a wordcount target, when I write. This is the only way I can write. I must feel forced to hit that wordcount, otherwise I’m not satisfied. The truth is that the writing process is quite painful to me. I hate writing the first draft of my books, but I love the moment when I stop writing and see what I’ve written. The months when I’m writing are filled with anxiety, so the soon they end, the better. Hence I need to know how long I’m going to write and define the target at least for each week.
What I mean is that you have to find your pace. There can’t be a general rule. I can do a NaNoWriMo. I won it every time I tried it. But a more suitable pace for me is 10k words per week (i.e. 40k per month). This way I know I can finish a first draft in 2-3 months (depending on the book), then I can focus on what I like most: revision. :)
I like your thinking process. If writing to a deadline, it is helpful to be mindful of production quantity. But for all the reasons you’ve noted, a word count can only be a guideline, not the goal itself.
My expectation of myself is time-based, too. I would like to be better at consistency, even when life intervenes, but it’s the best trick I’ve got for getting butt into chair.
Loved this! There seems to be a lot of things within the writing community that don’t really work in other creative fields, yet it’s considered “the thing to do.” Love that you said this and yes to naps! There are some great TED Talks about how important they are.
I use the whole word-count-idea as a little trick to get myself to write: My goal is 50 words a day. Which is almost nothing – such a small amount that I have no reason to not sit down and get started. And of course on most days I write more. But even if it really is only one small paragraph of maybe 70 words – it is one step ahead in the story. (And yes, of course I am talking about the first draft here – I am sure when revising I will go into “minus words”.)
i know that i *can* write 1000-ish words in an hour, but i also know that i *can’t* just write for 8 or 10 hours a day every day. the aforementioned naps and walks and stuff are invaluable. not to mention research and editing!
when i’m in the zone and writing is speeding through my fingers i still break every hour or so. i do set daily WC goals but also have days when i don’t write nuttin’ either!
I have never been a numbers person. And I certainly am not when it comes to writing. Saying you wrote so many words has nothing to say for the quality of one’s ideas or if the scene or dialogue is working. I also don’t like pressure. Yes, I love Writer Unboxed–and often the ideas posted here get me to the keyboard. But not to knock out so many words, but often to REWRITE what is already on the page. That’s all the pressure I need or want. Great post, thanks.
Perhaps this site should be called “Re-Writers Unboxed,” since I’m under the impression that successful authors do more rewriting than (first draft) writing. ;)
“In short, strive for quality, not quantity. Rather than tracking word count, make sure every word counts and create work you can be proud of and that will entertain and impact readers for years to come.”
Excellent Steve! Thank you!
Focusing on word count goals worked well for me for years, but recently, I started focusing on writing a certain number of scenes per day instead of looking at the word count. It’s working well so far.
I think it forces me to take breaks in more natural places. Before, I’d work towards a word count, and once I reached it, I would think, “Great. Now I can step away for a bit,” even if it was in the middle of something. Now I’m more likely to step away when there’s a natural pause in the story, and I think it’s made it easier to get back into the flow of the story later.
Good article. Only one note: that is exactly how directors shoot movies. There are call sheets and the shots they plan to shoot are done that day and no one leaves until they wrap those shots. If they finish early, the actors are done. So, it was a bad analogy but overall a good point about writing
Since I have to write all my first drafts in long hand, I have never kept track of the amount of words.
I keep general track of words, but am not tied to a certain number. I like to hit 1,000 a session though.
Overall, it’s whatever works to get the thing done, as far as I am concerned. If I don’t have the clay, I can’t sculpt any complete pottery; a first draft is that clay. I want the clay to work with by a certain time, hence soft word counts, or a deadline of three months for a whole, etc.
I think on the whole, this piece comes down a bit hard on the “numbers” method. Not in a cruel way, but perhaps a bit much.
Also, I find the best way to easily start up my next writing session is to stop a current writing session near the end of a scene. That way I know I’ll have someplace to jump off from when I start up again, instead of having to play”now what?”