Sunday 20 March 2011

Daily Word Target: Help or hindrance?

I've never made a secret of the fact I failed at NaNo.

Spectacularly.

Twice.

Personally, I blame the strict daily word target (this is much easier than taking personal responsibility). The first day's always fine, the second okay. But if I hit a day when, for whatever reason, the word count falls behind, it can be very hard to recover.

However, I desperately need something to give me a giant kick up the writing backside. I need to increase my output. I have ideas - lots of them - and I want to get them written. So, I'm toying with the idea of setting a daily word target - not as many words as NaNo requires, but maybe 1,000 or so. Just enough to encourage me to start writing regularly again.

Sure even I can manage 1,000 words a day?

What do you think? Would it be a help or a hindrance?

4 comments:

  1. I think setting a daily word target can be a good idea - just as long as you can learn to forgive yourself for the days you don't quite manage to hit it.

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  2. Of course you can manage 1,000 words a day. I've every confidence in you.

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  3. I'm much better with outside deadlines - when I set my own I tend to fizzle out.

    Setting a ridiculously LOW word count seems to help though - about 250 words first thing and I can't do anything else until I've written them. I usually end up doing more, or become so enthused I go back and do more later!

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  4. That's what I need to do, Melissa - forgive myself.

    Aw thanks, Anna.

    Thank you, Karen - I like the idea of a low word count. Definitely going to try that.

    XX

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