This is a test. This is only a test. I’m seeing how difficult, both in thinking and time, writing at least 500 words a weekend would be. I want to see if I can make a story actually happen. I usually wait until inspiration hits me and that’s more often than not only given me some interesting and some not so interesting starts to stories. Never an end, and rarely a middle. When I write, I usually just start with an idea or a sentence and go from there, hoping that this is the one time my idea or sentence will lead to something whole and complete. My thinking now is that maybe I should focus on a word count goal for every time I sit down and write. Once I achieve that goal, I can revel in the satisfaction that I achieved my goal for that time. My buddy, Theo, suggested I try what his English Composition 1 instructor does, which is to sit down to write for only 5 minutes, and tell herself that she is only going to write for 5 minutes. When that 5 minutes is up, if she feels like writing more, she’ll tell herself that she’ll only write for 5 minutes more. If she’s satisfied with what she’s done then, she’ll stop. But if she wants to do more, she’ll give herself another 5 minutes. I’ve thought about doing this as well. But I think I want to try what I’m going to call “The Word Count Method”. Wrath James White, one of my favorite authors, seems to use this method. Perhaps not for the same reasons, but he gives himself a set amount of words to write, and then he works toward that goal. Sometimes he doesn’t reach that goal before for some reason or another, he has to quit for the day. But usually, he does reach his goal and then some. So I’m going to try the Word Count method and see how that pans out for me. The quality of the writing is not so much a concern at this point. I’m just trying to reach a word count while taking a story from a beginning to a middle, and hopefully, an end. I want to say that if I reach the end of a story that I will be happy even if I never write another. I hope that’s not the case, though, as I do enjoy writing. I just have a short attention span. So I’m hoping this will work and that the first story will lead to another and that will lead to another and so on. I’m a bit afraid now to look and see how many words I’m at, as I’m not entirely confident I’ve neared my goal. But I think I’ve said all I can about what I want to achieve with this method. I suppose I should point out that I don’t have a particular story in mind to start this all off with, and that could be a major problem. But I definitely don’t lack for story ideas, so I might just start with the first one that comes into my mind and go from there. Also, I should mention that if I get good results from this, that I might try doing a certain amount of words on another day. Since I work full-time now, and I’m often exhausted when I get home from work, this may prove to not be possible. But if it is, then I might set a goal of, say, 200 words one day a week during the work week, and see how that goes. But for now, I’m going to focus on doing the 500 words per weekend and see what happens with that. Well, I think I’ve reached the end of what I set out to do with this ramble. Let’s see how many words I’ve written….
Word Count: 654 (including “Word Count”)
SUCCESS!!!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
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Well, damn. You made it. Do the dot...dot...dots...at the end work as words or just punctuation? Just kidding.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem I have with this exercise is what the hell to write about. What is interesting enough in my life for people to wrap their brains around the fact I can actually write something? What if it's boring and people stop half way through? What if I get a lousy critique? What happens if I run out of material? But, this exercise is not about me. It's about you and what YOU want to tell. What stories do you want to share with your readers?
I'd like to hear your take on some books that you like or don't like. What's inspired you to write? How long have you been writing? What's important to you? What have you written that you are proud of? What events in your life have shaped you into who you have become?