Writometer

scheherazade · Sep 26, 2008

I'm curious to know, in the last year (or in a typical year if this last year has been different) how much writing have you done? Do you tend to write a short story a year, or a novel a year, or three chapters? Within a year, do you tend to complete these works or portions thereof, plus revisions? Or do you spend a year writing and then leave the revisions for next year, or until the novel is finished?

I know everyone will differ, depending on work/family/school/other obligations, writing speed and stamina, level of obsession with rewriting, etc. But I'm curious to know what's realistic to accomplish in a year of devoted writing. And I'd love to inspire my productivity by those of you who get a lot done!

Red-Green · Sep 26, 2008

My writing group refers to me as The Shark. Since Jan 1, 2008, I've written four short stories, three essays, half of a YA novel, a draft of a second novel, and submitted like a machine. It helps that my day job is pretty mindless stuff that leaves me plenty of time to write at work.

tehuti88 · Sep 26, 2008

scheherazade said:
I'm curious to know, in the last year (or in a typical year if this last year has been different) how much writing have you done? Do you tend to write a short story a year, or a novel a year, or three chapters? Within a year, do you tend to complete these works or portions thereof, plus revisions? Or do you spend a year writing and then leave the revisions for next year, or until the novel is finished?

I know everyone will differ, depending on work/family/school/other obligations, writing speed and stamina, level of obsession with rewriting, etc. But I'm curious to know what's realistic to accomplish in a year of devoted writing. And I'd love to inspire my productivity by those of you who get a lot done!

My goal is about 1700-2000 words a day and for quite a while I was putting out about that much. I've kind of lapsed lately though for various reasons, notetaking and depression chief among them.

My output always varies. I do know it's more than a short story or three chapters a year. My chapters are about 20-30kb on average and my goal is about 10kb a day, so somebody else can do the math as to how many chapters a year that equals.

Completion, too, varies. Seeing as I write serials, there's no way I can complete a story with well over a hundred chapters in one year, though I don't do revisions either so the chapters themselves are basically "completed."

With short stories/novellas, I can complete those more quickly of course, though at times I'll stop work on one and it'll go on hiatus for months or years. It might take me a few years to finish a novella but that doesn't mean it took a few years to write it--I just took very long breaks in between writing.

You know, I just remembered I keep a writing log, duhr! That details all the writing I've been doing for the past couple of years at least. But of course, there would be no point in posting that thing here in its entirety.

Yet that's where it tells exactly how much I've been writing. Too bad I can't figure a way to, well, figure it out, mathematically speaking. *shrug*

mscelina · Sep 26, 2008

wow. I actually had to check.

This year to date, I've written four novels of 100k plus, 3 novellas, 4 short stories, and five rhetorical essays. I've also rewritten two novels of mine and edited 12 novellas or novels as an editor over the last four months. And, because I have a 'time sheet' for world building or character development, I should probably mention that I have spent well over 400 hours just doing that. Oh yeah--and I had a book release with another coming in November.

An average year. Last year was busier.

Clair Dickson · Sep 26, 2008

Since January--
I wrote one and one third novels.
A half-dozen short stories.

Mikey B · Sep 26, 2008

KTC said:
In the last year I wrote;

-2 and a half novels
-8 short stories
-approx. 400 poems (probably more)
-approx. 40 articles (ballparking...I took on a lot less freelancing this year than I did last year, but I don't have the numbers in front of me
-2 radio commercials
-7 personal essay/memoir pieces
-1 overhaul of a company's entire public face...from mission statement to signage...which included months or writing and re-writing and really cannot be summed up
-and some other stuff
-and a partridge in a pear tree

mscelina said:
wow. I actually had to check.

This year to date, I've written four novels of 100k plus, 3 novellas, 4 short stories, and five rhetorical essays. I've also rewritten two novels of mine and edited 12 novellas or novels as an editor over the last four months. And, because I have a 'time sheet' for world building or character development, I should probably mention that I have spent well over 400 hours just doing that. Oh yeah--and I had a book release with another coming in November.

An average year. Last year was busier.

I suddenly feel like I have not been doing enough...

Bubastes · Sep 26, 2008

I'm at the opposite end of this productive group: I average 1 8-9K short story and 1 article (both written, revised, and submiited) a year. OTOH, I'm not counting the crazy amount of writing I do in my day job. I know, it's no excuse, but being a lawyer definitely drains my writing mojo.

RG570 · Sep 26, 2008

Three novels, maybe a dozen short stories, and a few ranting letters to Canwest Global.

Deccydiva · Sep 26, 2008

I am obliged to write four poems for a particular magazine each year, I have been asked to contribute to another three this year but we'll see! I've completed a novel to query stage. I have others planned and with the practice of the first one and the knowledged gleaned from this site, who knows, next year may be more productive.
I lost my job 16 months ago and it doesn't look like I will ever work again so I have the time, at least, although I am also trying to complete a dissertation for my Masters degree.

Phaeal · Sep 26, 2008

So far this year, two drafts of a novel, a short story, six short story overhauls, and the opening notes for two more novels. Oh, and over 1300 posts on AW!

NicoleMD · Sep 26, 2008

Yikes. Suddenly I feel like a massive underachiever.

No novels at all for me this year. A novella that stalled with about 5k to go. Maybe 20 short stories, half of that flash fiction. And a couple poems on accident.

Writing short stories has put a serious crimp in my productivity, though I love them to bits. I'm trying to get them all out of my system this year, and focus back on longer works next year, namely finishing the 3rd revison of my WIP, and finishing last year's Nano burnout, and hopefully starting something new.

Nicole

tehuti88 · Sep 26, 2008

Mikey B said:
I suddenly feel like I have not been doing enough...

Me too. Cripes. All this time people had me convinced I'm actually prolific, but looking at the other posts here...

Mikey B · Sep 26, 2008

tehuti88 said:
Me too. Cripes. All this time people had me convinced I'm actually prolific, but looking at the other posts here...

I'm trying to take comfort that I'm putting in 1,000 words a day on the WIP about 500 words a day on my shorts, 4 pages a day on my scripts and I do daily updates for news and film reviews on my website. So, I may not have the awesome numbers everyone else seems to have, but I'm doing my share.

Phaeal · Sep 26, 2008

tehuti88 said:
Me too. Cripes. All this time people had me convinced I'm actually prolific, but looking at the other posts here...

Nah, don't fall victim to productivity envy. It's not the number of pages, it's the quality of the prose.

Seriously, 250-1000 words a day, and you're keeping your hand in and making progress, which is the important thing.

Ugawa · Sep 26, 2008

Well, this is the first wip i've ever got further than 10 pages on. I'm 16 and go to college, so i can't get more than 300 - 1500 words a day. I do write every single day, unless i'm swamped with homework. I've been writing my WIP for about 2 months now, so i'd say i'm getting there at a good pace.

XX

Mr. Anonymous · Sep 26, 2008

So far this year I have:

edited/did some rewriting on my first novel...
and written...
2 short stories, and 22,500 words on my WIP.

I'm attending college, so it can be kind of draining. I put in 1000-1500 words when I can/feel up to it.

tehuti88 · Sep 27, 2008

Phaeal said:
Nah, don't fall victim to productivity envy. It's not the number of pages, it's the quality of the prose.

Seriously, 250-1000 words a day, and you're keeping your hand in and making progress, which is the important thing.

Well...it bugged me so much I lay in bed last night when I should've been sleeping, trying to do math in my head, which I'm lousy at, and figured that at my typical output I must be averaging around between five and nine novels a year, depending on my output and the typical novel length, so that made me feel not quite so lousy anymore. It just doesn't sound nearly as productive saying you're writing one serial as opposed to six novels, even if the word output is the same. I realize it's quality that counts but I have to admit I did feel envious and lazy. *really needs to learn math*

Granted, I do need to get back to actually producing anything regularly...maybe this thread was the kick I needed!

Ms Hollands · Sep 27, 2008

I don't get a lot of time to write in summer or winter, so I've just picked up the pen (well, the keyboard) again after about five months off. I never want writing to be a chore, so I'm on my second year of my first novel, while doing the odd bit of freelance work for travel websites, my blog, now starting on some website translation, and my day job of writing about the dairy industry.

I reckon maybe 5,000 words in the months that I do write fiction. And every word has been enjoyable (and re-read and edited at least ten times!).

Susan Lanigan · Oct 1, 2008

2008 so far:
Three short stories and re-drafted a fourth.
One novel, almost finished.

Ms Celina is a word factory!

Phoebe H · Oct 1, 2008

I started keeping a daily log in June. It's in Excel. It has graphs and things. Now I can motivate myself to write by wanting to make the yellow squiggly line go up.

I average about 150 words/day, or about 250 words per writing day. (I take 2 days a week off from writing -- usually the days that I have the kids.)

That's pretty low, but that's *net* words. If I cut 300 words and write 350 -- that's a 50 word day.

So far this year I've got a novelette and a half completed.

geardrops · Oct 1, 2008

I'm a slacker. I've only completed the rough draft of a novel (10% done with the rewrite) started another novel (setting it aside during the rewrite) and two short stories.

Then again, I have a very demanding day job and I just bought a place. So I'm cutting myself some slack

Pamster · Oct 1, 2008

I haven't done squat this year, I have had to devote more time to my family and I can be very prolific at times, writing 50K in two weeks, but taking much longer to edit and polish that same 50K. Good thread!

Madison · Oct 1, 2008

Since October of last year...

lots of (not exactly brilliant) haiku for my creative writing class
3 or 4 short stories
10-ish newspaper articles
LOTS of papers for school
And two fully completed novels

...which I guess is a decent track record considering the hectic-ness of life in general. This year I'll be lucky if I finish one short story and nothing else...

Selcaby · Oct 3, 2008

I get the feeling a lot of slow writers are deciding not to post here, for completely understandable reasons.

I'm a relatively slow writer. I've done about half a novel this year (maybe 50,000 words - I can't remember where I'd got up to at the beginning of the year) and most of that was in the past month because I got a big kick in the pants. I'm aiming for another 50,000 or so before the end of the year.

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