Quota
- Thread starter RunawayScribe
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I have ADHD. Some days I write five words in the morning and then try to break the world record for balancing plates on my head or consecutive circles walk in four steps, then, write five pages that night.
Other mornings I might sit and write non-stop and clear five thousand words and try to break the world record for pots of coffee drank in one day.
Sometimes I'll tell a whole story in my head by trying to break the world record for longest time spent hanging from a chin-up bar, then sit down and forget that story completely.
Aim? I am to sit down for ten minutes at a time without getting up.
Other mornings I might sit and write non-stop and clear five thousand words and try to break the world record for pots of coffee drank in one day.
Sometimes I'll tell a whole story in my head by trying to break the world record for longest time spent hanging from a chin-up bar, then sit down and forget that story completely.
Aim? I am to sit down for ten minutes at a time without getting up.
When I have the time I like to write 2000 - 3000. Somedays I'm happy if I get in a couple hundred. Other days if I get 50 that's great.
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Well it's hard not to count the several thousand words a day I write for work, but I don't.
Thus sadly its close to 500 a day, tops lately.
Thus sadly its close to 500 a day, tops lately.
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500 a day is my goal. Most days I hit it, unless I'm in revision mode... which is where I am currently and I dont bother tracking words counts at that point.
In 2008 I had a yearly target of 250k. I hit that with a month to go, so next year I think I'll go for 1000 words a day. Maybe 500 but I have a lot of WsIP to work on, so...1000, with a 500 minimum would be fair and doable, I think.
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This is one of those things I can't do. I mean, I can set a quota for myself, and I can hit that quota, but I found that when I did so, the writing started to feel like a chore. Also, it really screwed with my pacing, because I was unconsciously stretching scenes or moments to make them fill that quota instead of writing them the way they needed to be written.
I know quotas are a valuable tool for many (most?) writers, but I've found I have to set less-specific goals, i.e., "get three chapters done this week."
I know quotas are a valuable tool for many (most?) writers, but I've found I have to set less-specific goals, i.e., "get three chapters done this week."
800 words of fiction.
As many words of non-fiction as it takes to meet deadlines and keep the money rolling in.
As many words of non-fiction as it takes to meet deadlines and keep the money rolling in.
Do you edit as you go along then? I'm simply vomiting out words onto the page until I get to The End. Then, when I know for certain where I've been and where I've ended up, I'll try to make it into one coherent whole.
I'm afraid if I look now, I'll hate it so much that I'll give up right away.
Quality isn't something that matters (for me) on a first draft. If I stop to think...meh. I get unsure. I just spew words out and fix them later. Most of the time my spewage isn't as bad as I fear.
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I measure by amount (kilobytes) rather than words as I write for the Web.
That being said, I aim for about 10kb daily, which works out to about 1700 words. Less (amountwise, not wordwise, I know the difference between "less" and "fewer"!) than that and it doesn't feel good enough, more than that and I burn out and can't pick up the next day.
I try to write it properly the first time so the only editing I do is minor tweakings and fixes along the way. I can't continue writing if I'm writing something lousy.
That being said, I aim for about 10kb daily, which works out to about 1700 words. Less (amountwise, not wordwise, I know the difference between "less" and "fewer"!) than that and it doesn't feel good enough, more than that and I burn out and can't pick up the next day.
I try to write it properly the first time so the only editing I do is minor tweakings and fixes along the way. I can't continue writing if I'm writing something lousy.
I aim to do as much as possible rather than a specific amount. It all depends on whether or not I'm working that day.
Anything from 250 to 1000 is fine by me!
Anything from 250 to 1000 is fine by me!
1000+ but 500 is OK for me on a work day.....I used to be able to get away with writing at work....but sadly no more.
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