Daily Goal--Really Works (For Me)

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Diana Rubino

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What I've been doing for many years is setting a 2,500-word daily goal (about 10 pages). This isn't too taxing, and doesn't exhaust me. The only exception I made was when an agent requested my unfinished vampire romance, and I churned out 5,000 words a day to get that finished. I had to push myself, but I got it out.
I don't stop writing till that 2,500 words is out, no matter what time it is. This is all first draft stuff; I don't edit along the way. Diana
www.dianarubino.com
 

Paragraphic

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I write this way too! I have an outline so it's really just sitting down and doing the writing. I did my last couple of books at 5k a day (5 days a week) and had the first drafts done under a month each. I fell into this way of writing. I used to wing it, no outline, no word-count-a-day set up, but when I was writing the first book of a series I had all these ideas for the other books and started writing them down on a separate doc. By the time I was done with book 1, I pretty much had an outline for book 2 ready to go.

I'd definitely suggest giving this a try for anyone looking for a new writing process. Daily goals also make you feel like you're getting somewhere (because you are) every day.
 

HeavyAirship

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It's very doable if you're working from an outline, although word count will vary. I've just been trying to do 500 a day and excluding my October of sickness I've been averaging around 1k words a day. It's definitely a faster way to write than pantsing it but I've got to admit to feeling a little constrained by my outline and not being able to throw in a vengeful ghost or surprise evil twin for fear of wasting the hard work I did to outline in the first place.

2,500 words a day is pretty awesome. I wish I had the energy to do that consistently.
 

layzerphish

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I would recommend a bit more than 500 a day. It takes time to get into a flow state where you become productive in whatever you are doing. That is why I don't like taking breaks at work when I am on a roll, because when you try and get back into it, the flow is gone and you have to start from square one again.
 

TRezvani

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This is more or less how I write, too...once I have an outline. In the beginning, I write free form, in random bits and pieces and scenes, but once I have a clear idea of how the book is structured and where it's going, I like to aim for ten pages a day. I think the important thing is just having a concrete goal and working hard each day to meet it, even if you don't always get there.
 

Anberlin

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I have tried to set a goal of 2,000 words a day for my rewrite, but it has been so difficult to get even close! Some days I will sit at my computer for hours and finish with barely 300 words! I feel like it will never get finished!

Way to go on following through! Maybe this will give me the motivation to get at it myself.
 

Glass Valkyrie

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I have been trying to do this lately and have been pretty successful for the most part. The only time I get into trouble is when my husband is home and is constantly talking to me when I am trying to write! In those cases I have been known to get up in the middle of the night to get some writing done.
 
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