Over 10 years ago, when I struggled to write consistently, I adopted the practice of writing 750 words a day.
Why 750? I read in some writing book that that’s what some esteemed author did, and the figure seemed doable but not overly stressful.
In recent years, Jami Attenberg has popularized writing 1,000 words a day with her 1,000 Words of Summer newsletter program (now a book).
I tried the #1000Words challenge once or twice, but could never make it more than a couple of days in a row. 1000 words all at once was too much for me to put out consistently.
The ‘right’ (as in comfortable) range for me fell somewhere between 700 and 1,000 – right as in, I could get words on the page and come away refreshed, excited for the next writing session rather than drained.
I started a new writing project this fall.
It’s the first longform project I’ve written that did not start as a NaNoWriMo project.
Yes – I’ve done the 30-day writing challenge three times and walked away from each with a ~50,000 word draft.
And each time (except for the first, long-lost novel I wrote at my crappy day job during my mercifully brief NYC era) I spent YEARS rewriting what I put together in 30 days.
Wanting to do it differently, I’ve set the bar at 500 words a day this time.
I can write more, often adding 700-900 words per day. But as long as I tap out 500, I’m good.
Thirty thousand words into my new project, I’ve noticed a difference in what’s coming out on the page.
Chapters take time when you’re writing in short increments versus NaNo chunks of 2,000+ words per day.
In slowing down and taking my time, what makes it to the page is better.
It might be too early to tell – but the draft of this new work feels more polished than previous first drafts – and not because I’m a better writer, but because I’m working at a pace that is sustainable.
If you’re planning writing goals, consider what’s sustainable for you. You just might find like I did that less is more.
