I’ll admit it; I’m jealous of everyone who gets to participate in NaNoWriMo each November.
There is NO WAY I can write a novel in November. I am a high school English teacher.
You can try to inspire me by saying that I can do anything I put my mind to…blah, blah, blah, but it is physically and mind-numbingly impossible for me to write an entire novel in a month and still meet the needs of 100+ students, never mind all the reading and paperwork that goes along with it.
I know it’s not only teachers who face NaNoWriMo envy. You may be working at an office job that requires loads of reading, writing, and number crunching to the point where letters blur into unrecognizable shapes by evening. You probably take paperwork home to finish. You may be a stay-at-home parent who is so exhausted by the needs of your children that you don’t even have time to read a novel in a month, never mind write one.
But I can write at least 500 words each day. And so could you.
Writing 500 words a day may seem too easy to some writers and daunting to others. Some days I can write 500 words in 20-30 minutes. Other days it takes over two hours of bloodletting before I get there. Then there are those magical days when the words won’t stop flowing from my fingertips, and I’ve lost track of space and time and eating. Instead of 500 words, I hit 2K.
Here’s the secret: It’s not about the number. It’s about the daily commitment. It’s about creating a habit of the mind.
A few things happen when you commit to daily writing:
1. You feel more like a writer. You walk around with a kind of inner satisfaction that you are accomplishing something no one else can see. Yet.
2. The story has time to marinate in your subconscious, and in turn your subconscious helps you fill in the story. The pulse of the characters stays fresher in your mind and carries into your dreams. Fantasy and reality start to mix, and you find yourself coming up with dialogue in the middle of a grocery store checkout line. You start to zone out in mid-conversation with people to scribble notes. The act of creating becomes second nature.
3. You stop beating yourself up about not writing because you are writing. Writer’s block has a snowball effect on procrastination. Writing every day stops the avalanche of white page misery.
4. When you miss a day, which inevitably happens, you care. You defend your territory the next day. You snarl at people and demand they give you space to get the 500 words down on paper.
5. Your word count grows. And grows. When you write at least 500 words every day, you have 15K by the end of the month! And guess what? The magic of 500 words a day is that many times, you will get into the flow and write much more.
That’s the difference between establishing a writing habit and only writing when you have a chance or when the muse strikes. You renew the promise to yourself as a writer each day rather than letting life keep your pages blank.
Inspired? JOIN OUR NEXT MONTHLY WRITING CHALLENGE!
I’d love to hear from other writers who have demanding day jobs. Has 500 words a day worked for you? What else have you tried?
~Kristy
@kristyace
I think 500 words is a good, non-intimidating number. I couldn’t do NaNoWriMo either. But 500 words isn’t so many, and it makes me sit down and write SOMETHING every day.
Heather–I’m so glad it’s working for you!
I am so glad I found this challenge on the first of October. I was angry with myself for not writing as much as my time allows. I joined Twitter to talk about TV and find other writers for accountability purposes. You have know idea how exciting it is to find this challenge on the first of the month. I love firsts, they always provide a much needed fresh start.
Thank you, Kristy!
Tanya–You’re welcome! I’m so happy the #OctWritingChallenge found you! Good luck with your writing, and I hope it helps you find the motivation you need.
Kristy
I was writing daily Morning Pages from the practices in The Artist’s Way…but that is not structured writing…When I wanted to develop a blog (or two or three) I lost my way…Wanting to make it a real piece changed the dynamic to something I had to make decisions about: audience, tone, purpose, persuasion. It all just seems to fall apart right where I want it come together. Then I give up and lose the momentum from the practice. What to do?
Sue,
Sounds like you need to step back and make an action plan. For specific blogging advice, Molly Greene on Twitter is a great resource. She has books and lots of info on her website: http://www.molly-greene.com/
Kristy
“There is NO WAY I can write a novel in November.” YES! Except my reason is because I’m a college student, and with papers and midterms being due back to back every November, writing 50k means losing 50 points on all assignments xD Thank you for starting the 500 words a day challenge. This is definitely something I can stick to for the year.
Pema,
I’m glad the challenge is working for you! I remember those college days….
Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
Kristy
Yep, a daily word count has definitely saved me. I’m a copywriter by day, so I it’s a challenge balancing the fiction with the stuff that pays the rent. (I actually recently blogged about this issue…sharing the link here in case it’s helpful! http://mashstories.com/speed-writing-tips-robyn-bradley/ ). By the way, 500 words a day is nothing to sneeze at. That’s awesome! Congrats on the consistency, and keep writing! 🙂
I have tried a couple of times to do the NaNoWriMo in November, but, like you, I work in a school (but as a technician) and the first few months of the year is a full on, no lunch break, don’t-leave-til-you’re-finished time of the year. Both the November efforts reached half way, and then bombed for tiredeness. I wrote the two full books I’m editing now in the form of the NaNoWriMo, but one in March and the other in June (a different year). It worked very well, and I love the whole ‘a target word count every day’! But 1667 words isn’t sustainable in an ongoing way. 500 words is! Once I’ve finished editing, I look forward to writing at that pace. I can imagine doing it 🙂
But…editing first! 😀
I’ve gotten used to dictating 1,000 words per day in 10-30 minutes, depending on how much I edit. I squeeze it in every morning before starting my busy day. I recommend dictation, but it can take 1-3 weeks to get used to it.