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Saturday, May 26, 2012

How Words Count

1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4   Words counting? Sounds silly but it got your attention, right? 

The big question is: What's so important about counting them? There are lots of ways to count them -- or not. When you check out publishers' guidelines, each imprint lets you know the range of words acceptable for that particular genre. Some are more generous than others. If it weren't for that guideline and setting some kind of limits many of us could go on forever. (That's when planning a series is a good idea) Then there are others of us who look at that minimum needed and groan because we have a hard time reaching it.

Take my writing for example... When I was eight or ten years old, my dad taught me how to write like a journalist. You answered the who/what/when/where/why/how with as few words as possible. You got directly to the point. Many years later, while I'm grateful for the basics he taught me, I find it difficult to write fiction. Sufficient detail often eludes me but I can write a good story without getting wordy and that makes it easier when writing contest entries. When it comes time to start editing the work, I can add in more detail, lengthening the work and making it a bit more interesting.

I've found ways to increase how much I can write. A couple years ago I was introduced to the concept of "sprinting."  As my son would say, 'it's the best thing since sliced bread.' Sprinting helps me focus on what I'm trying to accomplish at the time and I find myself much happier at the end of a day of sprinting because my word count is higher than usual. The last few months, counting words (so glad Word can do that little job for me) has shown a vast improvement on what I've accomplished. Looking back on a year ago I see a big difference.

Then there's the NaNo challenge. For anyone not familiar with it, November is National Novel Writers Month (NaNoWriMo) and about the greatest challenge a writer can embark on. The goal is to write 50K, a complete manuscript, in the space of thirty days. That's a little less than 1700 words a day. I know it sounds like a daunting challenge, but if you can keep yourself from going back and editing (you get to do that in December) your work from the day before, you actually have a very good chance of making the goal. I haven't done it yet, and I've taken the challenge the last three years but I have a very good feeling for this year. Every day that I write, I keep a tally and smile when I see the total increase.

There are lots of ways you can challenge yourself to write more. All you need is a bit of imagination, perhaps reward yourself at the end of the day for a job well done. Over time you'll find yourself writing more at every session.

To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning...

How do I write thee?  Let me count the words...