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Debra has changed the way she keeps track of her progress.
I was always a page counter. When I wanted to track my writing progress, I'd tally up the number of pages I'd written. My RWA chapter promoted this as well. We'd do check ins each meeting and record the number of pages we'd written since the last meeting.
With my last project, I started doing word count progress instead of page count. And I'm liking it. Mostly because recording in this way makes it seem like I'm making greater strides. This, of course, is all in my head. I'm still writing the same amount whether I'm counting pages or words. But since counting words allows for bigger numbers, in my mind, I equate that with more progress.
For example, if I were to write, say, one page, that's about 250 words (give or take). It's a no brainer than writing down progress of 250 is more motivating than writing down progress of 1. At least for me.
Right now, I can't tell you what my page count is for my WIP, but I do know the word count is 4,929.
I don't necessarily set a goal to write a certain number of pages/words each day. My goal is to simply sit down and write. Tracking that progress on a hand-written list gives me a boost and is a nice little 'atta girl' at the end of each writing session.
My last several projects have been novellas, which has been nice since I simply write until the story is finished. When I write a full-length novel, I have to have a certain amount of words if I want it to be available in paperback. This is another reason keeping track by words rather than pages will be helpful. (We had progress meters on this blog for a while, and it was nice to see how far percentage-wise I was with each project.) The tricky part for me is setting a word-count goal for novellas. Most of the time I don't know how long they are going to be until I'm finished. Setting a word count goal with a novel is much easier. I know where I need to be by the time I type 'the end'.
Maybe word count really is a better way to keep track, or perhaps it's just that I needed something new for myself personally. Anyone have any other ways they track progress?
On a completely unrelated note, I'm blogging with Robyn Bachar today. It's always nice to 'see' a friendly place. Click HERE to pop over for a visit.
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
I'm a word counter, always have been, and I don't like to finish work each day until I've reached my target. Of course it doesn't always happen - but that's the plan anway!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a daily target, but I do aim to get something on the page every day.
DeleteI've always counted words, as that's what all the publishers and agents I've queried or worked with do. I find that when I see how many pages I've written, I'm always amazed!
ReplyDeleteWith most word processing programs now counting words, it makes it easy to do. Before that, page numbers were a much easier method.
Deletegreat interview1
ReplyDeleteThanks Ana. And thanks to the other ladies who stopped by. I really appreciate it. I haven't done a guest blog in a long time!
DeleteI've always been a word counter too, but I admit I don't usually set myself targets. Sometimes I can agonise over one paragraph for a hour, other times I can write 1,000 or more words in an hour.
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on what mood the muse is in for the day. But, every little bit counts! Which is a good thing...
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