Word by Word - Setting Daily Writing Goals

I have read several instructional books on writing this year, but my favorite – the one I refer to again and again and would most recommend to any writer – is Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. It's a quick read, eloquent and really hilarious. And I have found her advice about writing to be invaluable, especially her assertion that writing is largely about just doing it, day after day.

One of Lamott's instructions is to write 300 words a day (about one type-written page.) And ever since I first read the book in February, I have tried to write 300 words of fiction, five days a week. Writing 300 words, like reading 10 pages is a manageable daily goal, not too intimidating. And, once I get started I usually end up doing much more than that.

But lately, I have been slipping. First it was just the challenge of regaining my momentum after taking the weekend off. Then I had house guests for a few weeks, then I spent a week out of town visiting friends. With so many distractions, I've almost completely dropped my 300 words a day habit, and have been feeling kinda crummy about it.

I just read that Roberta at The Write Words is taking part in this:





The challenge is hosted by Inkygirl, and the idea is to try write 500 words a day, six days a week, for a whole year. (That's about 156,000 words). So I'm signing on and I've added a little word counter to my sidebar to track my progress.

I think that this new goal is just what I need. After all, what's 200 more words a day, especially if I include articles and blog posts,? And, writing six days a week instead of five should help me keep up my momentum and develop a writing habit.

Besides, there's something about publicly declaring your intentions that makes you strive a little harder. And then there is the encouraging feeling that we're all in this together. So good luck to everyone else who is participating!

(f.y.i. - this post = 338 words)