Do you use word count goals?

[serria]

Do you set word goals for yourself - if so, how many words? Do you find word goals distracting, and focus only on getting scenes down? Or do you tend to just write whenever and how much feels natural for you, without thinking about daily goals?

For me, I never used to think about word counts or anything until I became really involved in fanfiction for a particular series. A fanfic writer friend would always talk about word goals, whether her goal for the day, or an ultimate goal for a fic. When I started thinking about it, it became a compulsion to check my word count every couple of sentences of paragraphs. Now, I don't do word counts at all, unless I'm checking how long a particular chapter is when I'm done with it.

I know they can be a useful way to push yourself to write, especially during NaNoWriMo (or similar events), but what do you think? Are they helpful for you?

Comments

[sarillia]

I got my real start in writing with NaNoWriMo and that has shaped a lot of my experience since then. Word goals seem to work really well for me.

But even so I go through different moods. Sometimes the words just aren't flowing and I regroup and try to figure out what's holding me back rather than forcing it. Other times it's going well and the word count goals help me push myself and get more done. The sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing another thousand words helps give me the motivation to write another.

Right now I'm coming off one of those stages where I've been doing mostly planning so I'm going to start setting goals for myself again. I'm thinking I'll start with a thousand a day since that's usually easy for me and see how that feels and I'll increase it depending on how that goes.

[siofrabunnies]

I can't do words-per-day type goals. I've always found them to be more pressuring than helpful. If I have a goal, I end up getting more concerned with the numbers than the words.

I'm really jealous of people who can work with that kind of system. I get rather not enough writing done, in the end, and it seems that people who set these kinds of goals get more down than I do.

Total word counts can be better, because I don't feel like I have to get it all out right now! And I generally don't get so concerned about the number. Once I've gotten everything down, I'm usually happy with the numbers. If I'm not happy, I can always add to it.

[sarillia]

That's funny, words-per-day type goals work well for me but I can't do total word counts.

[serria]

I think that's how I am, too. When I started even considering words (as opposed to general length), I get too fixated, my quality goes down, everything reads less natural and writing feels like a chore instead of something I do for fun.

But on the other hand, I think there is something to be said about sitting down and writing, whether or not you feel inspired. It forces you to work your way through lazy periods or writer's block, and in the end, whether or not it's good, you've still produced something.

Still, these days, I try to think about my accomplishments in terms of scenes, or at least, number of pages as opposed to words. Stops me from checking my word count every couple of minutes.

[siofrabunnies]

Writing by scenes is a great thing. It gets me thinking about ideas, and helps me make sure the words naturally go with the story. I find I do a whole lot less editing, too.

[sarillia]

I think my problem with writing by scene is that I never know how long my scenes are going to be. When I say "okay I'm going to sit down and write another 500 words", I know exactly how close I am to that goal all the time. But when I tell myself that I'm going to write a scene, I have no idea when I'm halfway through or whatever because I'm just terrible at gauging these things. I never know how long my stories are going to be either and it stresses me out to try to make them a certain length.

[inkdust]

I find that scenes are terrible about changing partway through and suddenly being longer than I expected or else running out and leaving me wondering what else should happen or if that spot works as an ending. Plus, if I'm getting tired but the scene isn't done yet, I'll start trying to rush an end for it, which is guaranteed not to turn out well.

[inkdust]

I didn't use word count goals until I was working on a novel rough draft for my senior thesis and realized I was running out of time. I set a goal of a thousand a day at that point, and in retrospect it's amazing to me how often I reached that goal considering everything else I had to do that semester, because I write VERY slowly.

After graduation, my circumstances were less ideal and when I finally quit my job and started writing full time I wanted to set a goal I knew I could meet in my current state of mind, so I went with 500 words, and that worked very well for my first draft. Since writing is my main focus in life right now, I can't just do it when I feel like it, and setting a quantifiable goal makes me stick to it. And like every author seems to say, the more I sit down and crank it out, the easier it generally gets. On slow days I do check it obsessively. It doesn't make it go faster.

But I do divide the story by scenes and work on it by scene. I just don't usually finish a scene in one sitting.

I use overall word count goals to make sure I'm reaching a novel length and gauge at least roughly how far into it I am. My goal for this one was 80k and I actually managed to hit 90k. So far in editing it's come down to 85-86. For scenes I try to keep them at least a thousand words, but that's a totally subjective number.

[lady_phenyx]

I'm like sarilla - when I have a word count goal, I'm much more likely to get it done, since I know how close I am to accomplishing something today. I try and do my best to do 500 words per day, and I have a story assigned to each day - if I write in anything else it's a bonus. It's about the only thing that gets me consistently writing, otherwise I never know what to write in or how much to write.

[lunabee34]

It depends. When I was writing my dissertation, I used a time goal. I had to work on it for at least four hours a day. I might write ten pages, or I might write one, but I had to put in the time. That really worked for me for a long-term project, and that's what I'll use again if I ever embark on a big project.

The other stuff I write, fanfic or memoir pieces, is usually much shorter and so I don't really set any goals for that other than to complete it on time if it's for a fest. LOL

[agilebrit]

I need to get back into the wordcount-per-day groove, because that works really well for me. Right now I'm just doing a write-five-stories goal, which is fine, but not having the wordcount goal has me staring at the screen and going "uhhh" more often than just opening Write or Die and cranking out the words. I can edit words that suck; I can't edit a blank screen.

Last year, I had a wordcount goal, and attempted two NaNo short-story projects--one of which succeeded wildly and one of which failed by about 10K words, but I still wrote five stories, so I considered it a win. Last year, I completed sixteen stories; this year I've just got a "write a bunch of stories" goal, so we shall see what happens.

[badass_tiger]

I want to try Write or Die, but I panic easily and I'm sure that if I used it, I'd just start flailing around desperately and get as much done as if I hadn't done anything at all D: I've tried some other writing applications too, but I've found that writing in software I'm not used to actually makes my word count per day drop!

[agilebrit]

Well, I'm a big proponent of "Do what works for you." If you ask twenty different writers about their process, you'll get twenty different answers. I'm one of the fortunate ones who works pretty well under pressure--a deadline concentrates my mind wonderfully. But not everyone can (or should!) do that.

I like doing writing sprints too--Jane Espenson does those on Twitter sometimes, and so does NaNoPals. Doing it as a loosely-knit group gives you some fellowship and lets you know you're not in it alone.

[sarillia]

I tried Write or Die but it didn't work for me at all. I work best when I'm in a good mood and not under any pressure. Which may sound strange when combined with what I said before about challenging myself with word goals. The thing is, there are no consequences if I don't meet a goal. I don't beat myself up about it, if necessary I remind myself that it doesn't make me a failure or anything. The only reward when I do make it is the feeling of accomplishment I get from it. So if I don't get that, it's no big deal, but if I do, I really enjoy that feeling and I'm motivated to write some more to meet another goal.

[ayumidah]

No, my writing constantly gets interrupted and I put enough pressure on myself just because of that, to have an actual word count goal would probably kill me. NaNo was frustrating enough this year because a lot was going on and I didn't have the amount of time to write that I was hoping for; I only finished it half an hour before December hit.

[inkdust]

Finishing NaNo is impressive enough, in my opinion. I don't even participate because I just can't operate at that speed.

[ayumidah]

I guess I was a little disappointed because last year I wrote 72K in the month of November, and this year I only just managed 52K.