It’s a good thing word counts are excellent motivators for so many writers I know, but I have to confess I hate them! And it might not be for the reason you think. Some writers live by their word counts; seeing those figures tick up must give them a sense of achievement – good on ’em I say. But they don’t work for me. I’ll tell you why: I’ve written 32,500 words this year but I didn’t enjoy one of them. Why? Because they were all non-fiction/academic – for the two masters degrees I’m doing concurrently (yes, this is a self-inflicted wound). So, while I’ve chalked up the equivalent of a novella this year, my lovely stories remain in subconscious incubation and I remain completely frustrated as a writer!
On the upside (and fortunately I can always find one), I only have 24,000 words to go and both masters will be finished. Come the end of July, I’ll only 11,000 words left so can start getting some fiction downloaded from my brain. Given it’s the end of May, that’s not so far away, is it?
You still won’t find me posting about word counts. But you will find me happier and more satisfied!
