If you eavesdrop on a conversation between writers, it’s easy to mistake talk about craft for something else. Marathons, maybe.
“I had such a slow day. Only 500 in two hours!”
“Mine went well. I topped 2000 before lunch!”
What are these writers despairing or gloating over? Word count. Some authors—particularly those high-stepping their way through a fantasy, romance, or mystery series—count words every day as a way of meeting their deadlines.
Other novelists linger, polishing each sentence to a high gleam rather than steamrolling through plot. What does it matter how many words you produce, they ask, unless they’re the best words?
I have mixed feelings. When I first began writing novels, it didn’t matter to me how many words I produced, as long as the story in my head continued to spin out on the page. It took me a long time to write each of those early novels. Years.
After I sold my first novel to Penguin, however, things sped up. The publisher gave me a year to write each book. I happily wrote the next four novels at a breakneck pace to meet my deadlines. That’s when I discovered the usefulness of word count: if I calculated how many words I needed and divided that by the number of days I had, I could reassure myself that I’d finish in time. If I missed a day of writing for some reason, I made up for it, even if it meant binge-writing through a weekend. It was kind of like dieting, only in reverse: 100 extra calories here can be burned off by depriving yourself of a piece of toast the next morning.
Once I was in the zone, writing at that speed was pretty easy. There were even advantages: I was always in the heads of my characters. However, occasionally I felt breathless and unmoored, even unhappy. I wanted to fix certain things but didn’t have time. To meet my deadlines, I had to keep moving forward and piling up stacks of words.
Then something happened that was totally out of control: my beloved editor at Penguin had to take a leave because of personal reasons. Another wonderful editor stepped in to usher my new novel, Folly Cove, to print in October 2016.
But I don’t have a contract for another book.
My first impulse was to hurriedly put together a synopsis to show the new editor. I might have done that, too, except there was this other book I’d been thinking about—a novel different from the ones I’ve done before. Even though I believe the same sorts of readers who typically buy my books would love this new novel, I have no idea whether I can pull this book off. I knew I needed to figure things out—more slowly.
Given my recent history of writing novels only under contract, it’s scary to just write whatever I want, like performing trapeze tricks without a net. But it’s also liberating.
At the moment, the words belong only to me. Writing this way is as liberating as it is terrifying. Later, I’ll show it to my friends, and then to my agent, but right now I’m feeling my way through a secret underground tunnel each time I enter the world of this new book. It’s a place where only I can play with the colors and shapes, and magical things are happening.
Or maybe the book is crap. I really don’t know. However, one way or another, I’ve decided to impose a personal deadline of late autumn. Thanksgiving, maybe. Otherwise it’s too easy to keep going down rabbit holes in this tunnel for the fun of it.
So now I’m back to counting words, only there’s a difference: I know that, if I write 2000 words on any given day, I’ll probably throw 500 of them out. Or even 1800. I want these sentences to shine. However, tracking the words keeps me a little bit more honest, and a lot more on schedule. What’s even better is that one of my best friends, Maddie Dawson, is also writing a new novel. She and I have agreed to swap our word counts, sort of like Weight Watchers weigh-ins, only we can eat as much as we want.
If you’re curious, here’s my word count over the past month. You can see that some days are better than others. There are entire days, and even a one-week gap, where I did no writing at all. The important thing is that the word count gives me proof that the book is moving forward, one sentence at a time:
5.13.2016 20949
5.20.2016 22707
5.23.2016 26423
5.25.2016 28120
5.27.2016 28873
5.29.2016 29789
5.31.2016 31702
6.1.2016 32843
6.2.2016 33619
6.5.2016 33913
Here’s where Maddie and I decided to swap word counts:
6.6.2016 35267
6.13.2016 37272
6.14.2016 39384
What about you? Do you or don’t you? I’d love to know!
12 Comments
Oh, I’m an obsessive word counter. I often spend more time tallying word count than actually writing. Sigh. And when I’m drafting, my goals are modest, usually 5,000 words per week. As you say, as long as you move forward, the book will eventually be finished. Can’t wait to read this one, Holly!
Somehow I KNEW you’d be a word counter, Sonja! That’s why you’re so productive. Thanks for weighing in!
Holly, I know this book is going to be fabulous! Why–because it’s obvious this story has been pulling at you for a while. I’m thrilled you’re taking this new path and following this story wherever it leads. As for word count–yes, I count words to stay on track. I was tougher on myself early on in my career but now if I miss my daily word count I don’t obsess over it, knowing that experience and my muse will will kick in and carry me through to the end. Good luck with your new project–I can’t wait to read it one day!
You’re so sweet to cheer me on! Thank you! And I agree that we get more forgiving of ourselves as we grow into more confident writers & women…thanks for that reminder as well.
I am not a word counter. I do glance at the total word count occasionally, but if I am counting I am not writing. I might know I need a certain number more, but my books are not long by conventional standards (72K and 65K and book 3 will be around 70K) and my editor once said that my books need only to be as long as they need to be.
So I just write.
That’s a great line, Amy: “my books need to be only as long as they need to be.” That’s a wise editor! Thank you for stopping by.
I read dozens of “How to write a novel” books when I first became serious about trying to become a novelist. Several of them encouraged setting a target word count and keeping one’s hind end glued to the writing chair each day until the count has been met. Stephen King says his daily number is 2,000. I seem to remember using 1,000 per day for my first book, and it worked quite well. On the days when my muse (and more often my work ethic) abandoned me, I would struggle through several repeats of write, procrastinate, write until the 1,000 words were done in the early afternoon. On the best days, though, I would churn out my number by mid-morning. This despite the fact that I am an “edit as I go” type of writer. I don’t just spew what comes to mind and then clean it up later. I write in a constant create / polish / repeat cycle, which often makes me a relatively slow writer. What made it work was that I wrote that book while on sabbatical, so I was able to take the time I needed.
I now find myself within two weeks (gulp) of coming to the end of my current sabbatical. My plan had been to spend part of the past year repeating that feat of 1,000 words a day. For a number of reasons I don’t fully understand yet, I’ve managed to come to the end of the year with some notes, a bit of outlining, and a few chapters drafted, some of which I already know will be discarded. But I remain committed to writing this novel. Despite my struggles of settling into it, writing it means too much for me to consider giving up. I suspect my word counts will be smaller and less predictable as I settle back into my busy job of Assistant Dean at a university, but stay tuned — Virtual Eternity will come to be. I promise!
Ah, Andrew, I well understand how time can get away from us even when we’ve “promised” that we’ll write. Sometimes I find that I write better when my schedule is jammed, actually–maybe it’s just that it seems less scary to do it around the corners of my life, rather than full commit? I’m really not sure. Anyway, I know you’ll do it–I have faith in you, my friend!
Thanks! :o)
I did some writing yesterday and today, so things are looking up. And Week 4 of the Couch to 10K program is right on track.
I’m so happy to hear that, Andrew–and how funny. I’m on Week 4 of the 10K program, too!
Okay, Holly! We’re ON! I have been polishing and editing and also ruminating about just where my plot was supposed to go next, and why it took a wrong turn somewhere…but I am now ready to submit to you some word counts of my own! (I’d look at your count every day and sigh. My novel felt as if it were going BACKWARDS.) Got up this morning at five–and three cups of Earl Grey tea, a piece of cinnamon toast, and 1,800 words later–I’m back in the game. Thank you for this inspiration!
Maddie, that makes me so happy–I do know what you mean about novels going backwards. Mine did that this morning, when I decided to move a bunch of flashback stuff to my “flashback dump” and lost about 2500 words, argh!!! Can’t wait to read your new book and be inspired all over again.