Perhaps this blog is more useful than I thought. I’m two days into my new habit of 1000 words a day. It is a supplement to the rule in some ways and a completely different pursuit in another. The 1000 is entirely story based and a way to ensure that I am writing story material and publishing on a far more regular basis than I have been in the past. In other words, it is my effort to live a writer’s life. Now I thought 1000 words a day was a nice minimum because it would only mean a few hours of writing, but the truth is that this short limit is extremely manageable, thanks to the training I’ve been doing over the last few years on the blog.
In truth, I can burn through 1000 words in a ten minute session if my fingers move fast enough. In certain cases I am moving basically at the power of thought. I am writing down everything I know about a scene or story as fast as my fingers will let me. This is how I used to draft fiction before I was caught up in the rigamarole of thinking that the first draft is the only draft. Part of that has to do with the simplicity of making corrections on a digital platform vs. a pen and paper situation where I would write and write without any thoughts of going back right then. Built into the handwritten draft is the promise of a revision that comes with the act of transferring handwritten files to a computer format. Without that promise I suppose my subconscious convinced me to make those corrections on the fly.
Two days in and I’ve hit my mark relatively easily both times. Each time corresponded with the chapter of a book I am working on–day 1 chapter 1 and so on. This is going to work for the next 28 days or so, leaving me with a more refined draft that I can later add and subtract from, transforming hurried language into languishing beauty. Or just cleaning up stuff. Whatever happens. We’ll see how I feel about that 28 days from now.
Meanwhile, I have been stopping right around 1000, and it feels more or less natural. What I have noticed is that after I hit the artificial mark I have an urge to write more. I’m not following that urge as of late. I’ll follow the thought I am on to its conclusion, but I don’t push it. The daily count is still a very fragile thing and I am unwilling to break it.
For now it is just about firing up and keeping this writer’s engine running hot for the foreseeable future and on through the next story.
460+ that time, by the way.