Tracking word counts

Current word count: 7,743

Words written today: 949

Words to goal: 42,257 / 340 per day til end of September

They say great minds think alike. Not to say I’m necessarily a great mind (hey, the phrase is more fitting to the subject matter), but yesterday morning I posted on this blog that I was going to start tracking my word count progress in the new book I’m writing and invited readers (you guys) to do the same in the comments.

Looks like author Holly Lisle had the same idea. Yesterday, on her Pocket Full of Words blog, Lisle invited readers to write a book alongside her as a beginner (250 words a day), intermediate (match Lisle’s word count, which she’ll post on her blog every day) or advanced (do your own word count and report it). Later that day, Lisle set up a special section on her website for the word count challenge.

As Casey of Literary Rambles and Karen of Musings of a Novelista affirmed in my comments yesterday, having a word count goal is a great way to keep you going in your writing. Reporting it somewhere helps to further keep you motivated. You become accountable.

So whether you post your word counts on my blog, on Holly Lisle’s or just record them on your calendar, set a goal and stick with it. Even give yourself little rewards for every goal reached, and share them here with us.

Write On!