balganwall: It's my face! (Default)
balganwall ([personal profile] balganwall) wrote in [personal profile] underused 2017-07-20 03:57 pm (UTC)

Don't feel too bad about the 200-word limit your brain wants to impose. It's been happening to me for years--I also blame the internet--but I've finally come to see it as a benefit.

I'm continuing the rough draft of a novel I finally started writing nearly a year ago. I wrote the first part through NaNoWriMo, which suggests a daily word count of 1,560 to make a 50K novel. I found myself typing like mad just to get meet that goal, steadily enjoying the process less and less. It's not uncommon to find a lot of people in the forums stressing out and lamenting that they just can't write. (And the pep talks are infuriating. "You got your novel started, so you're still a winner!")

This time around, with Camp NaNoWriMo, I set my own daily word limit: 300. It's not too difficult to meet, and if I go over that limit, I feel even more accomplished. And unlike the regular NaNo, if I miss a day or two, I won't feel terrible and end up panicking and rushing to make up for lost writing time. I can easily meet 600, 900, or even over 1,000 words after a break.

I like the idea of NaNoWriMo, but the 1,560 daily word count is intimidating. I think it also ends up with a lot of unhappy writers who feel like they can't accomplish their goals. I personally prefer "chunk writing," and I feel more motivated to finish a story with this method.

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