Word Count for the Week

As promised (mostly to myself) here is an update on my word count this week.

Monday I hit 2,488 words total, and all before 2:00. This was great, and a rare treat. I savored it as it happened. First, the words flowed quickly. I think this was because I don’t write on weekends and the words were all stored up in my brain and fled right out of my fingers. Also, I knew I had two social activities on Tuesday that would keep me away from my keyboard for a while and it would probably help if I pushed myself harder while the words were easy.

Tuesday, I hit only 1,847 words. To me, that’s 1,900 (I understand the science of rounding actually makes it 1,800, but I am an optimist, so when it helps to my advantage, I round up). If I am feeling spent, and I’ve just wrapped up, and I’m around 1600 or 1700 words, and it’s late in the afternoon, and I made decent progress the day before, I’ll allow myself to stop for the day. This was one of those days.

It’s noon on Wednesday. I have not written a single word. I have not even opened the document. I have been surfing and reading and moping a bit. I know I will get some words out, but I think this is my problem: my husband is out of town on business, so I don’t feel the urgency to wrap up by 5 or 6:00. I can write until 8:35, I tell myself! Or even 10:35! (After that, I get sleepy.) My normal office working hours of 9 to 5 are a very good thing and logic tells me really should maintain them. But right now, I’m going back to reading a book. I’ll hit the computer later and see what happens.

Later: I’ve eeked out 702 words. That is not so hot, but it’s 702 better than 0.

Later still, but earlier than 8:35 (yay for me!): Hit 1,597. I wrote a tough (i.e. sad and rather emotionally wrenching) scene today. Those words are harder to come by. But there are more words on the page now than when I woke up this morning. I’m calling it a day.

Thursday I hit 2,331 words. Due to a slight alarm clock fiasco, I did not get up and at ‘em as early as usual. Plus, I had plans in the late afternoon, so I had a small window of time to work with. Boy, do I love pressure. It really works its thing on me. Good day. Pushing myself day (aren’t they all that way?).

Friday I hit 1,284 by 10am. Leaving to meet old work friends for lunch. It’s now 5:12 and I hit 2,045. And I really, really pushed myself to hit that 2K mark. I sat down in front of my laptop late in the afternoon wondering what else I could eek out. I had nothing. So I got a Diet Coke and as I was grabbing a handful of popcorn (what does that have to do with Diet Coke?) I had an idea. If I hadn’t forced myself to sit back down and at least contemplate more words, who knows what would have happened.

So, I tallied 10,308 words this week. It was holy moly hard. I did not always want to write so many words each day. I rarely had an idea of where the story would go or what I would say when I sat down in front of the computer. But sit down I did, and then typing happened and then a skeleton of a story was born. And only because I showed up to work each day.

But now, it’s Friday, my work week is over. It’s beer-thirty, so I gotta run.