Writing 5,000 Words in an Hour and some Change

 

Goodness, sounds like an impossible feat, doesn’t it? I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to make a writing log, I wanted to do something to time myself, to see how much I wrote, what were the best lengths of bursts for me to write in, etc. I got a nice, regular composition notebook and wrote “Writing Log” on the front of it with green sharpie, so I could feel official. 

So, I’ve only been doing it for one day, but I noticed something pretty awesome. Keeping a log like that actually helped! Seeing my writing, the numbers, on a chart? Well, it made a difference! Not only holding myself accountable, but being able to see my progress on a paper as I went… there was something about it that inspired me to write more, to write faster, to write better. Allow me to copy my log for you below so you can get an idea of what I did.

 

July 29th Writing Log

Start time, 8:30PM

8:30-8:45 – Warm up Free writing, 1,000 words.

8:45-9:00 – Word Sprint, 1,247 words.

9:00-9:15 – Free writing, 750 words.

Break from 9:15-9:20.

9:20-9:30 – Free writing, 820 words.

9:30-9:45 word sprint, 1,200 words. 

Word total: 5017 Words

Writing Time, 1 hour, 15 minutes.

 

So, you can see that I managed to accomplish quite a bit of work during that time. I was able to see what strides I did, what writing bursts were the best. Allow me to explain that free writing is writing that I could do while taking a break at any time to chit chat with friends, to browse facebook or tumblr, etc. Word sprints were writing without stop, without checking anything, without anything else going on. I gave myself a small break in between to completely close down the document and look at something else. I am hoping that, by keeping this log, not only can I accomplish quite a bit of writing… but I can establish a pattern of what works best for me, what doesn’t, what times I write the most, etc. 

I think that, as writers, we should look at our writing like anything else. People often times pay attention to when they are most productive, how they manage things the best, etc. We should do the same! We should hold ourselves accountable for word count, for how much we work, for the amount of time we slack off and get distracted, etc. If we could do that, we’d get more done. More than that, if we could establish a pattern of what worked best for us… think of how much more we could get done?

That’s my tidbit of advice for the day – try keeping your own writing log journal. If you have, if you have thoughts on it, or anything else, drop me a comment! I’d love to see what you think!

 

Until next time, keep reading and writing!
Author Amanda McCormick