Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’


Posted on May 17, 2010 - by

How To Get Ahead When You Are Behind On Your Word Count

How To Get Ahead When You Are Behind On Your Word Count

This has always been one of my top blog articles, so I thought I’d do a repost and slight update of the article. Here it is again, with a few minor changes.

Everyone gets stuck, gets busy or for other reasons, falls behind on their word count from time to time. Whether it is a self-made goal, a deadline, a contest or something like nanowrimo, it is frustrating to say the very least. So what do you do?

Do you call your editor?
Do you throw in the towel?
Do you give up and say, I just can’t be a writer?
Absolutely not.

Here are a few ideas that might help.

  • Word Wars. Try participating in a word war with someone. Set a specific amount of time and write your heart out. Try not to stop and keep it focused on what you need to happen in your story. I’ve come out of many writer’s blocks by participating in word wars, and then I’ve also wound up with whole sections I needed to delete at the end, but for right now – they are still part of the story.
  • Chapter Hop. Try writing ahead. Try writing a particular scene or situation that you know you want in your story. Even if you aren’t there yet, sometimes it will help you go back and fill in the gaps down the road. Last year I did this, and in one writing session I wound up with over 5000 words on one chapter that I was dying to write. I was able to then go back and it was much easier to fill in the gaps leading to that scene.
  • Try a creative writing exercise. Find a word prompt or just write something creative from the viewpoint of your character. Who knows, perhaps at the end you can use it in your novel, and if not, you might feel more prepared to begin writing again.
  • Take a break. Try watching a half hour of TV or reading a book. Don’t just sit and mindlessly stare at the TV. Think about the plot of whatever you are watching. Think about the characters. Think about what you would have changed or written differently, if you had been the writer of the show or author of the book.
  • Try using Write or Die. If you’ve never used it before, many NaNo’ers swear by it. It keeps you writing non-stop and sometimes you can even come up with new material and your characters can take you in directions you didn’t see happening. And now there is a desktop version. You don’t even have to be connected to use it, keeping the distractions at a minimum.
  • Plan a vacation for your characters. Take them somewhere new. In your story, have them go on a short vacation. Even if it doesn’t fit in the theme of the book, you can have them win a weekend getaway or something similar from a local radio station or library or something. Taking your characters on vacation could be just what the doctor ordered – for them AND for you.
  • Take a walk. Consider going for a walk. The park is usually pretty interesting or inspiring with the nature all around you. Pay attention to your surroundings and just let your mind be. Or if you feel like you need to stay busy, do some people observing and create new characters in your head. Or use the setting for a scene in your book.

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