On Writing – Page 13 – Scott William Carter

Games Writers Play #3: Track Your Word Counts

February 2, 2010February 2, 2010Scott William Carter

I learned early on that if I didn’t mark down, in black and white, how much I was actually writing, then it was very easy to lie to myself about my productivity. Oh, sure, I’d tell myself, I’ve missed a few days here and there, but overall I’ve been pretty good at cranking out the copy. The reality, however, was that it was easy to overestimate my word counts and underestimate how many days I was missing.

So what I do is use what I call a “Writing Productivity” spreadsheet. I use Microsoft Excel, but you could even do it by hand if you prefer. At a minimum, you’ll want columns for your daily word count, a monthly running total, an annual running total, and an area to jot a few notes about what you were writing. (Those notes can come in handy later, believe me, when you want some idea on what you were working on when, or how long it took you to finish a particular project.) I use Excel to calculate the results automatically, but you could use a trusty calculator as you go along too.

Tracking your word counts will help you in a number of ways:

It helps you see that you’re treating your craft seriously.
It’s another way to build momentum.
It encourages you to focus on something you can control (your productivity) rather than on factors outside your control (publication)

Here’s a link to the spreadsheet I’ve been using for the last couple years (minus my own word counts, of course). It’s pretty much good to go, though having a working understanding of Microsoft Excel is probably helpful.

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Games Writers Play #2: 25 Words a Day

January 26, 2010January 21, 2010Scott William Carter

Since starting with 500 words may seem like too much for some writers, here’s a different approach. I can’t remember where I heard this particular game, though I know I’ve heard it used by a number of successful authors. It’s really quite simple:

You just have to write 25 words a day.

That’s it. That’s your quota. If you hit 25 words, then you give yourself permission to quit. I reached that in the first paragraph, so you can see how ridiculously easy it is. And that’s the point.

See, most of the battle of overcoming our natural resistance as human beings to doing anything that requires discipline is just getting our butts in the chair. Once your butt is in the chair, the word processor is fired up, and the first couple words are typed, you’re already well on your way. Most of the time, you’ll actually find it hard to stop at just 25 words.

But not always. Maybe you’re down with the flu, maybe you’re out late partying with Jay-Z, or maybe the creativity center of your brain is just coming up empty, and if that’s the case, give yourself permission to stop at 25 words.

The key is keeping a streak alive. Creating momentum is one of the most powerful ways to boost your productivity. Once you’ve got a streak of even a few weeks going, you’ll find you don’t want to miss. Try it out. You might be amazed after a couple weeks how the pages have added up. It’s also a great game when you find yourself suffering from a long dry spell. Because no matter how bad your writer’s block is, you can always write a couple sentences, right?

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Games Writers Play #1: The 30/500 Rule

January 19, 2010January 21, 2010Scott William Carter

Games Writers Play #1: The 30/500 Rule

I’m starting with this one because it meant a lot to me. When I finally got fed up with my low productivity not many years ago, when I was so self-critical of my own writing that it was nearly impossible to squeeze out any words at all, I decided that I needed to do something to get out of my own way.

1. Get yourself a countdown timer. An electronic egg timer works well, but most digital watches have them.

2. Set the timer for 30 minutes.

3. The goal is to write 500 words or for 30 minutes, whatever comes last.

The emphasis is important. If the timer goes off and you still haven’t reached 500 words, keep writing until you have. If you reach 500 words and the timer’s still going, keep writing at least until the timer goes off.

4. Do this every day. You can always find thirty minutes. If you do, you’ll have written at least the equivalent of two novels over the course of a year. All with thirty minutes a day.

You’ll find out very quickly that one of the reoccurring themes of improving one’s productivity is to do so by creating limitations. It’s paradoxical, really. You’d think that have no boundaries would make you more creative and more productive, but it’s often exactly the opposite. Too much freedom and writers often just freeze up. There are too many possibilities. If you limit the time or the subject matter, you’ll often find your creativity unleashed and the words flowing.

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Games Writers Play: Introduction

January 19, 2010January 21, 2010Scott William Carter

gwp Most writers play games. They might use other words for it — challenges, mental tricks, techniques — but the purpose is always the same. The point is to find ways to put the butt in the chair and get the words flowing; to trick the mind so that the critical voice, the one that tells you that you’re no good, that you can’t possibly write even a decent sentence much less a whole story or novel, gets out of the way.

I’m a game player myself. Like a lot of writers, I’ve got more than a few personal demons that would like nothing better than for my keyboard to fall silent. Over the years, I’ve collected a number of these games, some from other writers, some from books, and many simply from my own experience, and I finally decided that other writers might benefit from them too.

So here’s the deal. Every Tuesday, I plan to post a new game — some Jedi mind trick that’s meant to help writers produce more words. Why write more? Well, I’m assuming you’re a serious writer, somebody who’s either already writing for publication or hoping to get there someday. And if you are, then I’m also assuming you accept the principle that the rate of your success is directly dependent on the level of your productivity.

Sure, you have to try to get better. Sure, you need to watch your said bookisms, your use of adverbs, your tendency to tell rather than show. That’s a given. But that’s not the focus of these posts, although you might get a little bit of that along the way too. No, the focus of these posts is to give you games you can play to unlock your creativity, destroy writer’s block, and get yourself to produce more words.

More words = more success.

If you don’t believe that, you’ve come to the wrong place.

There’s no particular order to these games. Some will be general principles, others will be specific challenges or techniques. Not all of them will work for any particular writer. Like me, you might have to try a few on for size before you find some that work for you. Remember, the whole point is to get you to write more. If it’s not working, try something else.

How long will I keep it going? As long as I can. I’m obviously working on lots of other projects and this is just something I want to squeeze in now and then — something that helps me, too, because I’m always looking for ways to boost my own productivity. When the project’s done, I’ll most likely put out a print on demand edition, so those of you who want a hard copy will be able to buy it. I’m hoping it’ll end up as a nice resource when you find your well running a little dry; just open the book (or go back to the Internet) and look for a game to help you get going again.

I’ll be maintaining a table of contents, and I’ve taken out a domain that will take you straight to it (http://www.gameswritersplay.com) so you can bookmark it for easy reference.

You’ll also notice something at the bottom of the posts that I haven’t done on this site before: a donate button. If you find these posts useful, if one of them really clicks and helps gets the words flowing, I’d really appreciate it if you “tipped your waiter” a few bucks. One of the things I decided at the start of this year was to be more active with my own website, but it’s hard to justify the time unless there’s some monetary compensation involved. I do write for money, after all. Even a few dollars really does help.

If you can’t donate — and hey, I understand, we’re in a recession here — then please help spread the word. Write a blog post pointing people here. Retweet my Twitter posts. That helps too.

And if you have a game you’d like to share, drop me an email by using the Contact Page. Type “Games Writers Play” in the subject line, and make sure you give me your website. I can’t promise you I’ll use your particular game — and I won’t copy it verbatim, because that would obviously be copyright violation — but if I do, I’ll make sure to give you a “hat tip,” which will mention your name and a link to your website.

With that, let the games begin.

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