5 Ways to Raise Your Word Count Rates

Scrabble, Word Games (Photo credit: windygig)

The point of these techniques is to get the words flowing faster and freer and temporarily shut down the inner critic that can slow your flow of words.

1. Prompts. You can start with ones written by someone else but I recommend eventually making your own. When you write your own prompts, the topic is more likely to be in line with your writing subject, situation, and style.
2. Outlines. Sorry pansters, but plotters get points here. An outline can be made as general or as specific as necessary. And if you know where you are going, it is a lot easier to get going. And once going, get gone.
3. Time limits. Some people perform better under pressure but some people perform worse. Either way, a time limit can force you to temporarily circumvent your inner critic long enough to get something down to edit later – so long as you don’t let fear stop you.
4. Word goals. This, of course, forces you to put a certain number of words on the page, no matter what. Words, even bad words, have to come from somewhere and a large word goal will force you to delve deep into that well (or whatever) of your creativity.
5. Practice. It is a habit and a skill to be learned. As you continue to put words on the page, the words will start to come faster. Even your slow days will be faster than your “old” slow days.

In Sickness and In Health

is "when swine flu" really the past tense of "when pigs fly" (Photo credit: Graela)

So sorry for not posting yesterday. I had a nasty bug and barely made my word count.
It bothers me a bit when I’m sick and people say, “I hope you get better,” as though not getting better is a real option. It seems a morbid reassurance. How much better to wish someone “I hope you get better SOON”!
More importantly, even when I’m puking up my guts, I’ve still got to write. I take writing as seriously — or maybe more seriously — as any other profession. And this book is an impatient one, punishing me if I take time off.

April Fool's - 10 Things "To Do" with Your Story

Some WONDERFUL ideas for your book. (some exceptions apply)

1. Don’t know what to write? Just cut and paste from your favorite book.
2. Bored with your main character? Change his name half-way through the book.
3. Hate your bad guy’s guts? Kill him off in the second scene.
4. Word count too short? Add random scenes to flesh it out.
5. Word count too long? No one cares how the book ends. Cut it out.
6. Don’t feel like meeting that deadline? Then don’t write!
7. Not enough sizzle in a genre romance? Make it a harem.
8. Too little suspense in that thriller? Give the detective a Tahiti vacation.
9. Bored with fantasy worlds? Make it an all-human cast with identical sociopolitical values and views.
10. Need more back story? Just do an “As you know, Bob…” info dump.

Add your favorite ideas here…