I’ve found a way to hit my word target that I am embarrassed to tell you. I’m not sure Hemingway did this, but then, I don’t do the bourbon so…
There are times when, surprise surprise, I find it hard to squeeze words out.
Almost never when I’m writing my own stuff (like here) which feels like cloud-tasting, but client work? Sometimes.
For example, I’m ghost-writing a business book right now and, with everything going on in my life, I’ve found it hard to sit down and write.
Plus, aieee, it feels like hip-deep-treacle-tai-kwon-do.
And I know all the time management stuff – believe me, I’m a recovering procrastinator (in a serious way – I’ll tell you those stories on other days…) – the Pomodoro 15-minute kitchen timer, the 50 minutes on/10 minutes off… All of those have worked in the past.
Right now? Serious treacle.
So here’s what I’ve been doing.
1. I set a word target. Let’s say 1000 words.
2. I split that into 50 word chunks. So, 20 chunks.
3. I get a plate of fruit (or today, cake) and split it into at least 20 chunks. And nice fruit – you know, pineapple, watermelon…
4. I open my doc.
5. I open a little Notepad file in a tiny window.
6. In the Notepad file I type – current word count/target word count.
7. I add 50 words on.
8. Ctrl+Tab (or whatever) to the doc and type 50 words.
9. Keep hitting Tools/Wordcount (or whatever) until I am at the target.
10. Eat a chunk of fruit or cake (or whatever).
11. I go to the wordcount Notepad file and work out 50 words more and type that number in.
Repeat 7 – 11.
Tiny tiny chunquititos
I know that 50 words is a tiny amount, but, wow, it’s a miracle.
I’ve been typing 1000 quality words in under an hour with zero zero effort.
The reward comes around so quickly that I get pleased and surprised – yay, another piece of fruit -which this time – ooh, watermelon…
I had no idea I was such a simple-minded person.
Couple of things to make this work
~ It doesn’t work for me to type all the numbers out in advance. Too daunting. I just do the next step.
~ If you catch myself having typed 100 or more words in a rush, GO AND EAT THE RIGHT NUMBER OF PIECES OF FRUIT – you have to follow through…
~ Sometimes I’ll have a stretch in the middle, but I just can’t can’t do anything to break my stride.
~ At the end, eat all of pieces left – result!
***
Whatcha reckon writers?
Comments – what works for you? Or ‘yes that’ or ‘Hi!’ or ‘No’ or whatever.
Half-baked comments only, please. No Systems With Capital Letters/dogma/advice.
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum…Replacing the watermelon with strawberries and I’m feeling strangely motivated to get writing.
Mmm… Strawberries… Good idea!
I did it with cake today. Felt a bit sick…
I use fruit as a reward for word count as well. Eating strawbs and mangoes tends to get me my word count, some of my 5 a-day but without the expanded Writer’s Arse I get from chocolate, so it’s definitely the way forward!
Ah, yes, Writer’s Arse…
Considering the situation I am in – am definitely up for trying it.
Thesis time?
Twitter: chapeaubysimone
We are such simple (and yet complicated) animals, aren’t we? I love this.
Bribery FTW!
I was calling it positive reinforcement, but, yes, bribery works too…
Since I’d have to leave the fruit all the way across the house to keep from eating it all at once, this would be like a workout too!
I have to time how long it takes me to write 50 words…
Just imaginining a trail of fruit and you following with your laptop…
Twitter: zenpeacekeeper
I have some writing-for-hire to get through today and I think this will work beautifully. But with cups of tea and dates because it is freezing mid-winter here. 500 wds and I get another cup of tea and a date. x
Wow. 500 words. You got more stickability than I, lady.
Oh, I wonder if this could work for editing, too, except in reverse.
So once you have all your words there, then you also get to eat fruit every time you CUT 50 words from the draft. Editing is not nearly as fun for me as brainstorm-writing, and takes twice as long. Getting fruit for eliminating words appeals to me very much.
Ooh, yes, editing.
I’ve been trying to work that one out.
Good idea about lessening the word count.
My sticking point is – what about just rearranging? How do you measure that? When do I get my fruuuuuit?
OOH editing. Ya – I can spit out a draft no problem, but how to measure your way through editing?
Word cuts, and what? Maybe when you’re done (more or less, given the need for tweaks after later changes) with a short section. Very short. Like a paragraph.
If that part is ready to send, time for fruit.
I like this idea of a reward when you’ve finished a very short section… Might make me really look at what I’m doing when I’m editing…
Tougher one, this one…
Twitter: menwithpens
This is actually a good idea, Andrew. I know about chunking down and breaking projects up into small steps, but to break it into step so small that they’re uber-easy to achieve AND add reward?
Well. That’s… a good idea. Very.
I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a second – 50 words, break. 50 words, break. My concern is that there’d be stop in the flow, an interruption, a disruption. It’ll take an average of 15 to 20 minutes to get back in the train of thought.
IF you’re taking an actual “stop, continue” pause. Which is the only way I can see this being beneficial – the stop is the reward, the well done, the yay! If you rush it and eat as you write more, then there is really no reward.
Mm. Your thoughts?
(Don’t do it with cake, man. You’re conditioning attachment between food and writing… bad, bad.)
James Chartrand – Men with Pens´s last blog ..How Brave a Writer Are You