Friday 7 June 2013

Still Not Reached My One Million


Just done a bit of totting up. I've written 875 thousand words in the last five years. Virtually all in short stories. Sadly, I'm not getting any faster. I've been 200 thousand words a year since year one.


But I'm feeling quite pleased. What about you? Do you keep a record. When I reach my first million I am expecting big things.

20 comments:

  1. You never cease to amaze me with your writing output. My question to you is: are you average in terms of your work output, or up there with the 'big hitters'? It would be nice to know what the 'average' writer (if there is such a beast?) is capable of?

    Btw - have you ever entertained the idea of doing a radio script?

    Pardon the link, but this might be of interest to you - I've joined the site myself.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

    All the best, hope you're enjoying this wonderful weather :)

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    1. I'm prolific but not usual, Mark. See Rahul's stat's here

      And if you want a real mind boggle check out How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day

      It doesn't really mean much. You might be the kind of writer that writers a few wonderful stories each year and gets them into the most important journals.

      Thanks for the BBC link, I tried them out a few months ago. I must get back to that.

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  2. Never thought about it like that before. Your total is impressive.

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  3. I tie myself into knots about which words count. Do I count first draft words? Do I have to subtract them when I throw them away? What about unfinished stories (the bulk of my output)? Then if I'm extra good and do the revising, do I get to count the final words a second time, as I've gone over each one again? What if I retype the manuscript rather than just cutting and pasting?

    Yes, I'm easily confused.

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    1. Well, I only count finished (which is a bit unusual) because if I didn't I would dilly about first drafting all the time. The count is a trick to keep me at it.

      And of yes, substantial reprints definitely count.

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  4. I haven't totted up recently - but I don't think I've written that much. It's especially impressive given that it is all in short stories.

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  5. 200 K words year after year? I'm in awe!

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    1. I like to keep busy. thanks for the shout out on FB, Melissa

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  6. Way to go, Deborah! All in short stories? Holy cow, that is impressive. Of course, your post challenged me to tally up what I've written in the past 5 years, and if I include novels, novellas, short stories, microfiction, and poetry, I'm at 1,047,000 (thanks to my handy spreadsheet). Short stories alone, I'm only at 696,000.

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    1. Woot! You've passed the big 1 zero zero (ah you know what I mean). Fabulous!

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  7. Wow!! That's incredible! I have no idea how much I've written, but I don't think that much... unless you include blogging!

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  8. Christine, these types are things I think are mind tricks to keep you motivated. If you want to count blogging, go for it.

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  9. I've never tried to estimate how many words I've written but hang on a minute and I'll do some maths.... Probably hit a million around March 2011. I'd been writing more than five years then though so you might well still be ahead.

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    1. Wow. Congratulations, Patsy. The words they do add up, don't they?

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  10. No, but I wish I had. I don't know how many words I've written, but it has to be well into the hundred thousands.

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    1. You've got to start keeping track Paul. It's fun.

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  11. That's an impressive tally. Unfortunately, I write ten words and delete nine, eight if it's a good day. :)

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    1. *laughs*But I bet those 1 or 2 words are very good, Jeff.

      I'm looking forward to reading your story in the 'Seers' anthology.

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