Definitely! Thankfully I'm at a point where my only goal is to draft one book a year and make sure I meet all my self-imposed deadlines (I give myself longer than I usually need because I never know what'll happen in my life).
Thanks for this video! I definitely struggle with this and need to get better at estimating, giving myself plenty of free time, and being kind to myself in the process so that I actually enjoy writing on the side. I'm going to come back and re-watch this video to take some notes! :D
Great video as always! Thank you! I use your Kan Ban (sp?)board with the three goals per quarter. You helped me and my grandson finish and edit our kids fantasy book 1! Setting specific goals helps me not to chase all the shiny new ideas- but I do keep a ‘hallowed’ space on the board to write down the those new ideas, so I can reassure myself that they are important. They won’t graduate to project status until my 3 quarterly goals are completed😊. You are the bomb Sarra! My best to you, Lurene
Yes! There seems like there always is something. Right now, I’m trying to figure to plan and prepare my first full novel. I’ve written short stories before, but I’m currently trying to get ready for NaNoWriMo. So that’s exciting but terrifying.
Ever since I watched your how to write faster video, I've been writing in sprints and set up a spreadsheet to track how much I write per 15, 20 and 25 minute sprints. I average out words per minute. It's been a fantastic tool. I already know my target word count so this is helping a bunch. I do need to allow for times when I can't write though. Yesterday I couldn't write at all, so I adjusted my target weekly goal to reflect that. I'm an older gal and know what burnout feels like. I'm not willing to do that to myself just to hit a specific word count. Health and priorities come first 😉
So. Much. This. I am so bad about doing the same thing. I make these crazy goals and deadlines, and then feel crappy when I don't meet them which makes writing even harder.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I have had the same problem. I was growing so stressed, because I felt no matter how much I wrote I was always behind and I’d never catch up and never finish. No matter how many words i wrote (and some days, I wrote ALOT), this helps me so so so much. The creativity was gone, and I ended up actually hating writing. I thought it meant I shouldn’t be a writer. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!!
I started my second book at the beginning of last year and I broke it down to a 6 month span and figured out when to do each step of the process. Along the way I also figured out the way outlining can actually help me and that I needed to extend my deadline by 2 months to make sure I had enough time to do the final stuff. So now I've figured out my process for book 3 and I am so happy with it now writing is definitely a marathon not a sprint
Yes! That's exactly what I was doing. Hopefully some of these tips will help you. It can be hard to be realistic, because we want so badly to have it done faster! But it's so much better for our peace of mind and productivity to really be realistic about what we can get done!
Good morning, Sarra... First off, I want to congratulate your family on the birth of Evie... She is absolutely adorable! I have indie'd one book, the first in a 4-book series. I wanted Book 2 & 3 out this year but life just got in the way. Also, my fear of not getting important military details right. I'm past that and ready to get Book 2 written. Next year, I hope to get rights back to my first book and re-release as an indie. If all goes well, I want to release Book 3 in the series by this time next year. Now that my husband has an actual schedule I can see where my strongest writing days are. My higher WC sprints happen in the evening.. usually after about 4 p.m. so I'll be looking at this last quarter of the year to get back in the groove. I am so ready for Nano! Stop in at the Cauldron Cafe thread and say hello. We're under Writing Groups. Love to see ya! Creative Blessings! ~Angela
i really need to figure out my averages... im pretty slow (but hey, i write pretty clean 1st drafts so im gonna keep it like that lol) but i always set deadlines that are way too tight. as if im gonna write for 4 hours every day, seven days a week... yeah right... ive literally never done that, i never had the time for that, why do i think i could manage it now? am i gonna use my magical abilities to make the day have more hours? didnt think so...
Oh if we could only do that! Maybe using our abilities to stop everything around us while we keep working. Imagine a writing life with no interruptions! LOL Yeah, right. What we do have is 'focus'... now where did I put that... ~Creative Blessings
Fantastic video! Your videos have really helped me get my writing schedule organized. I've written less than 10k this month, and it's been hard to stop the self-deprecating selftalk running through my brain sometimes. Thank you for the pick-me-up :)
This system has SAVED my 2019 writing schedule! It has worked so beautifully for me already. (I've written one full book and two half manuscripts and it's only September; I've never been this productive, owe it all to this!) I can't wait to see how it improves as I learn how to use it even better next year!!!
Forever behind! Life has been crazy the last few months, and even though I planned my writing time, something more important came up with a family situation. I have given myself grace knowing that sometimes things happen that you cannot control that interfere with your goals. As far as how far I am in my writing "career," I am working on the second draft of my first novel. But, I am rewriting the entire thing, so it's drafting like a first draft.
It's so hard when things out of our control delay our plans but you've got this. Give yourself the time and space you need and I'm wishing you the best in your second draft!!💜
This is really good advice. I'd like to add though that people should remember to be open to trying different things if one thing doesn't seem to be working for them. I know pomodoro technique and word sprint don't work well for me, because it doesn't give my brain time to get fully immersed in the work. But even with my longer stints of writing I was able to track and even increase how fast I could write.
Your videos are really making me think a lot. I wrote 4 books a few years ago then hit severe writers block. Now that I'm returning to writing, I have no idea where to even begin with it all. I feel completely lost and it's frustrating, which doesn't help with standing on the edge of the writer's block cliff. I've been watching your videos and taking notes and doing the baby step thing to get myself back on course. I'm working toward being in a position to take your bootcamp next year when you have it again. Thank you for sharing knowledge with us.
Thank you so much for this Sarra. I can definitely relate to unfairly burdening myself. Congratulations on your new baby. Super happy for you and glad that you had a healthy pregnancy, delivery and baby. Hope you as mama are doing well as well. Thank you again, this video is super helpful. Definitely one for my archives to keep coming back to.
So glad ur back!!! I love the hb 90 method- I love the tips- I have a few projects I am working on- still working with a me tor on my rewrite and the. Working on a small town romance series, a short story collection for Halloween, and an outline of my nano project- as you’ve taught me- nit doing these projects everyday- but have the spread out and had days off too- thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!
This video helped so much as I look at the disaster of Q3 (my first time trying a Kanban board!) and tried to decide what to do about Q4!! I took all my logical working days (looking at the next 3 months) and subtracted 12 - which is about 1 working day a week! Maybe that will help me be more realistic. Thanks for all you do for us, Sarra!
As I stated in the FB group, I'm a total pantser but thinking I need to do some kind of plotting... every time I got stuck and I would stop writing, I would start it from a different perspective, ending up liking it, and trying to incorporate it into previous stories in the same world.. I also think that's my problem. Printed out the NaNo Prep Guide and plan to read it later to try and help me focus my writing energy into one direction.
Thank you so much, Sarra , for taking the time to make videos like this! Your videos are extremely helpful to me. I am a beginning writer, and I look to you for tips and advice often :-)
Great video. I published my first book in February 2019. I recently found your channel and have being watching your older video. Great content overall. I am working on my srrategy for my trilogy.
Hi Sarah I really enjoyed the video I think it is more accurate to calculate median than average. Sometimes we are delayed more than we think about writing. Median can calculate all the times we thought it would take us some time to write but we actually spent more hours writing than we thought. The result is much more accurate than average
Thanks for the helpful tips Sarra. I'm curious, do you plan your TH-cam content out in advance like you do for your books? And if so, do you film them in batches? Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this.
Do you need a full plot identified prior to beginning writing? I have the acts laid out, but not all the scenes. Would you suggest waiting until the plot is finished or jump into writing now?
Great video! As always. I'm currently working with an editor on my first book and I'll be editing two more books over the next year in order to release 3 books in a series between September 2020 and March 2021. I notice you talk a lot about word count but I'm wondering if you can discuss the editing/revision process and how to plan for that. I'm finding it a lot harder to plan. I think it will be easier for the next book once I've figured out how I edit but for this first book it's been a very long process. Thanks! Have a great day =)
I do have a video series on editing if you haven't had a chance to watch that yet, but it's a good idea to do a video specifically on how to plan for the time it takes!
I started a book in July and for the first time in years, I am writing every day. My normal word count for sprints is 250 words. I write very slow...but last month, I did 50,000 words. and yes, I am a pantzer and I write very long books so I know what the story is and then I go back and cut. I think my issue is right now I have so many other obligations, and all I want to do is sit and finish this book. I'm having a blast writing it. It's my first contemporary romance. Writing a Historial always takes more time, because of the research involved. My issue, is I"m trying to do covers for my historical books, format, figure out marketing, and balance stuff for my writers' group, and work. I have a lot on my plate, so if you have any ideas on what to do when all you want to do is sit in the chair, let me know.
You have a lot going on! My best tip is to come up with an idea day schedule. Figure out how to maximize your writing time and then figure out the best schedule for the rest of it. You could even use the admin and marketing stuff as a way to "earn" your writing time. So, maybe thirty minutes of working on covers means you get two hours of writing...
I'm a news writer, pumping out a dozen stories or more a week. With books, I'm slower than everyone who watches your videos. I wrote one 25 years ago to completion and it's never been published in full. I don't write fiction. I can't imagine someone writing a book in three weeks or two months. Very interesting videos.
What an amazing career you have!! And it's okay to go at your own pace. I wasted too much of my life already comparing myself to others. Are you still working on your book or going to get it published? Wishing you the best!
@@HeartBreathings That one was done in 1995 or 1996. Another, interviews of survivors of a super-typhoon, was done in 2015 or so. I write them but I don't get around to publishing them. My news items have been published about 15,000 or more times over the years, but little money is made with news. Hearing of people writing book of fiction in three weeks, publishing one after the other and fiction writers having six figure years is mind boggling to me.
Oh my god Sarrah. You're a psychic because I'm going through something like this exactly this month. I had a goal of 85,000 words by September 20th, but I got a cold and ended up falling far behind. And now I couldn't hit my object. This is horrible. Love your channel and your tips, guru master.
Hehe, guru master. I don't think I could think of myself that way, but it made me smile so thank you!! It's so hard when we fall behind!! Especially when it's for something we can't control! Just keep going and don't let the negative talk get into your head!!
Editing can be such a challenge, but don't give up! Maybe you are expecting too much of yourself! It's probably turning out so much better than you think!!
Hey.. Im a new subbie... Joined you just now... Loved your channel.. I saw some other of your previous videos they're just amazing.. I also wanna be a part of your notebook challenge.. How can I be a part.. And what actually I'll have to do in that?
I'm in a life space where I can realistically dive into this writing dream. I have a few ideas, moderate talent but no experience. My most exciting idea can't be my first book because I feel that would just be demoralizing as the fist book will undoubtedly suck. Advice?
I love planning in 90 day stints. I'm a fast writer and focusing on 90 days gives me a second to look at the market and see how to best position my business with what is "hot." I write PNR under one pen and Sweet Western/Military romance under another pen. So I'm looking at what is hot in those categories including covers, fonts, titles, tropes. For example, I wrote a bestselling Modern Day Marriage of Convenience series last year. Those books only had the men with horses on the covers. I wrote a spin off, but put men in uniform with a woman on each cover. Those books sold a third of what last years did, because I see that men in cowboy hats with the Desire Font are being bought left and right. So now I see I just need to change up some covers to attract new readers. That's one of the tasks I'll be doing in the next 90 days! Also, I can't write by word count. When I do, I break apart contractions just to get to that goal number. Seriously! I write best by chapter. On my best day I can write four chapters. So I set a goal of two chapters per day. Most of my books average about 20 chapters.
My best friend writes by chapter too!! She also writes romance. Chapters doesn't work for my writing, because they can vary from 1,000 words to 8,000 words and my novels can have anywhere from fifteen chapters to sixty. It just depends on the flow and the pov mix! The important thing is to just figure out what works for you! It works for my friend because every chapter for her is almost exactly 4k words.
LOL. I figure out my target word goals for my novels but the first draft always ends up being more - way more. My latest: Target word count was 80,000 words. Actual first draft word count: 130,000. Yeah, that's a problem I'm still trying to solve. Tam
Currently working on the first draft of my first book with a deadline of December 24th, also plan to have the first draft of my second book done by the end of January. Lol am I crazy?
While I'm grateful for the advice, I think my anxious, overachiever self would spiral into madness if I did word count, mostly because my mental health would made me fixate on numbers and data instead of the creative part. My strategy will always be set myself to write half a chapter a day, and plan towards how much chapters I need for said book. This gives me enough breathing space so I don't get hiperfixated on my spreadsheets
Is this something you have struggled with, too? What are your current writing goals or what are you currently working on?
Definitely! Thankfully I'm at a point where my only goal is to draft one book a year and make sure I meet all my self-imposed deadlines (I give myself longer than I usually need because I never know what'll happen in my life).
Thanks for this video! I definitely struggle with this and need to get better at estimating, giving myself plenty of free time, and being kind to myself in the process so that I actually enjoy writing on the side. I'm going to come back and re-watch this video to take some notes! :D
Great video as always! Thank you! I use your Kan Ban (sp?)board with the three goals per quarter. You helped me and my grandson finish and edit our kids fantasy book 1! Setting specific goals helps me not to chase all the shiny new ideas- but I do keep a ‘hallowed’ space on the board to write down the those new ideas, so I can reassure myself that they are important. They won’t graduate to project status until my 3 quarterly goals are completed😊. You are the bomb Sarra! My best to you, Lurene
@@LoisFMiller so proud of you!! Congratulations!!
Yes! There seems like there always is something. Right now, I’m trying to figure to plan and prepare my first full novel. I’ve written short stories before, but I’m currently trying to get ready for NaNoWriMo. So that’s exciting but terrifying.
I would love more videos on marketing and building a mailing list. You’re super woman for doing this video 10 days postpartum.
i. just set up a workbook for my writing
Ever since I watched your how to write faster video, I've been writing in sprints and set up a spreadsheet to track how much I write per 15, 20 and 25 minute sprints. I average out words per minute. It's been a fantastic tool. I already know my target word count so this is helping a bunch. I do need to allow for times when I can't write though. Yesterday I couldn't write at all, so I adjusted my target weekly goal to reflect that. I'm an older gal and know what burnout feels like. I'm not willing to do that to myself just to hit a specific word count. Health and priorities come first 😉
So. Much. This. I am so bad about doing the same thing. I make these crazy goals and deadlines, and then feel crappy when I don't meet them which makes writing even harder.
Yes.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I have had the same problem. I was growing so stressed, because I felt no matter how much I wrote I was always behind and I’d never catch up and never finish. No matter how many words i wrote (and some days, I wrote ALOT), this helps me so so so much. The creativity was gone, and I ended up actually hating writing. I thought it meant I shouldn’t be a writer. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!!
I started my second book at the beginning of last year and I broke it down to a 6 month span and figured out when to do each step of the process. Along the way I also figured out the way outlining can actually help me and that I needed to extend my deadline by 2 months to make sure I had enough time to do the final stuff. So now I've figured out my process for book 3 and I am so happy with it now writing is definitely a marathon not a sprint
I have so many problems doing this. 😂 I keep making deadlines that are too short for myself and get disappointed when it doesn't work out
Yes! That's exactly what I was doing. Hopefully some of these tips will help you. It can be hard to be realistic, because we want so badly to have it done faster! But it's so much better for our peace of mind and productivity to really be realistic about what we can get done!
Good morning, Sarra... First off, I want to congratulate your family on the birth of Evie... She is absolutely adorable! I have indie'd one book, the first in a 4-book series. I wanted Book 2 & 3 out this year but life just got in the way. Also, my fear of not getting important military details right. I'm past that and ready to get Book 2 written. Next year, I hope to get rights back to my first book and re-release as an indie. If all goes well, I want to release Book 3 in the series by this time next year. Now that my husband has an actual schedule I can see where my strongest writing days are. My higher WC sprints happen in the evening.. usually after about 4 p.m. so I'll be looking at this last quarter of the year to get back in the groove. I am so ready for Nano! Stop in at the Cauldron Cafe thread and say hello. We're under Writing Groups. Love to see ya! Creative Blessings! ~Angela
Oh my gosh! I have so done the unrealistic goal thing. The last year has been much better. Thanks for this video.
i really need to figure out my averages... im pretty slow (but hey, i write pretty clean 1st drafts so im gonna keep it like that lol) but i always set deadlines that are way too tight. as if im gonna write for 4 hours every day, seven days a week... yeah right... ive literally never done that, i never had the time for that, why do i think i could manage it now? am i gonna use my magical abilities to make the day have more hours? didnt think so...
Exactly! That's what I was always don't too! Why is it so hard to just be realistic?!
Oh if we could only do that! Maybe using our abilities to stop everything around us while we keep working. Imagine a writing life with no interruptions! LOL Yeah, right. What we do have is 'focus'... now where did I put that... ~Creative Blessings
Congratulations on your new baby! God Bless you and your whole Family! :) :)
Fantastic video! Your videos have really helped me get my writing schedule organized. I've written less than 10k this month, and it's been hard to stop the self-deprecating selftalk running through my brain sometimes. Thank you for the pick-me-up :)
This system has SAVED my 2019 writing schedule! It has worked so beautifully for me already. (I've written one full book and two half manuscripts and it's only September; I've never been this productive, owe it all to this!) I can't wait to see how it improves as I learn how to use it even better next year!!!
Yay!!! This makes be so happy to hear!!
Thanks for sharing this, Sarah!
Forever behind! Life has been crazy the last few months, and even though I planned my writing time, something more important came up with a family situation. I have given myself grace knowing that sometimes things happen that you cannot control that interfere with your goals. As far as how far I am in my writing "career," I am working on the second draft of my first novel. But, I am rewriting the entire thing, so it's drafting like a first draft.
It's so hard when things out of our control delay our plans but you've got this. Give yourself the time and space you need and I'm wishing you the best in your second draft!!💜
This is really good advice. I'd like to add though that people should remember to be open to trying different things if one thing doesn't seem to be working for them. I know pomodoro technique and word sprint don't work well for me, because it doesn't give my brain time to get fully immersed in the work. But even with my longer stints of writing I was able to track and even increase how fast I could write.
Always love your videos!
Your videos are really making me think a lot. I wrote 4 books a few years ago then hit severe writers block. Now that I'm returning to writing, I have no idea where to even begin with it all. I feel completely lost and it's frustrating, which doesn't help with standing on the edge of the writer's block cliff. I've been watching your videos and taking notes and doing the baby step thing to get myself back on course. I'm working toward being in a position to take your bootcamp next year when you have it again. Thank you for sharing knowledge with us.
So happy you are getting back to writing. You can do this!! Baby steps is a great place to start!
Thank you so much for this Sarra. I can definitely relate to unfairly burdening myself. Congratulations on your new baby. Super happy for you and glad that you had a healthy pregnancy, delivery and baby. Hope you as mama are doing well as well.
Thank you again, this video is super helpful. Definitely one for my archives to keep coming back to.
I began writing sprints because of you! Thank you for really breaking down how to project time to write a novel. This was super helpful!
So glad ur back!!! I love the hb 90 method- I love the tips- I have a few projects I am working on- still working with a me tor on my rewrite and the. Working on a small town romance series, a short story collection for Halloween, and an outline of my nano project- as you’ve taught me- nit doing these projects everyday- but have the spread out and had days off too- thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!
This video helped so much as I look at the disaster of Q3 (my first time trying a Kanban board!) and tried to decide what to do about Q4!! I took all my logical working days (looking at the next 3 months) and subtracted 12 - which is about 1 working day a week! Maybe that will help me be more realistic. Thanks for all you do for us, Sarra!
💜
Great advice, thank you, have a great week
As I stated in the FB group, I'm a total pantser but thinking I need to do some kind of plotting... every time I got stuck and I would stop writing, I would start it from a different perspective, ending up liking it, and trying to incorporate it into previous stories in the same world.. I also think that's my problem. Printed out the NaNo Prep Guide and plan to read it later to try and help me focus my writing energy into one direction.
i needed this so much have a little more clarity for my writing thank you!!!
Such a necessary video! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Sarra , for taking the time to make videos like this! Your videos are extremely helpful to me. I am a beginning writer, and I look to you for tips and advice often :-)
Great video. I published my first book in February 2019. I recently found your channel and have being watching your older video. Great content overall. I am working on my srrategy for my trilogy.
Congratulations on your first book!
Hi Sarah I really enjoyed the video I think it is more accurate to calculate median than average. Sometimes we are delayed more than we think about writing. Median can calculate all the times we thought it would take us some time to write but we actually spent more hours writing than we thought.
The result is much more accurate than average
I never thought of it that way but that's a great point! Thank you!
Thanks for the helpful tips Sarra. I'm curious, do you plan your TH-cam content out in advance like you do for your books? And if so, do you film them in batches? Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this.
Do you need a full plot identified prior to beginning writing? I have the acts laid out, but not all the scenes. Would you suggest waiting until the plot is finished or jump into writing now?
Excellent x
Great video! As always. I'm currently working with an editor on my first book and I'll be editing two more books over the next year in order to release 3 books in a series between September 2020 and March 2021. I notice you talk a lot about word count but I'm wondering if you can discuss the editing/revision process and how to plan for that. I'm finding it a lot harder to plan. I think it will be easier for the next book once I've figured out how I edit but for this first book it's been a very long process. Thanks! Have a great day =)
I do have a video series on editing if you haven't had a chance to watch that yet, but it's a good idea to do a video specifically on how to plan for the time it takes!
I started a book in July and for the first time in years, I am writing every day. My normal word count for sprints is 250 words. I write very slow...but last month, I did 50,000 words. and yes, I am a pantzer and I write very long books so I know what the story is and then I go back and cut. I think my issue is right now I have so many other obligations, and all I want to do is sit and finish this book. I'm having a blast writing it. It's my first contemporary romance. Writing a Historial always takes more time, because of the research involved. My issue, is I"m trying to do covers for my historical books, format, figure out marketing, and balance stuff for my writers' group, and work. I have a lot on my plate, so if you have any ideas on what to do when all you want to do is sit in the chair, let me know.
You have a lot going on! My best tip is to come up with an idea day schedule. Figure out how to maximize your writing time and then figure out the best schedule for the rest of it. You could even use the admin and marketing stuff as a way to "earn" your writing time. So, maybe thirty minutes of working on covers means you get two hours of writing...
congratulations on your baby!
Thank you so much!!
I'm a news writer, pumping out a dozen stories or more a week. With books, I'm slower than everyone who watches your videos. I wrote one 25 years ago to completion and it's never been published in full. I don't write fiction. I can't imagine someone writing a book in three weeks or two months. Very interesting videos.
What an amazing career you have!! And it's okay to go at your own pace. I wasted too much of my life already comparing myself to others. Are you still working on your book or going to get it published? Wishing you the best!
@@HeartBreathings That one was done in 1995 or 1996. Another, interviews of survivors of a super-typhoon, was done in 2015 or so. I write them but I don't get around to publishing them. My news items have been published about 15,000 or more times over the years, but little money is made with news. Hearing of people writing book of fiction in three weeks, publishing one after the other and fiction writers having six figure years is mind boggling to me.
Oh my god Sarrah. You're a psychic because I'm going through something like this exactly this month. I had a goal of 85,000 words by September 20th, but I got a cold and ended up falling far behind. And now I couldn't hit my object. This is horrible. Love your channel and your tips, guru master.
Hehe, guru master. I don't think I could think of myself that way, but it made me smile so thank you!! It's so hard when we fall behind!! Especially when it's for something we can't control! Just keep going and don't let the negative talk get into your head!!
@@HeartBreathings Yes, thank you. Diva. I love your books, channel. Congrats.👏👏👏💗😘
You had me at "Procrastplanning" lolz
my BIGGEST problem is with editing -_- it takes forever and I want to give up
Editing can be such a challenge, but don't give up! Maybe you are expecting too much of yourself! It's probably turning out so much better than you think!!
Hey.. Im a new subbie... Joined you just now... Loved your channel.. I saw some other of your previous videos they're just amazing.. I also wanna be a part of your notebook challenge.. How can I be a part.. And what actually I'll have to do in that?
I'm in a life space where I can realistically dive into this writing dream. I have a few ideas, moderate talent but no experience. My most exciting idea can't be my first book because I feel that would just be demoralizing as the fist book will undoubtedly suck. Advice?
I love planning in 90 day stints. I'm a fast writer and focusing on 90 days gives me a second to look at the market and see how to best position my business with what is "hot." I write PNR under one pen and Sweet Western/Military romance under another pen. So I'm looking at what is hot in those categories including covers, fonts, titles, tropes. For example, I wrote a bestselling Modern Day Marriage of Convenience series last year. Those books only had the men with horses on the covers. I wrote a spin off, but put men in uniform with a woman on each cover. Those books sold a third of what last years did, because I see that men in cowboy hats with the Desire Font are being bought left and right. So now I see I just need to change up some covers to attract new readers. That's one of the tasks I'll be doing in the next 90 days!
Also, I can't write by word count. When I do, I break apart contractions just to get to that goal number. Seriously! I write best by chapter. On my best day I can write four chapters. So I set a goal of two chapters per day. Most of my books average about 20 chapters.
My best friend writes by chapter too!! She also writes romance. Chapters doesn't work for my writing, because they can vary from 1,000 words to 8,000 words and my novels can have anywhere from fifteen chapters to sixty. It just depends on the flow and the pov mix! The important thing is to just figure out what works for you! It works for my friend because every chapter for her is almost exactly 4k words.
LOL. I figure out my target word goals for my novels but the first draft always ends up being more - way more. My latest: Target word count was 80,000 words. Actual first draft word count: 130,000. Yeah, that's a problem I'm still trying to solve. Tam
Currently working on the first draft of my first book with a deadline of December 24th, also plan to have the first draft of my second book done by the end of January. Lol am I crazy?
Oh my gosh! Keep me updated how it goes! Sounds ambitious!
@@HeartBreathings Will do! :) Second book will depend on how much I get done in NaNoWriMo lol
While I'm grateful for the advice, I think my anxious, overachiever self would spiral into madness if I did word count, mostly because my mental health would made me fixate on numbers and data instead of the creative part. My strategy will always be set myself to write half a chapter a day, and plan towards how much chapters I need for said book. This gives me enough breathing space so I don't get hiperfixated on my spreadsheets
What do you do if you get stuck in your plot as a pantser?
meeeeee, I can NEVER set realistic goals haha