Word count and Authors.

There are mountains of posts and articles about how many words you should be writing each day, such as:
"I've written 5000 words today", "I did this and I did that and it all totalled to 9,000 words!"
"You should be writing at least XYZ words a day"

Really?

Hmm, am I missing something here?!

My point of view is this;

• The creative mind does not work the same way every day. Full stop.

• The morning and the afternoon with bring different results when writing. Be aware of your best time of day to sit down and write.
• Do you really need the extra pressure of achieving a word-count?
• The process of writing a novel can entail an extended period of time. Allow that time to flow as it needs to. If you are forcing it out, it will show.
• In other words, write when you are inspired to do so!
• Is it more important to have a certain number of words on a page, or to have a great story to tell?

By all means, practice the craft.
I am not espousing that you can't set a goal for yourself and aim to achieve it. Some people simply work better doing it that way. But - it should not be the main focus of writing.
Personally I enjoy stepping away from my novels from time to time to write posts like this one, or to participate in a really great writing prompt. Some are really fun and it is a good exercise to hone writing skills.
However,
Don't become obsessed with word count over inspiration and quality.
Writing should be enjoyable, why heap the added stress on your shoulders over something that really doesn't matter!

I write because I have been hit by inspiration, not because I want to get X amount of words on paper!!
When I am "in the zone" the words fly out of my head and onto the paper. That is of primary concern to me. The number of words that happens to entail, is of little consequence.
My first novel, still in edit, came in at 108,000 words when I was finished...much will need to be cut to get into the golden zone of 100k words for a standard print run!

Sometimes I need the break! I need to step away from writing and let the story 'roll around my head' as I like to put it. Daydream a bit. Think about plot development, character interaction and where the novel is going. Talk to others about it too. Write it down when the time is right for you.

 So, there you go. My soap box rant for the day....

Connect with Katherine on Google+

Don't forget to leave a G+ :)