Kristal Lee

Last month I began using a spreadsheet to track words written. January's grand total was 14,445 with 10,547 words credited to my current WIP. I challenged myself to do better.

Did I?

Yes and No.

Here's the tally:

Grand Total for February ~ 17, 375 words written.

The breakdown:

photo: performance-rules.com

WIP ~ 10,223
Blog ~ 3,685
NKotWB Blog~ 2,073
Season Reviews~ 1,394

Although I surpassed January's total word count, I'm annoyed that I didn't manage more words for my WIP.  324 words short of matching and my goal had been to exceed.

So what happened?

My organizational skills in February were virtually non-existent. Creatively, I felt like I was tied to the end of a bungy cord, flailing all over the place. I really need a schedule. I really hate schedules.  Schedules keep me on track. Schedules are stifling, inciting a sense of rebellion.

Believe it or not, I did make a weekend writing schedule. I just didn't follow it. I tried to structure it the same way my work week runs. Problem is, I'm not a morning person by nature. Getting up at 5:30am on Saturday just ain't gonna happen. Even with the alarm set, even with the furbabies pawing at the door, even with Professor X nudging me.

I need a new plan for March. 10,000 words a month for WIP isn't gonna cut the cake. I did 50,000 words in November for NaNoWriMo. I can do it again, right?

I had a little extra help, though. I took some time off work and with a few holiday freebies I gained extra writing days that I don't normally have. Can't repeat that pattern too often, so I need to figure out something that will consistently work for me.  I'm thinking about going for a weekly word count goal. I just need to figure out what's doable and stretch it a little.

What about those of you who also shuffle a "day" job with writing? Do you worry about scheduling time to write? Do you hold yourself to a word count or hours spent at the desk? Do you set deadlines for yourself, or do you adopt the attitude, "it'll get finished when it gets finished"?

Last year my job required me to take an Excel workshop. I'm not sure the expense the agency paid was worth the small amount of use required at work, but I'm not complaining. What I learned, I brought home and incorporated into my after-hours writing career. I built a spreadsheet to track words written on WIPs, my blog posts, and book reviews.

On Jan. 1st, I began monitoring my writing habits and productivity. To my surprise, I discovered that I liked being accountable to a chart designed with my favorite colors, with columns and boxes and totals galore. I can easily turn those into pie charts and graphs and forget how much I hated those things in math class. You see, math is not "my thing."

Oh, I can solve those mathematical equations, teeth gritted and fists clenched, under protest. But, really, who cares how fast Timmy has to walk to get to the station before the train going 55 miles an hour from Cincinnati arrives at 3:45, if he leaves his house at 2:15. I'm more concerned with why is Timmy walking alone? Where's his parents? Why can't someone take him? And why the heck is he going to the train station in the first place? That's why I'm a writer and not a mathematician. Much to the dismay of Mr. D., my tenth grade geometry teacher.

Photo: http://lkysppeak.wordpress.com

Maybe if we'd had Excel back then, my life would've had a different direction....Yeah, probably not. It's not the science of formulas and what-not that excited me when I began using my spreadsheet. It was seeing the numbers. Numbers that titillate rather than fill me with trepidation. Numbers that equal words written. Numbers that finally mean something to me.

A glance at January's spreadsheet revealed 12,011 words completed on Howlin Grace (current WIP), 2,152 for it's KRISTAL kLEEr, 1,756 for NKotWB, giving me a grand total of 15,919 for the month. Not too shabby. Of course, I'm a goal-setter. I'll have to best that number in February. Quite a challenge, too. February is a short month. I'd better get busy!

Join me at New Kids on the Writer’s Block for a look at naming the New Year and what it entails for me.