The constant daily challenge has been to figure out ways to keep writing while working a full-time job (which also involves writing, different sort). But I've found a better challenge: The one posed by childrens' writer Debbie Ohi. Meet her fabulous 500 Words A Day Challenge. It's working for me. I'm counting both new work and significant rewrites (not editing) and so far I've been able to reach or exceed the goal. When I'm inspired I can do a messy 500 words in less than an hour. (That's about all the time I've got). I've been able to produce some oddball flash fiction and have pulled out my book-in-a-drawer, my first rebel child, and am working on a brand new draft. So 500 words translates into about two double-spaced pages, maybe a little less. Too much? You can choose a 250-word challenge. Too wimpy? Try 1,000 words. Monday, July 30, 2012
Another day, another 500 words
The constant daily challenge has been to figure out ways to keep writing while working a full-time job (which also involves writing, different sort). But I've found a better challenge: The one posed by childrens' writer Debbie Ohi. Meet her fabulous 500 Words A Day Challenge. It's working for me. I'm counting both new work and significant rewrites (not editing) and so far I've been able to reach or exceed the goal. When I'm inspired I can do a messy 500 words in less than an hour. (That's about all the time I've got). I've been able to produce some oddball flash fiction and have pulled out my book-in-a-drawer, my first rebel child, and am working on a brand new draft. So 500 words translates into about two double-spaced pages, maybe a little less. Too much? You can choose a 250-word challenge. Too wimpy? Try 1,000 words. 
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Larry McMurty writes exactly 500 words a day, so the system works for some people. I find the deadline system works best for me. My daily blog runs around 400-500 words, and the once every three weeks short story in our Black Coffee Fiction blog is usually around 1500 words. What I need is a deadline for the novel.
I've read that Graham Greene also restricted his writing to 500 words, even stopping mid-sentence. Deadlines are good too!
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