NaNoWriMo or not, boost your word count

In our month-long celebration of NaNoWriMo, we’re offering tips, tools, and inspiration to help you write your heart out. NaNoWriMo or not, these resources and ideas will make you more prolific and creative well beyond November.

I was intrigued to find this post by author Rachel Aaron about how she went from writing 2,000 words a day to 10,000. Yes, you read that right. Here are brief explanations of her tips, with a link to the details in her blog post. She’s also written a book available for only 99 cents, which you can buy on Amazon, that details the process.

Side 1: Knowledge or Know What You’re Writing Before You Write It
After realizing a scene she’d written was a mess, Aaron discovered that if she scribbled out a short-hand version of what she planned to write on a pad of paper, she could quickly spot any writing pitfalls and more efficiently and quickly finish the scene, upping her word count.

“If you want to write faster, the first step is to know what you’re writing before you write it“

Side 2: Time

Next, Aaron realized she knew very little about how she wrote her novels. Despite the fact that writing was her business, she’d never tracked her hours or recorded how long it took to produce the books she was writing.

She began keeping records, noting the time she started and stopped each session, word counts, and her writing location. Then she looked for patterns and adjusted her routines accordingly.

Side 3: Enthusiasm

Finally, Aaron realized that her most prolific days included creating scenes that she absolutely loved writing. This led to an epiphany. Some of the less interesting scenes were BORING to her. So she figured that if she was bored how would the reader feel? Aaron began to write and rewrite scenes that she could get excited about. The quality of her writing improved and she continued to increase her word count.

For all the details, go to Amazon and buy her book 2k to 10k: How to Write Better, Write Faster, and Write More of What You Love