Another Milestone Achieved, Another Magic Number Reached

by
Scott D. Parker

Sometimes it’s perfectly acceptable to tout an accomplishment, and today I am.

As of Wednesday, 5 April, I have written over 200,000 words of fiction. I’m not sure of your output, but for me, a writer with a day job, that’s a nice chunk of words. And 5 April is the 95th day of 2017 so I achieved 200,000 words in less than 100 days.

Math. It all adds up over time.

For my novels—specifically these westerns—I have two magic numbers. One is 10,000. It means I’ve commented that number of words to the new story and I should have a pretty good idea of how it’s going. The other is 50,000. Westerns are shorter and if I’ve reached that number or thereabouts, I should be fine.

One interesting note: I hit 100,000 words for 2017 on Day 50. I hit 200,000 forty-five days later. The second 100K consisted of the latter half of February’s book, all of March’s, and the first week of April’s. One could make the case that writing constantly and deliberately makes the writing more efficient. For the most part, I’d agree. If I hadn’t had some sub-1000-word days in March as I wrestled that book to the finish line, I’d have reached 200,000 sooner.

For some of y’all, 200,000 may seem like a huge number. It is! Please don’t think it isn’t a substantial number. You may not think you could ever get there. Well, you can’t over night. That much is sure. But you can get there in 95 days, or 200 days, or 400 days, or whatever. But you CAN get there.

All you have to do is commit to it. Once you do that and stick with it, the numbers add up and one day you’ll realize you’ve passed your magic number. Then you’ll type “The End,” and that’s one of the best feelings in the world.

What’s your magic number(s)?