So how is the experiment going? Pretty well I would say, except that I didn’t realize that some words are much harder to write than others. Some words flow while others trickle. Sometimes some words flow where there kshould be no words. A “quota” encourages writing more than editing. So I’m not tracking word counts anymore, though the part of me that wants to quantify everything than can be quantified really wants to.
Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.
Robert said that “don’t worry about writing or minimum quotas. Lousy way to learn to write. Just keep blogging, write a web article or two and when you find a good thing to write about for a school assignment, run with it. ” He was right and wrong. Explicit quotas are lousy, but the musician inside me knows that discipline is necessary to excel, and daily practice makes perfect. (To which Kel often counters “But nobody’s perfect, why practice?” I suppose it’s the thought that counts.)
Though not entirely related I thought I’d chime in with a few words from Stephen King’s book: On Writing.
He suggests that if you’re serious about writing – and this is of course fiction, not bloggin (duh) – that setting off a certain amount of time, say 3 hours, a day at a specific time of day is how you turn a few words into a book.
I would guess that the same principle can be applied to blogging. Writing perhaps ½ an hour a day or whatever suits you. Personally I just write for however long I can be bothered with. But I make sure to update my site every day, no matter what the content.
Then some times I pull out 6 hours and just write my ass off 🙂