Day 20: One Stretch at a Time

You know most of the time I only write a few hundred words in a stretch and then I have to fumble about for another line or scene to work off of.

You’ll notice this in my posts; they generally range from 200 words to 500, with a few going over or under. This means that once I get started I’m good for, let’s say, 400 words before I stop. That means I need about four goes to get my word count for the day.

That doesn’t sound too bad right? And it isn’t; provided I get the next run started fairly soon. To be honest that doesn’t always happen, it’s one of the reasons I started this post series. See when I come to a halt I sometimes have a hard time getting going again. Last year I spent a lot of time combing through the forums for extra pep talks.

I need a lot of inspiration, support, and encouragement to get things done. (And to frequently update my word count)

How I get started can be pretty random: Sometimes I just start with a word or an image in my mind. Sometimes I write out descriptions so that through writing I can discover more about a place. Once I set out to make one character shout at the top of her lungs just for the heck of it. (That was fun.) I’ve also been committing myself to a lot of word wars this year, forcing myself to write for a set time.

So what about you? How much can you get done at a stretch? What do you do when you’re stalled? Do word prompts work for you? Or ‘what if’ questions? Working in life experiences? How about timers, do you write better when under pressure? Do you do challenges? Word wars?

If you have the time I’d love to hear from you, maybe your methods can help jump start my next stretch of writing.

~Rita

Day 20 of NaNoWriMo