Workable #20: Set a Pace That Works

You do not need to be on anyone else’s schedule. Work at your pace.

Workable #20: Set a Pace That Works
Photo by Gaelle Marcel / Unsplash

Stephen King writes 2,000 words per day. Junot Diaz is happy if he gets a few sentences down.

Often, we think the pace of our practice is key. We are lulled into believing that if we just hit some magic word count then we’d be on our way to the literary career of our dreams.

I know I have done so many calculations over the years. “If I write 1,000 words per day,” I’d say to myself, “then I can draft this novel in three months.”

But this never works. Why?

Word counts, for me, can’t be the goal because writing doesn’t always produce words. Sometimes, writing produces notes. At other times, writing produces outlines and structures. The results of a writing session aren't always predictable, and they aren't always measured in words.

Don’t worry about the pace that you write. Just build your practice. Let go of the results; lean into the practice.

The words, I assure you, will come.


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