Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

If you write 1,000 words a day, you will write 365,000 words in a year. That is about five novels or a hundred short stories. And that requires typing words for only one hour a day.

I like to read the blog of author Dean Wesley Smith. He recently wrote about a topic that he mentions several times a year – the math of freelance writing. It is a simple topic – write so many words an hour, multiply by the number of hours you write a day, multiply by the number of days you work a year, and there you have it.

Given the math, a writer can write five to ten novels a year or several hundred short stories a year.

What is the catch?

There is not catch. Smith’s math is correct; Smith’s logic is correct. You just have to sit in a chair, put your hands on the keyboard, and pound out the words.

Ideas? They are everywhere. Motivation? That is up to the person. I guess that is what supports the writers from those who want to be writers. Maybe not.

I like Smith’s recent blog post in that he has changed the description from writing speed to writing work ethic. That is a good reframe in that many people feel that if you write fast, you write poorly. Now we can talk about working hard – or something like that.