The 250 Word Rule For Writers

Several years ago, I went to a writer's workshop. The most helpful tip from the workshop was something that seemed very simple. The moderator suggested that everybody in the workshop commit to writing a minimum of 250 words every day for one month. At the end of that month, we could either commit to another month or not.

That was six years ago. Almost everybody in the workshop kept up the 250 words for the month. Some of us kept our string of writing days going for over a year, reporting out totals in a private Facebook page. I still recommit to 250 words/day whenever I feel like I'm not getting enough writing done.

What is the magic of 250 words? There really isn't any magic to it, but it's a number of words you can almost always find time to write. It takes me on average ten to fifteen minutes to write that many words and it's rare when I can't find at least ten to fifteen minutes, even on the busiest day. Setting that low goal helps avoid procrastination. You aren't planning to sit down and write a novel or even to write for several hours. You're just sitting down to write for fifteen minutes or half an hour if you're a slow writer.

Once I sit down to write those 250 words, I usually write more, which is kind of the point. Get started writing and chances are good that you'll keep going. If you're struggling, then when you hit 250 words you can stop.

I'm currently working on a Young Adult science fiction/ adventure novel that tries to bring back the old jungle adventure with a more modern twist. This has been a busy week for me at work and I've spent quite a bit of steem time, but most days I did the 250 words. I track my daily word counts in a spreadsheet. The last 7 days: 1465, 545, 271, 0, 361, 380, 1041. That adds up to a little over four thousand words in a week, which would add up to a Young Adult novel rough draft in a little over two months, all from committing to writing a little every day.

Actually, you probably noticed that I missed one day. That happens sometimes. The trick is to just come back the next day as though nothing happened and write your 250 words.

I do have a Facebook group for people to post their word totals, but I don't want to promote it here. People should be moving away from Facebook, not to it. If you like the idea of writing 250 words/day and would like a place to tell the world about your achievement, feel free to comment here, or wherever on steem you feel it is appropriate.

Good luck. I hope this helps.