Some time ago, I came across a screenshot of a Tumblr post that talked about how Sir Terry Pratchett, a renowned English author, used to write 400 words a day and how productive this practice had made him. I was intrigued, and did a tiny Google search where I found an article that also mentioned how this 400-words-a-day writing goal had helped him write so many books throughout his life despite having a full-time job.
I’ve recently found myself wanting to write out a specific story, but writer’s block often stopped me. However, since I wanted to put the idea to paper (my Google Docs), and I love to overestimate my writing abilities, I decided to try writing 400 words a day for a week as well. I figured laying out the story before I forgot it would help stimulate my brain into actually being productive, having left the characters to their own devices in whatever high-tension situation I conjured up over the course of a few weeks or even months.
And so, I began my writing adventure, confident as I sat in front of my laptop. Let me tell you… hubris is the downfall of Man™ in so many myths for a reason.
I could not figure out how to begin, despite how hard I tried. So I sat and stared at the laptop as if I could will an introductory paragraph into existence. When that didn’t work, I settled by just chucking the narration straight into the story, explanations and exposition be damned. Though it started as two different scenes, entirely disconnected save for the protagonist, I eventually deleted the first one and embraced the path of improvising my way through the narrative using the second paragraph as its foundation.
With some work, I was able to create two to three solid scenes, all connected with several characters and as much emotional depth as I could put into text. It definitely helped that I pushed myself to write every day, given how I have a penchant to ignore quite a lot, if not most some of my WIPs. I managed to put out consistent-ish writing for this particular plot, and it contributed to future plans surrounding this story. Even if this challenge only led to me writing out a bullet point list outlining simple ideas, it still made a difference.
I think that, for a more permanent habit, I might limit myself to writing 200-300 words daily. It’s not that I’m not capable of meeting the 400 word minimum, it’s simply a matter of free time and I believe that writing less words might lead to a more effective narration and a clearer message delivery. Through the week, I found myself scrambling to meet my word goal in the span of an hour or two at the end of each day, something that caused me unnecessary stress. I also believe this negatively impacted the quality of my work, which I would like to limit as much as possible.
As for the nearly 3000 words I did manage to write, I’m not sure that they will be part of the finished product. I was trying to write a story and realized about halfway through that it might make more sense to write it in the first person, as compared to the third-person perspective I used for this experiment. However, having these pages already written out will certainly help move along the process. Or, in case I do choose to continue writing in the third person, it will be much easier to edit what I already have written out rather than a blank page. Regardless of how that turns out, I think I will adopt this particular practice, courtesy of an incredibly decorated and respected writer, and I’ll continue creating new works that showcase my love and interest for writing.