Writing Schedules vs. Word Count Goals (A Camp Nanowrimo Update)

It's the end of April, which means it's time for my promised Camp Nanowrimo update.

First, the good news: less than one week into Camp Nano, I had already hit 10,000 words. Pretty impressive, if you ask me. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but my commitment to make this experience more about quality than word count stayed with me. And it didn't take long for that to shift things around.

The novel I'm working on for Camp Nanowrimo is the same one I've been working on for the past year. It's also the same one I attempted to write during November's Nanowrimo. But the thing about this novel is that until now, I hadn't really set all the details yet. Since it's fantasy, there are so many things that needed to be solidified before I could really get into the plot. And thanks to Camp Nanowrimo, I feel like I'm finally, finally there. It took this crazy process for me to realize that the first chapter of a fantasy novel is not an easy thing to get through. So much world building happens in those first few pages that will define the rest of the story.

But as of last week (thanks to my forced days off at work and lack of wifi at home) I finally got the first chapter the way I like it! (yay!) For now, anyway. So I'm trading Camp Nanowrimo for a chapter writing schedule, which I'm super excited about. Basically, I'm giving myself roughly a week to produce the new chapters, and am trying my best to adhere to the dates. I hit my deadline for the first chapter a few days early and am already working on my second chapter.

This experience is teaching me that as much as setting daily word count goals initially motivates me, a writing schedule ultimately works best for me. If I give myself chapter deadlines, I'm more likely to focus on creating a great chapter (because I know once the deadline is up I can't go back to it for awhile) rather than just typing out words to reach my word count.

Yup, this is definitely the better option for me.

But I'm curious, for the rest of you who write, which method do you prefer? Do you find you write more (and better) when you set a word count goal or a schedule? Or are you as flexible as I was a few weeks ago and just write whenever you feel like it? (no shame in that either! ;)

#writing #2016