How many words I wrote in 2020

Back in 2019, I started tracking how many words I could write in a year. I wasn't really keeping an eye on what days I was writing and how many words I was actually writing I just went off the books I had started that year to work out how many words I wrote and as you all know in 2019 I wrote 300,000 words in total.  

In 2020 I was all over the place, I went through a terrible breakup and lost all interest in writing. The world went into lockdown, and I failed all three NaNoWriMos. 

I focused a lot on editing my hybrid series as well as getting Wrongful Love ready for publishing (out now) I also moved three times in the span of fourish months, so I wasn't really writing many words. I failed almost all my writing goals, but I did write a total of 189,447. It wasn't how many words I wanted to get written, but it is better than nothing.

How many words if you were tracking did you write last year? Last year was a challenging year for everyone, so no matter how many words you wrote, it is one step closer to the end game.

If you would like to purchase Wrongful Love, the paperback is available on Lulu, and paperback and ebook are available on amazon.

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Lulu

Wrongful Love By Phoebe M.C.

I have officially Published Wrongful Love on both Amazon and lulu. for those who want to buy my book the links are

Amazon

lulu

For those who want more convincing here is the book trailer I made and my book description.

Elena is your not so average sixteen-year-old with a vast number of mental health issues but, when she meets thirty-five-year-old successful businessman, Marcus her whole life flips upside down for better or worse. Elena finds herself having to battle every obstacle thrown at her to prove her love for the man who swept her off her feet on the first meeting. While still trying to overcome her mental health issues, Marcus is incredibly supportive despite the distance that divides them. Will they live happily ever after or will it end up in flames?

How to win NaNoWriMo 2020

NaNoWriMo, 50,000 words in 30 days is it possible? yes! i wrote all 50k words in 24 days last year and you can too

the biggest thing to remember is that in November you have 30 days to write 50k words that is just over 1,666 words a day. if you only wrote on weekdays that is 22 days of writing at around 2,272 a day.

i wrote 24 days last year and won so it isn't impossible but that is about 2,083 words a day, some days i only manged fifteen words and i had to make up for all the lost words the next day which was hard. but before you start freaking out here is my tips on how to achieve this amazing goal.

winning NaNoWriMo is almost exactly the same as winning camp NaNoWriMo except you have to reach 50k and cant set your own goal.

1. Pace yourself

while it may sound like a good idea to sit down and write for five hours each day you will drain yourself a lot faster, if you plan to write every day you're goal is to hit 1,666 a day. some days you are going to be over that and other days you will be under but if you know that you have to write a certain amount of words you will soon work out how long it takes you on average to write that amount of words each day. which will make the days you are under a lot easier to catch up in the future.

2. Outline

while i myself am more of a pantser i do a brief outline of my project that i will be working on {Check out my blog post on outlining} in the post linked i talk about how i outline briefly to help get everything done without it being a full outline which makes me feel restricted.

3. Get inspired

there are many ways to do this, you could go for a walk, listen to music, go and be with nature it really depends on you. i personally search up on google "writing prompts" and look at pictures or follow links and find one best fitted for the novel you are writing. i find this really helpful and i immediately find inspiration

4. Leave it unfinished

when you know you are going to be finishing writing, for the time being, if it is for a few hours or for the day that doesn't matter, the best thing to do so you don't come back and go well what to do now start the next sentence and don't finish it. for me, i finished writing for the day and knew i wouldn't know where to start again so i finished off with 'i walked into the kitchen and saw' while you wouldn't want to finish a chapter, paragraph or bookending like that it just means you can come back and it will be super easy to get back into it, meaning fewer writers block moments.

5. Sprint

for this, all you need to do is search up NaNoWordSprints on twitter and wait for the people to come on, or you can set your own timer up on your laptop or phone. a word sprint is when you have a timer for a certain amount of time and you just flat out write, then you take a break when you are done before going straight back into it. Video on sprints with information on them

6. Accept That Your Manuscript Will Not Be Perfect

don't try and make it perfect, that will only help you not make your word goal, realize that no matter what there is going to be major editing involved so there is no point in worrying about it all being perfect now when that is the least of your concerns, the faster you realize that the easier it will for the words to flow.

7. Write

sometimes the best thing to do is just write, even if it is never going to make it into the final copy of your project, every word counts when you start writing the words should just start to flow meaning while it most likely won't make sense it still counts towards your word goal and you may make something that you can use for your book

Writing Sprints

Writing sprints are very useful things to do as a writer but when you don't know what they are you can get quite confused on how to do them so I am here to help.

First, let's talk about what a writing sprint is.

A writing sprint or a word sprint is when you have to sit down for a length of time and write as much as you can in that time without stopping. you then take a five-minute break and do it again. the sprints can be for any length of time but most writers pick somewhere between five minutes and half an hour.

The benefit of writing sprints varies from increasing how many words you can write, getting your story done faster and more.

you can do word sprints on anything. there are websites like mywriteclub where you can do your sprints with friends or by yourself that will time you or you can set up a timer on your phone. during NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNoWriMo you can do writing sprints on twitter. 

if you search up @NaNoWordSprints they hold word sprints every April, July and November. AuthorTubers also randomly hold live streams where word sprints are done so just do some research and you'll find the best way for you after some experimenting.

Four Things That I Wish I Knew About Writing

There is a lot I wish I knew before I started writing so I have compiled some of them to help you.

One of the major things I wish I knew is that your first draft will never be perfect and just because it sucks doesn't mean it can't be great. this was something that took me forever to understand because for the longest time I would think my writing was amazing and then I would come back and read it and it is garbage so I would throw it out instead of editing and trying to make it better.

Talking about it is so much easier. I have spent hours and hours talking to my family and even friends about the amazing book I am writing or thought of and even discuss every little detail but the minute I went to write I couldn't find the right words, how to write it the way I pictured it in my head. which brings me onto the new thing I wish I knew

Perfection isn't key, now obviously if your book doesn't have spelling mistakes it would be so much easier in the long run to edit but the first draft is just you telling yourself the story, you can edit it the way you want the book to be once you have written the book so it is better to write half pie ideas and plots then not writing at all because you want it to be perfect from the start.

Not everyone will like your work and that's okay. when you are a writer rejection is a big part of it from agents, publishing houses, friends, family and readers alike. your book won't be for everyone and there will always be at least one hater who will try and destroy your confidence but no matter what you do there will be haters and as long as you love your book don't worry what others think.

What is something that you wish you knew?

My Writing Routine

I think there comes a point in every writer's life that they decide they need a writing schedule. it can be very handy to make sure you have all the time you need to do other things as well as get as many words down as possible.

I myself have been the victim many times to overworking and hitting the block and it wasn't until recently i decided to make a Writing Routine and this is it.

Before i start i want to point out that i have two writing routines, one for wattpad and one for my book writing. i will be splitting this post into two so you can see both my schedules.

My Book Routine

Since dropping out of school i normally wake up at around 11am to 1pm depending on what time i go to bed, i never set an alarm unless i have an early start for travelling or appointments so i wake up when either my animals wake me or my body does.

Once awake i make coffee to wake myself up and i just plot around until 2pm, this is when i start writing. i like to write around three pages of words a day which for me is normally 1,500 words. i work on multiple projects at one time so it maybe 300 words on one project and 800 words on another project and 400 on another or it may be the full 1,500 words on one project. i also sometimes write more than three pages it just depends on how much i am in the mood to write and how the words are flowing because sometimes that's a half an hour job and other times its a three-hour job it just depends. 

Now i know a lot of writers give themselves a day break but i don't i write every single day of the year. After i have written i log into Wattpad four days a week but i spend Wednesday and Saturday editing a book that has just come out of what i call the stand-down period which is where my books, once they are finished, go into for three months before i start to edit them.

My Wattpad Routine

Once i have finished with my three pages with my normal writing i log into my Wattpad and start writing, i am always writing across two books on wattpad every Wednesday and Saturday a new part goes up.

Now i do just want to point out i only spend four days writing on wattpad and i write four parts across two days. so every Monday and Tuesday i write for Wednesday uploads and every Thursday and Friday i write for Saturdays upload. i do it this way so that i know i always have parts and so i know i can upload when i am meant to and it also gives me time to build up parts before a new book is started.

On Sundays i edit one of my older books on wattpad, normally only one part a week but if its two shorter chapters i will do two.

My parts vary from 500 to 2,500 words per part so i don't set a goal other then i have to write eight parts in total in the week.

Starting A New Book: What You Need To Know

I am no stranger to starting new books and while I am no expert in writing and all of that I would say I know a fair bit about the drafting process and getting those first 500 words on the page.

starting a new book for me depends on two key factors, is it a solo book or a series? I will be getting into how I do both.

solo book: 

now solo books are the easiest for me because I have less preparation to do. typically I start out with my idea and do the quickest brainstorm ever literally all I have for a new book is this
project name
blurb
main characters
key info

an actual example from one of my plans

and then I just start writing.

series:

Now for me when it comes to series I have to be on the ball with it. I typically start with a
book idea,
then I make a book bible,
write out a small book plan,
project name
do what I do for solo books
then I start writing. 

things to know before starting a new book are:

• what you want the book to be about
• who your main characters are and there relationships to one another
• a ballpoint of how many words you want it to be  
• what the genre is 

that's really all there is to it, everyone has there own way of writing and that's okay you just have to find out how you do it and you'll be set