Tag: word count

Word Count – February 2022

I haven’t posted another word count update since October because there were no changes during these months, but it’s now a new year, and knowing about the bad months is useful too.

So here you go, the last two updates together!

Line graph on a purple background that looks like someone used a paint roller on a lilac wall. On the x-axis, 8 different dates appear: November 2020, January 2021, March 2021, June 2021, August 2021, October 2021, December 2021 and February 2022. The number of words appears on the y-axis, which ranges from 0 to 150,000. There are 8 lines with different colors, and all of them but one overlap. Blue: It's the highest by far, since it starts from the 100,000 line and keeps going up at the beginning. Gray: Starts as the second highest, around 25,000 and goes up quite a bit from January to March, then stagnates, then goes up again. Turquoise: Starts as the third line, but immediately stagnates and is overtaken by all of the rest except one. Orange: Very stagnant. It overlaps with the turquoise at the beginning, then with the green one, and then becomes the last project according to the number of words. Green: It overlaps with several at the beginning, with the orange one in the middle and with the yellow one before the end. It has a steep increase and goes from the last position to the fifth position. Yellow: It overlaps with several at the beginning, then it stagnates, but it rises a lot later on and ends up together with the green one. Brown: Overlapped at the beginning. It is not known where it comes from, but it ends up in fourth position. Violet: Goes from the last position to the second position. All of them have seen a very slight increase in the last two dates.

As you can see, the difference is not very noticeable. I thought I would be able to write more during the winter holidays, but I’ve been very busy, then sick, then busy again.

I need to be careful these days and not get burnt out again, so I’ve been writing a bit when I’m still able to. I guess I should take it as a win.

Another win would be one more project going over 40000 words. Now there’s only one project left under the 40000 line!

By the way, you can see more about my projects here.

Vertical bar graph on a purple background with flowers outlined in a darker shade of purple. On the left, one can see the names of the projects. Below, the number of words. The bars grow towards the right and have stripes with different shades of blue representing the different months. The bars go from longest to shortest, and there haven't been any noticeable changes in the last four months. Oracle: Either doubles or triples the length of the others, but it's because of the first stripe, which covers 2014-2020. Sanctuary: Has managed to surpass 50,000 words. The first to achieve it after Oracle, even though it started recently. Brothers and Alcalá: usually very evenly matched, but Alcalá has a very wide third stripe, while Brothers has a fifth stripe that helps it go a little further, managing to get third place. Feathers: It does not have a second stripe, but it has a very visible fourth stripe because there was a month in which I only added words to this project. Fireflies: Used to be pretty even with the Heroes Project, but has a much wider fifth stripe that makes it more even with the Feathers Project now. Academy: Very narrow third and fifth stripes, while the fourth is nonexistent. Heroes: has a wide first stripe, but not many more shades of blue afterwards.

In this second graph, you can see how many words got added to each project along the way. Please take into account that the first light stripe on the left covers everything I wrote from 2014 until November 2020.

Also, it would be unfair (to me) to ignore the fact that I started writing two short stories during these months. I wanted to participate in a couple of charity anthologies, but I couldn’t make it before the deadline. Still, I did get to write around 15000 words for one of them, and 10000 for the other one, so I might continue them in the future. Especially if they turn out to be suitable for another anthology.

As you know, I’m trying to make regular Word Count updates like this one so I can check which months are better or worse. You’ve seen the evolution is not going that well, but I hope I can turn things around this year.

Wish me luck!

Word Count – October 2021

I was wondering whether I should post another word count update after the one I shared two months ago because there weren’t many changes during these months. But I’ve made the graphs anyway, so why not.

Here is the updated version!

Line graph on a purple background that looks like someone used a paint roller on a lilac wall. On the x-axis, 6 different dates appear: November 2020, January 2021, March 2021, June 2021, August 2021 and October 2021. The number of words appears on the y-axis, which ranges from 0 to 150,000. There are 8 lines with different colors and all of them but one overlap. Blue: It's the highest by far, since it starts from the 100,000 line and rises a little more before stabilizing. There is another slight rise towards the end. Gray: Starts as the second highest, around 25,000 and goes up quite a bit from January to March, then stagnates, then goes up again. Turquoise: Starts as the third line, but immediately stagnates and is overtaken by all of the rest except one. Orange: Very stagnant. It overlaps with the turquoise at the beginning and with the green one in the middle, then becomes the last project according to the number of words. Green: It overlaps with several at the beginning, with the orange one in the middle and with the yellow one before the end. It has a steep increase and goes from the last position to the fifth position. Yellow: It overlaps with several at the beginning, then it stagnates, but it rises a lot later on and ends up together with the green one. Brown: Overlapped at the beginning. It is not known where it comes from, but it ends up in fourth position. Violet: Goes from the last position to the second position.

As you can see, all projects have seen a slight increase, but they stayed in the same position. That might change by the end of December, though.

All in all, I’m glad I keep moving forward, even at my slow pace, because these have been very difficult months. I’m looking forward to the holidays so I can write more!

Now that all my projects have over 20000 words, I want to try to take them over the 40000 line.

By the way, you can see more about my projects here.

Vertical bar graph on a purple background with flowers outlined in a darker shade of purple. On the left, one can see the names of the projects. Below, the number of words. The bars grow towards the right and have stripes with different shades of blue representing the different months. The bars go from longest to shortest. Oracle: Either doubles or triples the length of the others, but it is because of the first stripe, which covers 2014-2020. Sanctuary: It has five distinct stripes and has managed to surpass 50,000 words. The first to achieve it after Oracle, even though it started recently. Brothers and Alcalá: usually very evenly matched, but Alcalá has a very wide third stripe, while Brothers has a fifth stripe that helps it go a little further, managing to get third place. Feathers: It does not have a second stripe, but it has a very visible fourth stripe because there was a month in which I only added words to this project. Fireflies: Used to be pretty even with the Heroes Project, but has a much wider fifth stripe that makes it more even with the Feathers Project now. Academy: Very narrow third and fifth stripes, while the fourth is nonexistent. Heroes: has a wide first stripe, but not many more shades of blue afterwards.

In this second graph, you can see how words got added to each project. For this new period, I used light blue once more. This way, the pattern will restart now that they’re separate enough. The last light stripe on the right is very narrow, but please take into account that it covers a period of two months, while the first light stripe on the left covers everything I wrote from 2014 until a year ago.

Knowing I had a very long hiatus before 2014 and a shorter one afterwards, it’s not like I was writing much during those six years. Still, I feel like I’m doing much better now that my daily goal is just 100 words and I don’t force myself to stare at a blank page for half an hour every day.

I might make regular Word Count updates like this one just so I can check which months are better or worse.

Word Count – August 2021

I know it’s almost October, but I couldn’t add the word count on my last update, so I decided to make a separate post and it became one of my goals for this month.

And here we are! I’ve made some graphs to help me keep track of my word count!

Line graph on a purple background that looks like someone used a paint roller on a lilac wall. On the x-axis, 5 different dates appear: November 2020, January 2021, March 2021, June 2021 and August 2021. The number of words appears on the y-axis, which ranges from 0 to 150,000. There are 8 lines with different colors and all of them but one overlap. Blue: It's the highest by far, since it starts from the 100,000 line and rises a little more before stabilizing. Gray: Starts as the second highest, around 25,000 and goes up quite a bit from January to March, then stagnates, then goes up again. Turquoise: Starts as the third line, but immediately stagnates and is overtaken by all of the rest except one. Orange: Very stagnant. It overlaps with the turquoise at the beginning and with the green before the end, then becomes the last project according to the number of words. Green: It overlaps with several at the beginning and with the orange one before the end, then has a steep increase and goes from the last position to the fifth position, overlapping with the yellow one once more. Yellow: It overlaps with several at the beginning, then it stagnates, but it rises a lot later on and ends up together with the yellow one. Brown: Overlapped at the beginning. It is not known where it comes from, but it ends up in fourth position. Violet: Goes from the last position to the second position.
Made with Canva

As I mentioned on my post about Burnout, last year I decided to change my goals from writing as much as I could to writing 100 words per day to avoid feeling overwhelmed and getting stuck. And it’s been working pretty well, I think! I used to hate word counting, but being able to check how I’m doing every 2-3 months has helped me realize I’m writing more than I think.

Oracle already had a very high word count because it’s my oldest project and I’ve been adding words for over 10 years, but take a look at the others! Remember that I count all the words because research and outlines are part of writing, so the number of words is not the same as in the manuscripts, but they all count towards my goal.

Sanctuary is my newest project and it’s already ahead of the rest. Brothers is probably the second project I started, over 6 years ago, so it’s normal to see it in third place. Alcalá has seen an increase this year because I’ve done a lot of research for that project. Feathers and Fireflies keep intertwining in a beautiful pattern, with Fireflies’ word count greatly increasing in recent months thanks to a related short story I was writing. Academy has seen a slow increase, but it’s not doing that badly. And the last one, Heroes, still has way more words than I expected before I started counting.

You can see more about my projects here.

Vertical bar graph on a purple background with flowers outlined in a darker shade of purple. On the left, one can see the names of the projects. Below, the number of words. The bars grow towards the right and have stripes with different shades of blue representing the different months. The bars go from longest to shortest. Oracle: Either doubles or triples the length of the others, but it is because of the first stripe, the lightest one. Sanctuary: It has five distinct stripes and has managed to surpass 50,000 words. The first to achieve it after Oracle. Brothers and Alcalá: usually very evenly matched, but Alcalá has a very wide third stripe, while Brothers has a fifth stripe that helps it go a little further, managing to get third place at the last moment. Feathers: It does not have a second stripe, but it has a very visible fourth stripe because there was a month in which I only added words to this project. Fireflies: Used to be pretty even with the Heroes Project, but has a much wider fifth stripe that makes it more even with the Feathers Project now. Academy: Very narrow third and fifth stripes, while the fourth is nonexistent. Heroes: has a wide first stripe, but not many more shades of blue afterwards.
Made with Canva

And, in this second graph, you can see how words got added to each project. The darker the colour, the closer to the present. But please keep into account that the lightest colour can cover several years in projects like Oracle and Brothers.

So now we all know how my writing is going, and I got to visualise how I’m writing more now that my daily goal is just 100 words. I just hope I can keep it up!

Would you like to see more Word Count updates like this one?

June 2021 Update

May’s update was very short, but I wasn’t feeling very well about myself or my writing, so I’m just glad I managed to write an update at all.

I had a couple of bad weeks this month as well, but I’ve been taking care of myself and I’m doing better now. I couldn’t finish the Burnout post, but I did start it. In the end, I did fulfill my monthly goals and I was lucky enough to get another illustration for one of my projects so I could share it this month.

I’m now trying to maintain my 100-words daily average, and it seems to be working. I was worried for a moment, because I didn’t know the “Total” in the new Scrivener Writing History was only the month’s total, but now that I know I have to sum them up, I’ve found out that I’d written more than I thought for certain projects:

  • Heroes: 22100 (It was 22000 back in March.)
  • Fireflies: 21800 (It was 21000 back in March.)
  • Brothers: 43000 (It was 42000 back in March.)
  • Academy: 33800 (It was 33000 back in March.)
  • Feathers: 39000 (It was 20000 back in March.)
  • Sanctuary: 53000 (It was 40000 back in March.)

Did you notice I’ve written a lot in Sanctuary and Feathers? That’s because I’m following a new method (new for me, that is): I’m just writing whatever comes to mind and will fix it later. I take notes about the things I already know I have to fix, but I keep plowing ahead no matter what. The result is more elaborate than an outline, but nothing close to a first draft. Still, I’m writing! As long as it works for me, I’m gonna keep at it.

My plans for July involve joining a virtual writing camp in Spanish and adding my OneNote notes to their respective projects.

Take care and Happy Pride, everyone!

Different layers of paint forming several rainbow flags. It looks pretty shiny.
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Pexels.com

March 2021 Update

I’m very happy I swapped one of my goals with February, because I had more time to focus on the timelines during this month. I was meant to start working on them and shaping them, but some of them took very long, especially Oracle, Alcalá and Brothers. because they take place during a longer period of time.

You’ve seen I’ve shared a new illustration and a new blog design, but there’s more I’ve done during the month: I’ve finished beta-reading a book, I’ve finished the draft of the second chapter in Feathers (which took a lot of effort, because I’m very bad at second chapters), I’ve added some ideas for a possible Sanctuary sequel, I’ve rearranged the setting of Alcalá and Brothers so they will be closer in time, I’ve contacted my country’s National Library to find a document I was looking for, and, last but not least, I’ve upgraded to Scrivener 3.

And now I guess it’s time for my word-count check, because it’s already been two months since the last one:

  • Heroes: 22000 (It was 20000 two months ago.)
  • Fireflies: 21000 (It was 17000 two months ago.)
  • Brothers: 42000 (It was 24000 two months ago.)
  • Alcalá: 45000 (It was 18000 two months ago.)
  • Oracle: 128000 (It was 120000 two months ago.)
  • Academy: 33000 (It was 30000 two months ago.)
  • Feathers: 20000 (It was 8700 two months ago.)
  • Sanctuary: 40000 (It was 35000 two months ago.)

I can’t quite believe they’re now all over 20000! Allow me to remind you that these numbers include everything I write, not just the draft. In fact, everything I’ve written for Alcalá and Brothers in these two months is related to the timelines and research. But I’ve found it’s better to count everything, because writing is not only making a draft.

By the way, is this update too long? Would it be better if I posted a different update for the word count?

Anyway, to sum up, I’ve managed to fulfil my goals at the very last minute, but that’s more than enough. Next month I want to spend some time adapting my Scrivener 1 projects to Scrivener 3 (including the master template I’m making) and to finish a couple of reference files I’m working on. See you in April!

Lonely tree growing in the center of the horizon surrounded by stars. Everything is reflected on the water
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

January 2021 Update

Happy New Year!

Or, at least, I hope this new year will prove to be better than the previous one.

Regarding my previous update, I’m happy to tell you that I achieved both goals: I’ve published the list with my 12 favourite books/series of the year 2020 and I’ve commissioned a couple of artists. I hope I can show you their amazing work in the following months!

Working on the reference files during January has been very useful, since I’ve been able to clear my mind and fix some issues. I’ve done a lot of research, and I feel that I’ve overcome some obstacles and moved forward. Some days were a bit frustrating, because I spent hours looking for a document that, in the end, didn’t have the information some historians claimed it had. But I guess discovering what’s a rumour or a fact is also part of the process. I rested a bit after that exhausting experience and then I went back to writing. I even wrote some scenes (completely out of order, as always) and now one of my stories has a beginning and an end.

At the moment, I’m letting the new information and ideas marinate for a while before I continue, so I did some word counting again. The first time I did it was two months ago and I was surprised at the results: I’d written much more than I thought! I usually hate word-counting, but this is a more general approach, and I also include all the notes and research files. I think it’s good to acknowledge that, even if not all our work will be part of the final story, it still counts. So I went and checked Scrivener, and this is how it’s going:

  • Heroes: 20000 (It was 14000 two months ago.)
  • Fireflies: 17000 (It was 8500 two months ago.)
  • Brothers: 24000 (It was 19000 two months ago.)
  • Alcalá: 18000 (It was 5000 two months ago.)
  • Oracle: 120000 (It was 99000 two months ago.)
  • Academy: 30000 (It was 15000 two months ago.)
  • Feathers: 8700
  • Sanctuary: 35000 (It was 6000 two months ago.)

I can’t believe I’ve written so much in such a short period of time! And there was a noticeable increase in all projects but one because, as I said, I can’t follow a chronological order. In any case, I had my holidays during lockdown and did all that research for the reference files, so don’t expect this rhythm from me in the near future. Although I can’t help but notice that I’ve been doing better now that I don’t force myself to complete one single project from beginning to end, so I’m going to follow this chaotic approach until it stops working.

I’ve decided I don’t want New Year resolutions this year either because they only make me anxious and guilty, so I’m still keeping my eternal goal of fulfilling The Pact to Finish Something (with no deadline). Plus, my two Achievable Goals of the month will be to implement timelines in my projects and to update the character templates with the information from the reference files I created for artists.

Do you have any New Year resolutions? Are you recycling last year’s resolutions?

Blue fireworks against a black sky.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

November 2020 Update

It’s been a while since my last update, but this time it’s not due to anxiety or a lack of news, but because I can’t use my computer at the moment. I’ve ordered a new laptop (I’d been postponing it for years), but it won’t arrive until New Year, maybe.
During these two months I have participated in both the reading challenge I mentioned and a writing challenge on the Spanish side of Twitter. I made a Twitter thread for those of you who might be interested:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

On this blog, you might have seen I made a new page for my WIPs. Organizing things visually for my blog helped me organize things in my head as well, so it’s been really useful. For real! I even check my own WIP page from time to time to remember what I’m working on.

I’ve also been reorganizing my Scrivener projects while I wait for my new computer to arrive so I can transfer everything and start working as soon as it’s here. I made another short thread about it here:

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

I always feel like I don’t do enough because I’m a slow writer and haven’t even started with the drafts, but I realized that, when it’s about my friends, I always tell them that taking notes, working on the outline and doing research also count as writing. I usually don’t check the word count, but I did it now in order to see for myself how hard I’ve worked during this last decade… and I must confess that the results surprised me.


Here is a list of the words I’ve written so far on each project, including research, notes, ideas, etc.:

  • Heroes: 14000
  • Fireflies: 8500
  • Brothers: 19000
  • Alcalá: 5000
  • Oracle: 99000
  • Academy: 15000
  • Feathers: 8700
  • Sanctuary: 6000

I know it’s not much, but that’s a lot for me, especially after these difficult years. So if you’re also a slow writer or just don’t appreciate the work you do, I recommend to look at the whole picture from time to time. All your work matters and you’ve put in much more effort than you’re giving yourself credit for.

Since I cannot use my computer, I’ve been writing a lot on my notebooks and I finished my 11th notebook recently. I’ll make another post to talk about it in more detail.

So, to sum up, I chose some achievable goals last time, but I’m still glad I completed them. My next two goals will be to finish reorganizing my projects and transcribing my 11th notebook so I can transfer everything when my new laptop arrives.

"November" written with dead leaved on the ground.
Photo by Maksim Goncharenok on Pexels.com