Entry for 13th March, 2008

31 Days to Write
a
50,000 Word Novel
DAY 12
Wordcount 22,924
I am getting worried about the wordcount. There is an awfully long way to go. I need to bang out about 1,700 words a day if I'm going to make this,and that's really difficult during the week. I have struggled to notch up 1,500 tonight, and I seem to be hitting the Wordcount button every 15 minutes, On top of that I have badminton tomorrow night, and my dad's coming to visit on Friday, so I fear that things will come to a grinding halt over the next couple of days.
In spite of all of this, I would commend the experiment to you. There is something about the discipline that is useful. The fact that I have to write something every night, frees you up in a funny sort of way. Instead of agonising over every last word, or reviewing the work, or worrying about plot holes, I am forced to jump head first into the writing each night. There is just no time for self-criticism.
And it forces the writing into odd directions, that I wouldn't indulge if I even had ten minutes to think about where I was going. It sort of forces your imagination onto the page without any real editing.
Of course, that does mean that you write a lot of pish most of the time.