Sunday, January 24, 2010

2010: Day 24 - Quit Counting & Start Writing

One of the most often asked question I read from new writers is on the subject of word count. 
How many words to a page? How many words should each chapter include? How many pages in a chapter?  How many chapters in a novel?

Don't worry about counting words or pages or trying to figure out how many chapters your novel should have before you finish the first scene in the manuscript. All of this will come in good time. For now, just sit down and write your story one sentence at a time. Before you're done, you'll cut more words from your manuscript than you think will be possible.

The key is to not fall in love with your words. Doing so can stifle improvement.