Allegorically Speaking

As a young writer, I crave the secrets have worked for seasoned writers. And though I understand, and fully embrace, the fact that I must earn my stripes with endless hours of writing and editing, I still actively search for any hint, tip or advice that might help me hone my skills.

C.S. Lakin has been a great influence on me, and inspiration to me, as I have taken in the crazy mantle of writer.

I ran across her by accident a while back when I stumbled upon a blog post by a writer who was so excited she had written 5,000 words in one day. She said real writers just push through it and that's how they know they are good writers. Real writers always produce high word count.

It was a blank day, where I hadn't even gotten four words down. So, when I read this post I was on the verge of giving up. Obviously I wasn't a real writer.

Lakin replied to the post with a short, but sweet message of hope for people like me: It's not about numbers. It's about words.

That focus was very liberating to me. I stopped focusing on how many words I had written, and started paying attention to what I had written. That shift in focus worked for me--it inspired me to write more, and better. Even more better :)

My mom bought me a shirt for Christmas that says, "Even if it's crap, just get it on the paper."  I've heard many people say that.  But that doesn't work for me. That doesn't inspire me. Crap doesn't inspire me. Word count doesn't inspire me.

Words inspire me.

Not saying that I don't write crap. But, if I do, it's totally unintentional.


That's not to say that I don't get excited when I have a day where I can bang out a couple thousand words on the key board. But, my excitement comes from the thrill of the flow of words. You know, those days where the story is so clear that it begs to be given life through your fingers. . .

That's what I love.

At this stage in my writing career, I don't work under deadlines. I don't have the pressure of writing a sequel that will be even better than my first novel.  I'm not published . . .yet. So, I can enjoy writing without the stress of a deadline.

SO, here is my question is to you out there:  How do you maintain the love of writing and write the words that inspire you while under a deadline?

I know that word count is a necessary evil (at least tome), so how do you maintain the flow of inspiration while trying to meet your word count goals?