500 Words Per Day | 366 Days | 183K Words

#WIP500 – Starting 01 January 2012

Want to join officially and be counted? Click on the handy dandy “Join #WIP500″ widget in the top right corner of this blog.

 

UPDATE:

I’m putting this up top, in case people don’t scroll down. But you *always* scroll down, right?

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT #WIP500:

This SOB took off like no one’s business, so here are some things you should know:

• Update your word count at least once every week, or I will drop you from the list like yesterday’s news. I don’t want a lot of 0′s taking away from the folks who are writing their behinds off here.
• Please make sure the link name you submit with your word count is the link name on the list. I already have a few counts flagged just in case I ever figure out who they belong to.
• There is no automation here. I am running this show, and I work a full-time job (in addition to parenting and general life), so don’t panic if your word count isn’t showing as of one update (unless it’s STILL not showing as of a 2nd update… then you need to email me ASAP, got it?)
• Any other problems, questions, concerns? Please just email me, or post it in the fora (you have to be a subscriber to the blog to post).

We are writers.

Yet each day, we allow a dozen or more distractions (from bonafides like family and work, to internet rabbit holes) to take us away from our goals. Having participated in NaNoWriMo 2011, I came away from the experience understanding the importance of support from fellow writers on the same quest.

I didn’t go it alone. I had friends reaching for the same accomplishment right beside me. We talked, we laughed, we commiserated, we cheered.

And most unbelievably, I crossed the finish line for the first time.

 

Carpe Verba – Seize the Words

Much like NaNoWriMo (though with no budget to speak of), #WIP500 is here to connect writers on a simple quest. Consider it your 2012 writing resolution.

Commit yourself to 500 words per day on any work(s) in progress. Do 500 words on 1 story. Do 100 words on 5 stories. Just follow your muse or cattle prod or whatever gets you writing and go with it.

If you saw the math at the top of the page, you know that in 366 days (yay, leap year!) you could write 183K words. Imagine how many stories you could tell.

 

Which words should you count?

• Direct work on any new or in-progress piece
• Indirect work (such as a flash fiction prompt that segues nicely into something you’re working on)

Please do not include blogs (unless your goal is to be a really prolific blogger). This is the honor system, though. No one is going to check over your work to make sure you really have 500 words. The words you count should be the ones you genuinely believe further your writing goals.

 

Here’s what you can to do:

• Join the LinkyTools list at the bottom of the page (you can join at any time during 2012; progress will be based on your start date).
• Jot down your number on the list (will be used for word count updates).
• Subscribe to my blog to chat with fellow #WIP500 members.
• Snag the #WIP500 badge (progress badges will be available).
• Invite others to join the quest.

I say ‘can’ because it’s all optional. If you want to lurk in the dark corners rather than announce your participation, that works. As long as you’re writing.

 

Here’s what I will do:

• Slave away to create forms, pages, progress bars, and stuff like that.
• Maintain an updated list of participants with your Linky Tools name, start date, and progress.
• Create shiny progress badges to reward accomplishments and commitment.
• Probably a dozen or hundred other behind-the-scenes things that I haven’t thought of yet.

 

I hope you’ll join me for this journey…