#word count progress

[stray-crow]

may the writing bug bite you too 🐛

[lottiejames]

My writing process is evolving, in hopes that I can achieve quality AND quantity.

Step 1 is writing it down, basic revision, and any quick research to get the ideas out there.

Step 2 is reading it over a few times over the course of a few days, without editing it. Let's me contemplate different ways to say things or how to change the scene to fit what I'm envisioning.

Step 3 is to open the original document and open a new one, too. Instead of editing, I rewrite it. Every word I want to keep and every word I think works better.

So far, my first chapter for my Lukloe/Chloluka AU, originally it was 816 words. Now? I'm at 1054. 🙌 Not too shabby, if I dare say.

Also...a sneak peek of one of my (many) favorite lines. 😜

[stray-crow]

2025 writing reflection: weekly wellness

halfway through this year, i renamed success to give myself that extra moral boost when i did my Weekly Wellness Writing. AND IT FUCKING WORKED! sorta!! technically!!! i def feel more well

i had the same number of weeks where i exceeded my weekly goal (MWAHAHA!) and one more week where i earned it (yeehaw, which technically would have been a "trying" except i def earned that one) and six less weeks where i didn't even try writing (uvu). on average,

proud for trying: 508 words yeehaw: 1455 words MWAHAHA: 2062 words

that. is rather fucking amazing. i am shivering. love tangible growth.

i also have enough data that i can start to properly compare across the years [very happy scientist noises]

and truly it seems like July is when i try to kick myself out of my depression, so for 2026, i wanna be proactive and have a half goal. i'm keeping my 1,400 weekly goal, meaning by the end of week 26 there'd be a 31,200 half goal. HOWEVER!! i haven't reached my 62,400 yearly goal yet (i did write more than last year, so #winning). ignoring 2023, half of my average writing so far would be 28,478 words. for the sake of pretty numbers, a win in this would be somewhere between 28k - 32k.

back to 2025 though, i cannot figure out how to have the AI (booo) actually let me have the bouncy line i did in prev years, so have the more statistically appropriate bar graph with an average trendline that emphasizes i need to do a lot more wellness during the big PTSD weeks

...now... i debate talking about posting. last year i didn't wanna talk about it cause i tried Posting Before i am Ready and didn't like that. this year i kept to my usual style, which means majority of my WIPs are still WIP, but that also means i have posted short stories i wanna emphasize!

his own kaleidoscope - Star Wars OC fanfic inspired by art. i love being inspired by art, and i also practiced writing descriptions here!

Textures make me think in poems - went outside my comfort zone with this one, and i think it was a win (formatting was a bitch)

filling in the middle - [happy sigh] PWP inspired by a donut <3

scared of the living - Star Wars fanfic inspired by frustration. she haunts me.

to sum my thoughts: good year! next year has Half Goal + counting time spent to satisfy a new curiosity, which will be viewable whenever i remember to post my word count progress

[stray-crow]

i had a lot of fun writing in my main WIP: Saturday with a new POV to provide myself with more context and Sunday with finishing first go at one of the first scenes i planned to write, back when this was supposed to be a PwP! ....wait actually, hold on

okay so after ~10k words, i had the thought of "i want them to have sex on a rooftop!!", jotted that down in my outline, and then kept pushing it back for another ~16k words (not counting part 2 POVs) as i got better bonding ideas (both smut and not) more in pace with the plot that i wanted to write more.

i'm feeling really good about it all so far :D

[stray-crow]

i was reminded by @the-wip-project post that i forgot an entire month again, but since i wrote today and surpassed 1400 words!!

...realizing we are counting our weeks differently since that post said "starting today", but still! i want to carry on the recent "more fired up than typical" to complete a WIP :>

[stray-crow]

anyways, here's January!

my struggle of "being consistent with how i mark success based on numbers rather than feelings" is rearing its head. you can see how Week 01 is less words + more time than Week 04, but the former is marked as "met goal" success while the latter is "exceeded goal" success. however, i felt like i wasn't going insane with the haunting, just felt proud i was able to edit/write. idk, may change it later; my scientific integrity is used up at work.

i do like counting the time so far though!! so that's awesome

[stray-crow]

oh yeah, November word count progress!! lately, i've been doing a "write an hour" suggestion, which likely will be part of my set-up for next year. though i haven't been stressing for the hour when i have a haunting thought, and great majority of November writing (plus today) was actually an inspiration scene that haunted me!!

the lack of sunlight really increases my energy. too much daylight stresses me out, and dim lamps and lights are less stressful, which usually gives me more energy to spend rotating stories. actually finding the words though is, as always, difficult lolol

[stray-crow]

2024 writing reflection: reframing success

i wanted to carry on my daily writing from 2023 because i was having fun with reaching goals. this year, however, got less fun when my brain/body was like "Oh you're in a fully safe place now! FINISH PROCESSING TRAUMA WHILE DEALING WITH MULTIPLE HEAT WAVES AND WEIRD HEALTH EPISODES."

so, yeah. hard to write when that is going on. (also more video games to enjoy lolol) (still, i think 77.6% progress towards goal is pretty great!!)

thing is, writing is a beloved hobby of mine and i know if i don't do it, then my well-being suffers. but if i think i'm somehow "failing" (even tho you can't actually fail at hobby), then my well-being suffers! the sensation of "failing" was more common before i started recording, but it was making a comeback as i was too exhausted to reach goals. after reading Unmasking Autism and learning it's okay to redefine personal success, i made the change from daily to weekly

the more balanced percentages between earning, exceeding, and endeavoring for the goals versus resting feels better to me than the high trying/overshooting thing of attempts to write daily. and yes, it may just be because these last few months were better for me health wise, but seeing "Wellness Write" written in my task journal for the week scratches my brain.

...y'all, i wrote a total of 56,510 words in 2024. i published 56,533 in 2022 when i was being haunted by inspiration like every month. yes i wrote like 60k last year, but with all the other stuff in my life!! this is a SUCCESS to me!! yes i didn't publish as much, but also all these WIPs taste juicier to me and y'all can see them eventually.

i already have my weekly goals set-up for 2025 and i'm so excited to continue this new format where it's all on one tab lolol