No Counting Words – Open Book Blog Hop #394

♦Welcome to another edition of the Open Book Blog Hop!♦

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Topic #394

Do you keep track of your word count on a daily basis? What’s your record for
most and least words? (Not including those days when you don’t write anything.)

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I never track my word count. I have never seen a need for this. As a writer, limiting my words in anyway feels far too restrictive and strange an endeavor. Do painters count their brush strokes? I bet you’d think that was absurd if they did.

While I understand the point of a word count, I also do not find it necessary. For some, this is a way that they learn to write better, more precisely. This is a tool useful for fighting the dreaded passive voice. I’d rather recognize the pesky words for what they are. This way, each time I sit down to write, my performance is better. I work cleaner. There is less waste of time.

Wasting time is a huge sticking point for me throughout every aspect of my life. My schedule is already chock-full. I don’t have time to add games to my writing time. Working clean is such a time saver. It is also the end goal, either way.

Sometimes, I do like to check what my word count is for no apparent reason, to see how massive the work I created grew. It’s just a quick button push. Aside from this, there was another function I liked better: individual word counts. Is there a word you constantly use too much? I’d use this to see how I did breaking free from a specific phrase or word. Then, I’d use find a word and find them all and make sure it provides the right impact or function in the text. If not, it gets changed out for something less used.

If you have a list of passive voice words that trip you up, you can search for them in your text and use suggested replacements that are more concise. Don’t ever do a blanket find and replace, however. You could end up really messing up the text, as it doesn’t always find only whole words. You must absolutely look at each one. Now, you know why you’ll never make these mistakes again! Wrestling with a 100 or more repetitions of a phrase, word, or passive expression is cumbersome. That isn’t a waste of time. It’s a quick lesson you’ll definitely remember for next time.

Besides, counting words doesn’t teach us what or how to replace items of question. It simply tells us if we fall in the arbitrary limits imposed by them. If your publisher wants a word limit, this is because of size of the manuscript which equates to cost of producing the book. It makes sense on their end, but not ours. Art shouldn’t have to face the consideration of peak monetization. I hate it here.

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