The Writers' Lounge

I read a lot in my genre. Without knowing what's been done, it's hard to know if what I'm doing is unique and interesting, or a rip off of a far better writer. Nothing's unique, but...some ideas are so overdone that you need to be really unusual to stand out.

(Incidentally, I read a lot in other genres, too. I read a lot in general.)

I tend to watch word count just in that I like knowing how much I've written. *shrugs* I feel like I haven't achieved much if I've only gotten 100 words in a day, while I'm usually fairly pleased if I got in 5,000. (Although generally when I'm that prolific, I have to cut half of what I've written.) It's also nice to me to get a feeling for the kind of editing I'm going to have to do. In general, if a scene has 10,000 words, I'm going to need to cut at least half - while if I have 200, I may need to add more. Not always, but it's a rough gauge as to whether I need less internal monologue or more description.

In addition, I do like to keep track of word count as it is important if I want to sell stuff. Stories sell best at around 2,000-8,000 words. If the story requires 25,000 words, fine, I'll go there. But I'll definitely ask if it wouldn't be better off as a (more salable) novel or short story. Sometimes you can trim fluff (good!), add description (good!), or delete entire plot lines. *shrugs* If it's the difference between the story having a real shot and languishing on my computer, yeah, I'll do it. Not always, but generally.