Write or DIE!

[ScottRC]

I just made an AMAZING discovery. It's a bit of software called "Write or Die." Check it out here:

http://writeordie.drwicked.com/

You enter how many words you want to write and set a time limit - say, 500 words in 20 minutes. You write. While you're writing, a progress bar shows how close you are to reaching your goal; you also have a timer and an ongoing word count on the lower part of the text box. If you stop writing, the software makes noises at you, prodding you to continue.

What's especially unique is that you can have "writing wars" with other users. You and another writer agree on a certain number of words in a certain period of time, then you both start writing. You can see your "competitor's" progress bar as well as your own. Whoever reaches the word count first wins!

Oh, and when you meet your word count within the established time frame, there's a little trumpet-of-victory sound that's kind of a nice boost to the ego.

You can use it for free on the website or pay ten bucks for your own desktop version. I got the desktop version (using money C-C just put in my PayPal) and I think it may be the best ten bucks I ever spent in my life.

A request came in to C-C tonight for a 300 word article on the basics of a healthy lifestyle. I got on Write or Die, cranked out a first draft in about 6 minutes, saved the draft to Word, edited and tweaked for another 5 minutes, and submitted. So if it's accepted that'll be 13 bucks in the bank for a total of maybe fifteen minutes' work!

Check it out, guys! I want to have a writing war with someone!

[HayleyWriter]

Hi Scott,

While this may be a cool tool to help you stay motivated to write, I would be careful about racing too much. Remember that CC sells itself to customers as offering QUALITY articles, so authors should focus on quality, rather than quantity. That said, if you find it a useful motivator to get that first draft done, go for it! Just don't race with the proofreading too, or you could find yourself in trouble.

Kind regards,

Hayley

[Debbi]

I work too slowly to find this useful but I tried it out for fun. I set the timer at 10 minutes for 500 words and went to work! I ended up writing some weird story about the three little pigs which I'm keeping for my granddaughter's amusement. I typed as fast as I could and it was all stream of consciousness. I made it to 500 words about 8 minutes in but my speakers were turned all the way down so I didn't get to hear anything! Grrrr.

[ScottRC]

Hayley,

Oh, I'm not advocating slapdash work here - though I can see how it sounded like I was. The "basics of healthy living" assignment was one of those rare articles I felt I could write off the top of my head (though if it doesn't sell, I'll know otherwise, obviously). Write or Die is definitely a first draft tool, but I see it as something that will help me be more focused in my research and faster with my first draft. I have a bad habit of taking really messy, all-over-the-place research notes and then, when writing the first draft, I stop, get online and check the sources again, find facts I missed or didn't write down, go back to writing, stop, go back and double-check stuff, etc. It's inefficient and unnecessary slowness that doesn't enhance quality - it just makes me get frustrated with myself. With the WoD software, I'm more motivated to take my time with organized, well-outlined research that I can refer to while I zip through the first draft. I imagine a lot of you pros do this already, but I'm still finding my legs as a professional writer.

Debbi,

As indicated above, I'm slow too. Very slow, actually. But if the research is in place and well organized, I think this could be a great tool for doing exactly what Hayley says - getting that first draft down as quickly as possible. The subsequent drafts and edits may take the same amount of time, but - for me, at least - dawdling over that first draft is really just wasteful and even discouraging. I love what you said about writing that story for your granddaughter though! I also plan on using WoD for getting first-draft fiction ideas down.

And I still want to have a writing war with someone, if any of you are up for it!

[HayleyWriter]

Hi Scott,

I think you have found the tool to get you moving from continuous research to writing a workable draft! Enjoy. Any little thing that helps you move forward and enjoy what you are doing is a good thing. I was just worried that it sounded like you were rushing through the proofreading stage too. As a first draft tool and a way of getting you to focus on writing instead of continuing the research, it sounds terrific. Thanks for sharing the link.

Hayley

[AnneM]

Thanks for this Scott, it will be great for me. I am not necessarily looking for something to prod me to write faster but something to remind me to do it lol... I have a terrible habit of wandering off to surf and do other stuff in the middle of an article so some good prodding will be excellent

[hairyoctopus]

This sounds great. Because I never learned to type properly I look at my fingers while I'm writing, then when I glance up at the screen to check for typos I start revising and redrafting sentences. This slows me down and I never have a first draft that I can look at objectively. Getting a target number of words done might be the kick up the backside that I need (it might even force me to learn to use a keyboard without looking at it!)

The alternative might be to write out the first draft longhand, on paper, and then type it up and redraft it at the same time. Anyone else do it Old School style?

[Debbi]

Not me! I have been typing everything for so many decades that my handwriting is almost completely illegible. It was never very good to begin with but disuse has corrupted it beyond redemption.

I learned a long time ago to just sit down and write out the first draft in one fell swoop whenever possible. Free associate and then go back and revise. Writing is largely rewriting, but rewriting after the bulk of it is done, not sentence by sentence. Though I know there are some writers who can do this successfully, I can't. I'd spend two hours on a sentence, choosing just the right words, deciding on the perfect punctuation, and wondering whether the nuance was right.

So, really, I'm imposing my own "Write or Die!" philosophy on myself

[JD]

A pen and a piece of paper are pretty useless to me too nowdays too - apart from being useful for the odd reminder about changing a word already typed up, or for jotting down an idea that I get when away from the laptop.

I also use the 'free association' method a lot of the time. I start off with an idea and splurge the main points I want to make (in much the same way I would if I were speaking to someone about the subject), then I go back and flesh it out and structure it (that's the theory anyway!). I can also spend hours agonizing over sentence construction and correct grammar - not a bad thing, I know, but if you factor all that hand wringing into the price you set, based on an hourly rate, for your article then it's hard to sell an article for $20. Therefore, I know that I need to spend less time worrying about that suff and 'let go' - be satisfied that the article has been accepted and tell myself that it's the best I could do - at that time.

Doing it the other way, revising and redrafting each sentence as I first write it out, leaves me a little frustrated and by the time I've got the sentence the way I want it, I've lost the thread of the whole article and am left with just the one good sentence!

Jane