Word Count

I came across a great quote today. It was posted as a dear friend's FB status:

"Words are meant to disclose the mystery of the silence from which they come". Henri Nouwen

I love Nouwen. His words never fail to challenge me. It got me thinking about word count. Another year of NaNoWriMo passed this last November. I didn't participate. But that site is what got me through the rough draft of my last novel, so it has a special place in my heart.

NaNoWriMo is all about the word count. Just get it out. Set goals, free write, and get a first draft done - even if it's a sloppy first draft. You log your daily word count and try to get to 50,000 words by the end of the month. This system has helped many a writer get going. Even if you never have contact with any of the other writers, the camaraderie is great. It reminds me of how I got through long, sleep deprived nights with crying infants - just knowing there must have been thousands of nameless, faceless, sleepless women going through the same misery I was helped in some indefinable way.

But...fifty thousand! That's a lot of words! And as we all know, those sloppy, rough-draft words aren't even the words that count. No, they slip out pretty easily by comparison. Those others? They're the ones that have to be coaxed and massaged out of hiding. The ones that matter have to be sliced out of sentences and recreated out of the ashes of the mass of words that are good for nothing but the fire.

Most writers feel very accomplished when they've gotten those fifty thousand words down on paper/screen, and as well they should! They've reached an important milestone in the writing process. When you finally slide into home plate there's a big sigh of relief, followed by a huge celebration (which coincidentally, is surrounded by a rather large cloud of dust!) It is there that elation and reality collide with a rock splitting crash. There at the fifty thousand (or seventy-five, or a hundred, or whatever your rough draft ends up counting out at) mile marker, the real work begins: picking through the rubble to find the relatively few that matter. Words that count.

You might only end up with thirty thousand good words. That's ok. Better to have thirty thousand good words than a hundred and thirty mediocre ones, I always say. (Ok, I don't always say that, but it's a phrase I really ought to keep repeating to myself). 

"Words are meant to disclose the mystery of the silence from which they come".

If this is statement is true, then you must enter the silence. Silence can be a daunting thing. But there in the silence, the right words are waiting. In fact, you've found many of them while wading through the murky waters of the original fifty thousand. You must be brave enough to go in after them. Fish them out, fillet them open, eat the meat and spit out the bones.

I guess that's why I like quotes so much. I would rather read fourteen excellent words than a page full of nonsense. As readers, I think most of us feel that way. As writers, we must discipline ourselves to make sense of all the nonsense. 

Words are powerful.

Let's make them real.

Let's make them come alive!

Let's make them count.

Madison Richards is back home in the New York this winter, and loving every inch of it (the snow, that is!) She blogs here and there, and can be found here at The Master's Artist every other Tuesday.

Comments

[Dee Stewart]

great post, Madison. it made me think of God speaking to the creation of Earth.

"Words are meant to disclose the mystery of the silence from which they come."

I think about the void of silence in the galaxy as God made plans for Earth, or Lucifer's fear and wonder at God's silence before He dismissed him. Long time ago people used to say only speak if it will improve the silence.

[Jeanne Damoff]

Great quote and lovely thoughts to go with it, Madison. I also appreciate Dee's comment. This post makes me think about the importance of a quiet, awake mind. Too often as writers we're driven by deadlines. We place blinders on our eyes to keep us focused on the page, trusting our own imaginations, store of knowledge, and internet-based research to supply all the substance for our writing. No wonder we run dry.

My best story ideas sneak up on me when I'm out living my life, beckoning me to listen as they whisper their mysteries. Words follow.

Thanks for this.
Love, Jeanne

[K.M. Weiland - Historical Author]

Great post. The Nouwen quote reminds me of another great quote I heard last week: “What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers.” - Logan Pearsall Smith