I admit, I am a slave to my neurosis. (neuroses? I'm too lazy to look up which one is plural, right now)
I think I was happier before I discovered the "word count" tool in Microsoft Word. Curse you, Bill Gates! Even in the midst of my revisions, I am agonizing over every single word. And then I realize that the actual word count differs drastically from the 250-words-per-page method of word counting. I mean...HUGE difference. And then I worry about which one people want to see. (I know the answer to that. It depends on the person)
And I know if I write to word count, I'm only hurting myself. If I write to fill words, I'll end up putting in unnecessary padding. If I write to cut words, I may cut things that I should leave.
Just write the story, stupid! Argh.
On a saner note: I added about 800 words to chapter 2, today.
The word count tool is indeed one of the crueler tools in Word. It is absolutely addictive. I have been known to rewrite ONE sentence and go back to the word count to see how it affected the piece. LOL. Simply addicting.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. I've wasted hours of my life over the past few years obsessively checking my word count. Still, I'd much rather have it than not -- I think it can be hugely helpful, when used properly. :)
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