I tried writing 500 words a day for a month and it backfired

Everyone says daily writing builds discipline, so I set a hard goal of 500 words every single day in April. By day 10, I was just typing nonsense to hit the count, and my story got totally lost. I ended up with 15,000 words of junk I had to delete, which felt worse than not writing at all. The lesson for me was that forcing output can kill the creative spark instead of helping it. Now I focus on two good writing sessions a week with clear goals for each scene. Has anyone else had a strict routine hurt their work instead of help it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jesse1mo ago

Forcing a word count can turn writing into a chore instead of a creative outlet. I've been there, staring at the screen just to fill a quota. What other routines have you tried that actually help?

oscarwright1mo ago

Yeah that word count pressure sounds brutal. So you switched to two focused sessions a week. What does a "good" session look like for you now, like do you set a timer or just work until the scene feels done?