2020: A writing year in review - by the numbers

So, it's been a while since you heard from me.

I have been writing since I went radio silent at the end of December. I will likely do a three-week recap of what I wrote next weekend.

In the meantime, I went over the numbers for this year. I also compared them to the first two full years that I have data regarding my writing output. Basically, I took a slight step back.

You already saw my first half of the year stats. Here are the second half of the year stats and end of year stats for 2020. Just as a reminder, the daily writing goals met (DWGM) percentages are the times where I met my writing quota for a particular day (either 500 or more words written or 30 minutes worth of revisions or planning). They are:

• Jul:

  • Words: 22,905

  • Revise/Plan: 90 minutes

  • DWGM: 48%

• Aug:

  • Words: 14,693

  • Revise/Plan: 120

  • DWGM: 46%

• Sep:

  • Words: 20,324

  • Revise/Plan: 420

  • DWGM: 77%

• Oct:

  • Words: 10,399

  • Revise/Plan: 480

  • DWGM: 50%

• Nov:

  • Words: 16,966

  • Revise/Plan: 360

  • DWGM: 68%

• Dec:

  • Words: 9,173

  • Revise/Plan: 480

  • DWGM: 57%

• 2nd:

  • Words (total): 94,460

  • Words (avg.) 15,743

  • Revise/Plan (total): 1,950

  • Revise/Plan (avg.) 325

  • DWGM (avg.): 58%

• 2020:

  • Words (total): 208.919

  • Words (avg.): 17,410

  • Revise/Plan (total): 4,290

  • Revise/Plan (avg.): 358

  • DWGM (avg.): 62%

It's a bit of a fall-off from the first part of the year.

Now, the year-by-year count:

• 2020:

  • Words (total): 208.919

  • Words (avg.): 17,410

  • Revise/Plan (total): 4,290

  • Revise/Plan (avg.): 358

  • DWGM (avg.): 62%

• 2019:

  • Words (total): 193,881

  • Words (avg.) 16,157

  • Revise/Plan (total):  8,865

  • Revise/Plan (avg.): 739

  • DWGM (avg.): 78%

• 2018:

  • Words (total): 53,878

  • Words (avg.): 4,490

  • Revisions (total): 8,955

  • Revisions (avg.): 746

  • DWGM (avg.): 52%

So, 2020 is the leader among all years for total words. It is lower than 2018 and 2019 in revisions and planning. It is considerably better than 2018 in meeting my quotas, but it fell off from the 2019 averages.

What might be the reasons for that? To be honest, my move this year might have caused some disruptions. Lately, I've been ambivalent about blogging and putting things out - I wonder if I'm getting too repetitive or considering it more of a grind than something that gives me a sense of accomplishment. The fact that I've been doing a blog for more than three years is an accomplishment in and of itself, considering how I would start and then abandon writing projects repeatedly as a younger person.

I think that the only thing that I can do is to try and be more consistent at writing and keeping track of it. As I said at the start of this process, I'm doing this for me, to improve myself as a writer and to keep myself accountable to myself. If I want to call myself a writer, I have to write, no matter how many JD Salingers and Harper Lees there have been out there. I don't want to pass away and not have contributed something, regardless of whether I become a world-famous writer (hehe) or not.

I have made progress toward that goal, but as the numbers tell you, I can do a lot better. That's my wish for 2021 going forward.

All you writers keep writing and everyone keep safe.