Finding inspiration in numbers.

Lifting the veil on a writing life #15

This week the audio is a narration of the post, so choose whichever you prefer.

This week I’ve been spinning plates again.

Next summer I will ensure I don’t have a novel to redraft whilst my kids are off school.

You live and learn, it’s a classic case of me overestimating my capabilities and underestimating my time. Like I said last week, there’s a lot going on here at home.

Anyway, only short stories for next summer; things I don’t need to be as deeply immersed in.

I’ve been thinking about word counts a lot this week. The trend for shorter novels isn’t going anywhere. Some reasons for this are to do with attention span, the time people have to read, along with paper shortages.

Earthly Bodies, my first book is 83,000 words. The one I’m rewriting feels like it will be shorter and I know I shouldn’t hold myself to numerical markers, but numbers help me create goals and targets. If I have a target I can reward myself with a prize when I reach it. That is how my brain works.

So, I googled one of my favourite books to find out the word count; Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. It has just over 55,000 words, pretty short for a novel.

Discovering this made me feel better about myself, and this book.

FYI novels have traditionally been between 80,000 and 120,000 words.¹

Another, more recently released favourite, Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, comes in at 72,500 words and Ottessa Moshfegh’s, My Year of Rest and Relaxation is 69,000.²

I’m sharing all this because sometimes you need permission to do something. Reassurance even, that doing it this way is okay.

Another way I’ve used numbers to aid my writing this week is through Time. There’s only so much we get in a day, and currently, not much of mine feels like my own. So I’ve rejoined (metaphorically there’s no actual club) the 5 am writers club. This is a hashtag which originated on Twitter. Where writers who are getting up early share the fact they are doing so for support and camaraderie.

My version is more like 5:30-7, and it’s helping a lot. My cat joins me and I sometimes will share on notes the view from my bed where I’ve pulled my laptop and coffee.

I finally watched the adaptation of Wolf Hall this week and subsequently went on a deep dive into Hilary Mantel.

Have you read the Wolf Hall trilogy? Let me know in the comments.

“I think writers need tolerant people around them. They’re prickly and strange and needy, yet they demand to be left alone.”

Hilary Mantel.

Until next time,

Susan.

Photo from my archives, from a stay at Gladstones Library.

1. My source for word counts is this, perhaps dated, article at Writers Digest.

2. My source for word counts in published books is Prosecraft.