In martial arts there is a saying: “you can live or die by anything.” It means there is no single principal or movement that is guaranteed to save you. For example, it’s good to breathe, essential for survival, but if you try it underwater you will have serious problems.
It’s not surprising to find that this is true for writing as well. Writers find all kinds of ways to keep up their momentum, but all these methods are only good as long as they help you get the work done. If they stop being useful you must be ready to adapt.
Previously I’ve written about how I use word count goals to help keep my productivity up. Today, however, I spent a lot of time working on a new way to track my word count instead of actually writing words. Something that once worked as a motivator was suddenly a distraction.
I spent a good portion of the day essentially procrastinating. Finally I had to throw all thoughts of it aside, stop worrying about the damn word count, and just get some work done. The moment is what matters.
