So, I saw a thing on Twitter this morning that sparked something…
I’ve written here before that I’ve recently switched up my schedule, moving my writing time to the morning and then my job-job to later in the day. I’ve talked about this, here and on Twitter, and how it’s done amazing things for my productivity. And I’ve been understandably happy about this. Part of the way I’ve been celebrating this is I’ve been sharing my word counts on Twitter every morning.
And I’ve wondered since I started whether this is a good thing to be doing or not. There are pros and cons. On the one hand, I’m a writer and I’m trying to build a platform on Twitter after all, and talking about my writing is one way I’m working on that. My morning word count tweets do get some likes, so I know that, even though I’m using a brand new Twitter account and don’t have a lot of followers yet, they’re getting seen.
But at the same time, I wonder what it’s like for a writer struggling with their own productivity to see these numbers I post every morning. Does it sound like bragging? Do I sound like an ass? Is there an assumption by some people that there’s an implied “…and you should have written as much by now, too” in every tweet?
So this morning, someone tweeted (not at me or anything, I just happened to see it) about people on Twitter “celebrating massive daily word counts,” and went on to encourage people who can only do a few hundred a day. And good for him, writers need encouragement at every level of productivity. But there seemed to be an implication that people shouldn’t share their high word counts, because it makes others feel bad.
And OK, I realize I’m both wishing people wouldn’t read things into what I say while simultaneously reading into someone else’s words. But still. I don’t want to stop tweeting my word counts, but I also don’t want to be unintentionally shaming anyone for not writing as much.
I share my word counts for two main reasons. One is because this level of productivity is new for me, and I’m showing people that it can be done. And two, because knowing I have to tell Twitter how I did at the end of my session motivates me to get that little bit extra in. It keeps my momentum going, day after day. The second one, I can function fine without. I have a word count tracker I use that motivates me just fine without being public about it. But I really don’t feel like I need to give up the first one. I do think it’s helpful to people.
I don’t really know quite where I’m going with this post. I guess I’m just trying to work this out for myself. If you’ve come across this post and have thoughts, please share in the comments. I’d love to hear what you think!
Oh, hey, and while we’re talking about Twitter, come follow me if you don’t already! 🙂
Short one this time! See you later!
~Sara