Recap: First Half of 2022:

[PHOTO NOTE: Get it? Because it’s in halves… anyway.]

And just when I think that I have been doing horribly, I find that I actually have been productive writing this past six months.

For those not in the know, I have been keeping track of all the stuff I’ve been writing, all of the words whether fiction or nonfiction, on this blog, for the past five years. (I’ve been doing it longer than that, but the early notekeeping was for me.) For the past four years, I have been keeping records in the present format. It’s more than a little bit of data.

This year, I decided to actually set a goal for the entire year rather than just try to make daily goals. Based on what I had done over the past four years, I decided to try 200,000 words written for 2022 and meeting my daily writing quota (500 words per day or 30 minutes of planning and/or revisions) at least 70 percent of the time.

How am I doing so far?

Obviously, at this point in the year I should be at 100,000 words written and meeting my daily writing goals 70 percent of the time. Time to open the envelope and see what there is to see. (Reminder: all revise/planning numbers represent total number of minutes.):

Writing statistics: First half of 2022:

• Jan:
  • Words: 13,954
  • Revise/Plan: 165
  • Daily Writing Goals Met: 68%
• Feb:
  • Words: 16,770
  • Revise/Plan: 90
  • Daily Writing Goals Met: 86%
• Mar:
  • Words: 27, 101
  • Revise/Plan: 375
  • Daily Writing Goals Met: 86%
• Apr:
  • Words: 20,791
  • Revise/Plan: 225
  • Daily Writing Goals Met: 86%
• May:
  • Words: 12,563
  • Revise/Plan: 255
  • Daily Writing Goals Met: 54%
• Jun:
  • Words: 19,163
  • Revise/Plan: 240
  • Daily Writing Goals Met: 66%
    
• 1st part of the year:
  • Words (total): 110,342
  • Words (avg.): 18,390
  • Revise/Plan (total): 1,350
  • Revise/Plan (avg.): 225
  • Daily Writing Goals Met (avg.): 74%

So, I am 10,000 words ahead of schedule and above my percentage of daily writing goals met… by a good margin, if not a comfortable one. However, it is much better than the same stats for the first year of 2021:

• 1st half of 2021:
  • Words (total): 86,852
  • Words (avg.) 14,475
  • Revise/Plan (total): 1290
  • Revise/Plan (avg.) 215
  • Daily Writing Goals Met (avg.): 57 percent

So, I’m ahead of last year in all statistical categories. That’s a great feeling.

I am definitely not going to get overconfident with making my goals this year. But I am cautiously optimistic. My current yearly word record is 208,919 set in 2020, and my current yearly record of daily writing goals met is 78 percent set in 2019. Could I possibly make those goals? Maybe, but for now I am going to take the win and start writing some other stuff. I’ve been doing too many journal posts and not enough other stuff.

Take care, everyone, and for any Americans reading this – have as good of a Fourth of July as you can.