Yesterday I blogged about the need to keep writing, even on days when you don’t feel like it. I also compared it to exercise (or, more specifically, walking) and the fact you can measure steps taken more easiluthan you can measure writing output. So I thought I might take the time today to think about how to tell thatyou’ve had a productive writing day.

 

So, here goes.

 

Five signs you’ve had a productive writing day:

 

1. Your word count has gone up (this, of course, works best if you’re using a program that counts words. It’s not terribly productive to manually count your hand written words, in spite of the numbers of hours I wasted as a uni student doing exactly that).

2. You have a satisfying pile of pieces of paper with words on them, words which you’ve written, on your printer, your desk, or your coffee table. And they’re not shopping lists or notes to your off springs’ teachers.

3. You have writers’ cramp.

4. You stared the day with a writing goal (or goals) and you met it/them.

5. You end the day with the warm glow of accomplishment that follows a perfect poem/draft/sentence.

 

Five signs you have not had a productive writing day:

 

1. Your house is spotless and your pantry is arranged alphabetically.

2. You beat your high score in <insert favourite game title here>.

3. Over dinner your spouse/child/friend asks what you’re working on And you say ‘oh, a few things’.

4. Your email inbox is empty, when it started the day full.

5. You end the day promising yourself you’ll do better tomorrow.

 

Lucky for me, today’s been a productive day. Now I’m going to take my writers cramp for a walk.