First Annual BookFast: Results

Last week saw my First Annual BookFast! (For the introductory post, go here.) And now it's time to announce my accomplishments - and my failures.

It went really well...for a while. The first five (of seven) days I completed my word count, even though the 1k days proved a struggle. Then Thursday I put out 1.5k in just the morning! It felt like such an accomplishment - and for me, it really was.

And then the office holiday luncheon came on Friday. This threw off work and my day, and by the evening I was exhausted and in no mood to write at all.

Saturday saw me horribly busy, what with Christmas coming up, and by the time I got all my errands run and chores done the whole family just wanted to watch a movie and go to bed.

So here are the word results for the week:

Sunday: 1,000
Monday: 500
Tuesday: 1,000
Wednesday 500
Thursday 1,500
Friday: 0
Saturday: 0

So 500 words less than the 5,000 planned, but overall not too shabby for me.

As far as the whole "fasting from books" angle of this experiment, that bombed on Wednesday. I was doing so well! And then this showed up at my door from Epic Reads:

O.O ... Yeah. So needless to say, the temptation was just too great, and not reading became impossible. But then I made the requirement that my daily word count had to be met before I could read, and the BookFast and I were back on track.

So all in all it was a good dry run, and I think I'll try another BookFast sometime next year (just not around a major holiday). Although it will be with a few alterations, based on two very important facts I learned:

1. 500 words is a good daily requirement for me. While 1k is doable, it can prove difficult if I have anything else at all to do that day (like, say, living).

2. Not reading any sort of novel is torture. By making a few chapters out of my current read the reward for fulfilling my daily word count, both writing and reading became more enjoyable.

And so ends my First Annual BookFast!

First Annual BookFast

The one piece of writerly advice I hear the most is: "Read. Read all the time." This is all well and good, but when a writer spends their writing time reading, complications ensue (like, say, no writing gets done).

This is a big issue for me. I'll have free time and take my writing pad/laptop and latest read to the couch. I look at the writing. I look at the book. Then I snuggle down into the couch and read. And no writing gets done. Soon I find that I haven't written a single word all week, and my WIP languishes.

So, beginning this Sunday for a week, I am giving up reading.

Yep, you read that right. No reading for a whole week.

*all writer/reader friends gasp in horror* *several pass out* *smelling salts are passed around*

I have a WIP to finish, darn it, and reading all my free time away won't get it written! So it's time for drastic measures.
 

The BookFast will run seven days, from this coming Sunday to Saturday, thereby giving me the long weekend to catch up on my reading as a reward. (I originally pondered doing it for a whole month, but the very thought gave me heart palpitations. So I'm going to try a week and see how it goes.) A breakdown of my required daily word count for the week is:

• Mon/Wed/Fri: 500 words
• Sun/Tues/Thurs/Sat: 1,000 words

It's not a lot, but it's what I know I can handle - and it's infinitely more than I'm getting down right now.

And I'm not going to give up all reading. That would kill me. I am allowed to read two things:

• Research (aka non-fiction, for Project P only); and
• Project P (the WIP I will be working on).

This will keep me on track and always in the mindset of the story.

And, if I make the day's word count, there will be a reward: one short story from The Curiosities! So I'm not totally cutting myself off from fiction, which should keep me sane enough.

I will probably go dark for the week blog-wise, but I will Tweet updates (@skyelyte), and I will post about the experience afterwards. I'm calling this my "First Annual" BookFast because I think it will prove really good for me, and I'll probably do it again if it goes as well as I think it will.

Wish me luck!

(And if you want to join me, let me know and we can encourage each other!)