The majority of wannabe writers and bloggers struggle to become authors because they don’t write daily. If they simply got in the habit of writing 1,000 words per day, they would transform themselves into real writers, bloggers, and published authors. Today, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Marc Guberti (@MarcGuberti) provides insight into the power of meeting that daily word count and how to achieve that goal consistently.
Small habits add up, especially daily writing habits. Writing 1,000 words usually gives you enough content to publish a blog post. It’s a starting point, but your career can transform when you write at that frequency every day. One thousand words per day add up to 30,000 words per month or 365,000 words per year. These word counts provide more possibilities.
If you write 365,000 words per year, you can publish multiple novels or a monthly nonfiction book. In addition, you can produce 365 blog posts with that frequency. Each internal blog post brings people back to your brand and builds trust. You can also write guest posts for others and expand your reach.
Writing is a numbers game, and full-time writers regularly produce thousands of words daily. Some writers type over one million words per year between books, blog posts, and freelance writing work. However, building up to 1,000 words per day is a significant milestone. Some people can turn writing into a viable side hustle with that daily word output. Some writers who incorporate other brand assets and marketing strategies can earn a full-time income from 1,000 words per day.
Everyone’s daily output varies, but the common rule is that writing at least 1,000 words daily gives you a substantial advantage over writers who are not writing consistently. The following strategies will help you turn writing 1,000 words per day into an effortless habit.
How Long Does It Take For You To Write 1,000 Words?
Most people can write 1,000 words in under an hour, but you may trim down the time to 30 minutes as you write more often and consistently. You can use WPM (words per minute) to monitor your progress. The average person types at 40 words per minute. At this rate, it would take 25 minutes to complete 1,000 words.
Of course, editing and reviewing work increases the time required to produce 1,000 words. Typing faster and memorizing the keyboard will help break past 40 WPM. You’ll easily memorize the keyboard with practice, but you can start with words. For example, learn how to type the word “beach” without looking at the keys. After you master that word, try typing “grow” without looking down. Memorizing how to type those words will help you remember the placements of nine out of the 26 letters of the alphabet. As you memorize more letters, it gets easier to memorize the remaining letters and reduce how long it takes to write 1,000 words.
Create An Outline
No writer goes into their work with a blank page. Authors do extensive book outlines before writing, especially fiction writers. And nonfiction writers often produce detailed chapter summaries before writing a word. You don’t want to feel lost about character development and scenes or research and content in the middle of writing your book.
Creating a detailed outline gives you a foundation. You can make modifications along the way, but the outline acts as your compass. Every minute of preparation can save you hours of confusion and frustration for longer pieces.
Outlines also go a long way with shorter works, such as blog posts. You can list the tactics you will discuss and do all of your research before starting the piece. Having the information in front of you lets you focus exclusively on writing when you write. Verifying facts and looking things up while writing can become distracting and hurt your ability to produce 1,000 words per day.
Use an Entire Day for Brainstorming
Writing 1,000 words per day isn’t only about producing that much content. You need enough article, blog post, and book ideas to generate that output. If you finish an article or book chapter without knowing what to do next, you will constantly shift from writing to planning.
These shifts don’t happen naturally. It’s like hitting the brakes on your car. It takes some time to achieve the same speed you had before hitting the brakes. While it can take a few seconds to adjust after you take your foot off the brakes, it can take several minutes (or longer) to shift back and forth from writing to planning.
Selecting one to two days each month to generate ideas lets you stay in the writing flow longer. The brainstorming day makes you less susceptible to distractions when you write content.
Set a Time to Write
If you want to get something done, put it on the calendar. Client meetings, vacation plans, and other events find their way on the calendar before they happen. Setting a time to write increases accountability and turns the practice into a habit. You can experiment with writing at different times in the day and notice which times of day work better for you.
I prefer to write in the morning. The mornings provide fewer distractions, and I am at my best. Writing 1,000 words in the morning puts me in an excellent position to write more content throughout the day. The way you start your day influences how your day progresses and ends.
You may prefer to write later in the day. For example, some people exercise in the morning, work throughout the day, and write content for their brands in the evenings. Whatever your preference, put writing in your calendar as if it were a meeting with an important client.
Don’t Stop At 1,000 Words
Writing 1,000 words daily is a great achievement that can propel your writing career. You get to write more books, promote your business with more guest blog posts and articles, and create more opportunities for yourself. However, 1,000 words should not be the end goal. You should never stop yourself from writing more than 1,000 words.
Writing a few extra words during each writing session has a compounded effect. We have already discussed how writing 1,000 words per day translates into 365,000 words per year. Adding an extra 100 words per day to your schedule yields an additional 36,500 words per year. That output is enough for approximately 36 blog posts or a 100+ page nonfiction book.
The issue with a 1,000-word cap is that writers get comfortable with 950-1,020 words. This mentality embraces sufficiency instead of greatness. When you reach 1,000 words per day, consider how you can stretch it to 1,100 words per day. That’s a very small ask for people who can already type 1,000 words per day. You can write the other 100 words on your smartphone while walking or waiting in line for something.
Reaching 2,000 words per day yields twice the output of 1,000 words per day. A larger goal will inspire you to pursue the next milestone instead of staying in place.
Do you write 1,000 words per day, and, if so, how has that helped your writing career? Tell me in a comment below. And if you found this post useful, please share it with a friend and on social media.
About the Author
Marc Guberti is a business freelance writer who writes for individuals, small businesses, and corporations. He hosts the Breakthrough Success Podcast and has written over a dozen books, including the award-winning Content Marketing Secrets.
I can touch-type 50-60 wpm. Even so, I’m doing good to have 1,500 words in a three-hour writing session. I started a series about this time last year, and even when I was writing the scenes that were strong in my head, I couldn’t break 25,000 words per month. And once I has all the “easy”scenes written, my output dropped. For the last few months, I’ve struggled to come up with the lead-in to the last scene, partially because it needs all five members of my team–and I still haven’t figured out who my fifth member is, yet!
And when I sat down one night and told my muse to write SOMETHING toward the story, out came this character I know nothing (Maybe he’s my #5?) about doing something that should have been impossible (nope, not my #5, he’s a bad guy!); worse yet, it’s not something I could use for at least another book, maybe two–if I use it at all.