How did I ever manage to write so much in the past?

[selenicseas]

I’ve kept track of how many words I’ve written each day since November 2009. The end-of-month total goes into a spreadsheet so I can compare just how much I’ve written each month – and each year.



Back in 2021, I wrote a post on Wordpress called Writing throughout the years, in which I expressed being surprised that I wrote so much in 2020 – in fact, more than the previous six years – because I felt like I spent the year not doing much of anything. I was unemployed for a lot of 2020, so that may be why I ended up doing so much writing.

So, on to the title of this post. How, exactly, did I manage to write so much in the past?

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. It wasn’t because I had more free time back then – I have way more now. It wasn’t because I focused solely on writing at the expense of other hobbies – I did a ton of conlanging and art back then.

Whatever it was, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to writing the extreme amounts I managed in the earlier years seen here. I have repetitive strain injuries that I try to avoid aggravating. I already use a mouse and keyboard for 8 hours a day at my job, so “excessive” amounts of typing are out of the question.

2025 is the first year (aside from 2012, when I attempted Milwordy) that I’ve set an actual goal for the year: 100,000 words. I’m definitely behind on that goal, having written about half of what I need at this point. I’m not so far behind that I won’t be able to hit 100,000. In fact, I think just a few days of really buckling down and writing 1000-1200 should get me back on track.