One of the most common questions writers get asked is whether they have a set word count they like to reach each day, or a target for the week to keep them on track. I don’t have a set target, but here’s how I measure my workload:

I write almost all of my fiction work by hand first. I don’t have a good reason as to why, but it feels more natural, more flowing. For some reason it generally works better for me. Some days, my fingers start to hurt from holding the pen for too long – it feels like a blister is forming on the edge of the tip of my finger.

It takes a lot of words to get to this point, so when it happens, I know I’ve had a productive writing day.

See, handwriting does still have benefits.