Yet One More Benefit of the Nifty 350

Okay, you may be sick of hearing about the Nifty 350 with this being my third post on the subject in as many months. However, I seem to be in a period of writing discovery right now and can’t resist sharing.

I’ve highlighted previously two of the benefits of writing your Nifty 350 each morning:

* It helps you establish a daily routine of writing
* 350 words a day adds up very rapidly to a very nice word count each month.

Well here is discovery number three about the benefits of writing the Nifty 350. In my case, I am not working on my current novel while doing my Nifty 350 each day. Instead, I’m working on an alternate “no stress” story to entertain myself while I slog through my novel re-write. Well working on that “no stress” story a little bit day by day, has helped me overcome my tendency for “hurry up and slap it on paper/computer” writing.

Often when I’m writing a story, I tend to rush through it because I just want to hurry and get it down on paper. And I don’t know, perhaps that’s the way most people write their first draft copy. But obviously, it’s better to think your story through as you go – that way you won’t have such extensive rewrites in subsequent rounds.

Well forcing myself to sit and write a small chunk of words has been teaching me exactly that – to slow down, consider my story, and build it block by block instead of trying to throw it together in one fell swoop. There are simply too many nuances and details in a full length novel – you just can’t rush it.

Now of course I don’t for one minute believe that will eliminate rewrites, but I think it WILL give me a better first draft on subsequent stories.

If you’re like me and spend most of your waking hours at a tedious day job, maximizing the use of whatever free time you have for writing is absolutely essential. Using the building blocks of the Nifty 350 helps me to use my scant time more wisely. It also teaches me not to write myself to the point of exhaustion – to leave something in the tank for the next day.

Give it a try!