Why 500 Words?
Write 500 words every day-until you can write more words that make sense to a reader. 500 words is a target to keep you focused on writing words into sentences.
This small amount is an easy target to aim at. Ernest Hemingway claimed this number as his daily target, and it served him well. He wrote A Farewell to Arms, and The Old Man and the Sea, which won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.
His quote, “There is no friend as loyal as a book”, makes me wonder if he ever spent time with the Dog.
Writing is a craft, and like all crafts, it can be learned. One of the best ways to learn how to write better is to read more Reading will show you how other writers write their stories, articles, or plays.
Writing Prompts
Writing prompts can be used as a warm-up for the big game. If you play sports you know that it is necessary to loosen up before you jump on the court, or run onto the field.
A prompt is used to arouse, incite, or inspire to write. In this case, it is to inspire you to write these 500 words and complete your writing assignment.
Writing Prompts are learning assignments that are used to direct you to write about a specific topic in a specific manner. They are designed to stimulate your imagination and creatively guide you in a practiced writing exercise.
A prompt can be a word, a phrase, or a paragraph. It can even be a picture, and you can remain loyal to your prompt or wander off in a completely different direction.
Start writing
Writing Prompts are used to direct you to write about a specific topic in a specific manner.
They are designed to stimulate your imagination and creatively guide you in a practiced writing exercise.
Begin Small
If you are struggling to get 500 words on paper you’re thinking too much and not writing enough.
You will need more practice. This can be achieved by writing a simple short story about something you did today.
Do not concern yourself with punctuation, sentence structure, or whether your facts are all correct. Just write the 500 words. There, you are done.
Reread what you have written
Let yourself loose and write as if there were no tomorrow. Stop and have a look at what you’ve written. Read it out loud, but do not read it to just anyone, yet. Your best bet is to read your first drafts to your dog. He will understand your dilemma and support your efforts through hell and high water.
Even though your dog is interested in what you have written, it’s probably is not ready to publish, but now you have something to work with. The best editor cannot edit an empty page.
How does it sound when you read it aloud? Rewrite your first sentence. Is your second attempt better than your first?
The Next 500 Words will be Easier to Write
An effective method for increasing your daily writing counts is to build a website and write blogs.
A learning program with the software and support to keep you motivated, and a vibrant community to comment on your writing. is nothing to turn your nose at. It’s free to explore and costs less than the price of a cup of coffee per day.
If you can’t see any benefit in type of support, just move on, and use it as a prompt for your next writing exercise.
A writer once wrote, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”, his name was Benjamin Franklin.
It’s as simple as a word, a sentence, a paragraph, and even a picture can be useful.
One Million Words
One of the best sentences I have read about writing was this one. Write one million words, and throw them all away, and then write your story. It contains the essence of what all great writers are about.
It will only take you 1 year to write 1 million words if you write 2740 words per day. A year well spent at the keyboard or on paper with pencil or pen.
Write your 500 words
Write your 500 words and I will read your story and edit your work. I cannot edit a blank sheet of paper but I can edit a short story of 500 words.
Keep Your Paragraphs Short
Keep your paragraphs short and don’t ramble on.
Write On!
Thanks for your encouragement in writing articles! I agreed with you that 500 words are a good length to start with. One of my blogging mentors suggested a thousand words per day to improve my writing skills. When I put that into practice, I saw a great improvement in my writing speed and accuracy. Creating a blog or website is a great step to perfect this. When you have a blog, you’ll be triggered to write and publish on a frequent basis. Thanks.
Joyce
You have a great approach to writing, Joyce, and I’m pleased to read that we share similar ideas.
Writing a blog, while quite challenging in itself, is much easier than writing a book. Results are quick to arrive, and the practice leads to better writing. A website gets this in motion in short order, and when combined with a good program, the results can be lucrative.
I wish you success with your 1000 words per day. Goals are a necessity on the long path up the mountain.
Thanks for your useful suggestions, Paul.
Hi, honestly speaking, I always find writing very difficult and I always wondered how I can improve my writing skills.I find this article about writing 500 words every day very important and I think I should start practicing that. thanks for sharing this helpful information and I’m hoping that from now my writing skill will improve. 500 words every day, that’s the rule from now.
Good Day, Kokontala.
Writing 500 words a day is a skill that can be learned.
Like all skills, the more we practice, the better we get at that skill. Begin with 100 or 200 words per day, and get proficient at that number. It’s also important to be consistent as well.
Start a journal and write about what you did the previous day, what you plan to do today, and what your plans are for tomorrow. These thoughts and ideas can be kept private, and you’ll see that 500 words will be an easy target to reach. From there, improve the quality of your writing with services such as Grammarly, and the world is your oyster.
Thanks for reading my post.
Paul
Great insights you have shared here. Not only does Writing 500 words improve your writing skills but also your vocabulary. The more you expose yourself to different words on a daily bases, the more your vocabulary advances or improve. And this is a good practice to do so on a daily bases.
Thanks for the insightful comments, Volkert.
I’m pleased that you also appreciate the value of a rich vocabulary. Reading and writing are excellent methods of accomplishing this.
Paul
I like the suggestion you made in this article regarding setting a daily goal of writing. It’s a great way to leave victories day in and day out. Great if you write more! The goals motivate us and drive us into action. Later, when we enter the ruin of writing, they become our daily routine, then we can set up new ones!
Yes, Jas.
I agree that setting goals is the proper way to go. To become a better writer, it’s necessary to write every day.
Writing is a craft that can be learned and improved. When we write every day, we get better at writing, and the task becomes easier to achieve. Soon this 500-word target is less difficult to accomplish and we’re writing 700 or 800 words.
This method of setting daily goals has worked well for me, and I’m sure it will work for you as well.
Paul