Choosing Your 2020 Pledge

[gywomod]

With GYWO 2020 Pledges opening this week, which pledge you're choosing is hopefully on your mind. Instead of letting everyone stew in their personal hells, we're running down a few of the common things the mods tell panicked participants, and then offering the comments section as an opportunity for members and future members to talk to each other about their concerns and hopefully help each other come to a pledging decision!

If you're new to GYWO and have a question related to our membership requirements, general guidelines, monthly check-ins, or what words or activities count, please visit our website. More information about pledging for 2020 will be released the weekend of Dec 14.

Word Count Pledge Vs Habit Pledge
Deciding between a Word Count Pledge or Habit Pledge can be a difficult decision. Here are some things to consider as you make your choice:

• If tracking your word count is stressful or confusing, try one of the Habit Pledges. You’ll only need to keep track of the number of days you write, instead of all those fiddly words.
• If you want to emphasize the habit of your writing life—encouraging yourself to write x-number of days a month or a week—a Habit Pledge might make more sense. With a Word Count Pledge, it’s easier to write in sustained sprints to reach your goal, but a Habit Pledge forces you to write more days than you might with a Word Count Pledge.
• If you are planning to have a year that focuses on revising or on planning stories, a Habit Pledge might be right for you. The Habit Pledges allow you to count days you work on recorded creative writing activities beyond drafting or revising, including outlining, written brainstorming, and completing world building or character sheets. Our website has more details about the Habit Pledges and further explains what writing activities count toward this pledge.
• You could, potentially, miss a Habit Pledge by running out of days in the year. The highest Habit Pledge allows missing up to 15 days, which doesn’t give much wiggle room for accomplishing the pledge later in the year. The Word Count Pledges offer more flexibility since you can catch up at (nearly) any time.
• If you’re already consistent (and happy) with your writing habit, choose a Word Count Pledge to continue to challenge yourself and grow your writing life.
• If you've completed a Word Count Pledge multiple times, but don't think you can hit the next highest Word Count Pledge, consider working on your writing habit this year with a Habit Pledge.
• While you must pick one pledge for GYWO, you can unofficially keep track of a secondary pledge. Your secondary pledge may give you information about choosing a pledge for a future year!

Habit Pledges
Choosing between Habit Pledges comes down to deciding how much you plan to write each month:

• If you plan to write mostly on weekends, choose the 120 Day Pledge. That’s weekends + 16 days.
• If you plan to write mostly on weekdays, choose the 240 Day Pledge. That’s weekdays – 20 days, giving you a few days off.
• If you want to write every day, choose the 350 Day Pledge!
• If you haven’t tried writing daily before but want to, we recommend the 240 Day Pledge as a way to ease into a semi-daily writing habit before tackling the Master Pledge.

Word Count Pledges

First Time with a Word Count Pledge?
If you’ve never tracked your word count for the year, take a moment to assess how many words you think you’ve written in the past year. Consider things like whether or not you participate in NaNoWriMo (50K), how much you’ve published in the last year (self or traditionally published, fanfic, blog, etc), and how much you tend to revise your work (writing it entirely over or just editing lines).

• If meeting your goal is more motivating, choose a goal that matches a conservative estimate of how much you wrote in 2019.
• If you think you’ll lose interest if you meet your goal early, choose a goal that matches a liberal estimate of how much you wrote in 2019.
• There are no penalties for not meeting your word count, so don’t be afraid to choose a pledge that you may not be able to meet!

If you’ve done GYWO before but aren’t certain which goal you want, you’ve likely narrowed it down to two goals. Here’s our advice for choosing between two word count goals…

Go Big on Word Counts

• If you wrote more than 50,000 words above your 2019 GYWO pledge level, choose the next pledge level up.* You've already "beaten" it once, so do it again officially.
• If having a big goal motivates you, choose the bigger goal you're between. There's no penalty for not meeting your goal, so if having the big carrot will push you to write, set yourself up with the most motivating goal.
• If you look ahead and see a lot of free time, a more relaxed year, or fewer obstacles between you and your writing time, choose the bigger goal you're between. Just keep an eye out for unexpected things that might take away that time!

*This advice is somewhat dubious if you are currently pledging 75K or 350K

Step Back on Word Counts

• If you wrote 50,000 words below your 2019 GYWO pledge level, consider the next pledge level down if knowing that you will meet your pledge is more motivating to you.*
• If having a big goal intimidates you, choose the lesser goal you're between. It's great if you write above your pledge level, so if hitting your pledge early will keep you in a happy writing mood, set yourself up for success.
• If you look ahead and see a lot of travel, a major life change (moving house, changing jobs, getting married, having a child, etc), or another serious obstacle between you and your writing time, choose the lesser goal you're between. While life can be unpredictable, there are some things we can predict, so there's no reason to stress out about your word count on top of your real life.

*This advice is somewhat dubious if you are currently pledging 75K or 150K.

Keep Your Word Count Consistent

• If you're going to hit your 2019 GYWO pledge level within the month of December and it was a comfortable pace, keep it the same! The community goal is to keep you writing, so if your 2019 pledge level works for you, let it work for you in 2020.
• If you came close to hitting your 2019 pledge level or it was a challenge to make it, this might be the right pledge level to try again in 2020.

The best advice we have is to look at your schedule and figure out where writing fits into it. List out the projects, ficathons, and stories you might write next year and consider the word tallies or time involved. Really think about what's motivating for you—knowing you'll hit a goal or chasing down the finish line.

In the comments, let us know your pledging woes! Wonder how difficult another pledge is? Still need clarity on the pledge types? This is your opportunity to ask. After some discussion, hopefully you'll come away with a confident decision.

Note: Commenting to this post does not constitute pledging for 2020. Come back this weekend and follow the instructions in the Pledges & Requirements post to make a pledge for 2020.

Comments

[green]

I'm gonna just squeak into my 200k pledge this month, so I'm gonna pledge the same for 2020. 250k is tempting, but I think it'll make me anxious if I can't do it. So no woes for me, yay!

[theemdash]

I switched to a 250K pledge this year, and while I should hit it before the end of the month—ho boy, it's been stressful and I do not want to ride this pony again. If someone is coming in solidly between two pledges year after year, I think it's a good idea to try the next one up, but for sure take your temperature before signing up.

So good for you keeping to your same goal!

[jenett]

I love the "*This advice is somewhat dubious if you are currently pledging 75K or 350K." note, because that's where I am. I pledged (and met) 350K both this year and last year, but I'm still not ready to try a jump to 500K.

I've decided I'm going to pledge 350K, but actually aim at averaging 1250 words a day (which comes to 457,500 due to the leap year), and see how I feel about that next December. If I manage that (or even come pretty close), then the jump to 500K is a smaller change.

[theemdash]

That's a great plan! I love the idea of personally planning to increase your pledge difficulty without biting off too much.

[dragonjournal]

I'm going for the 120 day pledge. I write mostly on weekdays, but like, I'm never consistent and can't guarantee I'm going to be around on any given day...

[bjornwilde]

I'm 90% certain I will be trying out the Habit pledge this year. I did the word count for 2019, my first year, and while I fell far short of the pledge, I still feel good for writing as much as I did because it is far more than I'd ever done.

[theemdash]

If you've been using the GYWO Word Count Tracker and don't already know, it provides a day count for you on the Get Started tab. It's a great way for Word Counters to switch to a Habit Pledge.

[ebonwinged_nova]

I signed up for 250k this year and I'm on track to make 300k. Next year I want to go for 350k, but I think I might make my official pledge 250k again anyway. I noticed this year that it's really motivating for me to outpace my goal on the spreadsheet, and I think that will be the case even if I unofficially go for a higher word count from the start.

[theemdash]

I signed up for 250K this year, and I should make it by the end of the month, but it was a slog in which I was behind most of the year. That was the plan—to be behind until NaNoWriMo—but I hated it. It was stressful for me to be behind, and I felt much happier the year I pledged 200K and wrote about 230K. Sometimes we have to consider our mental health over what pledge level it says on the community page.

[annofowlshire]

I wasn’t going to pledge at all this coming year, but I’m wibbling now XD

The project currently tickling me is turning a WIP into a serial. (And then figuring out how to publish it...) The story is partially written in a very skeletal way and not only do I not know whether or not I have 150k more words in there but I also just don’t want to be hassled with keeping track :P

On top of that, there is a more-than-likely chance of a cross-country move during the first half of 2020, and all the disruption that will cause before, during and after.

So as suggested in another thread, if I sign up it’ll probably be the 120 Day Habit pledge, because it’s the most flexible the project and also for a year with some expected chaos (not to mention the unexpected stuff that also usually happens....).

[theemdash]

I think the 120 Habit Pledge would work nicely with what you described. Also that still allows a lot of time for other creative pursuits.

[delight]

I barely made -- but have made! -- my habit pledge this year, so my plan is to pledge the same and try to exceed it. XD Not quite ready to jump to 240, but I think I can beat 120!

[theemdash]

That's such a great goal. I love it!

[slightweasel]

I'm very tempted to make a 200k pledge for next year. I'm barely going to squeak by at 150k this year (at least, I hope I still make it! 6006 words to go...), but I was on fire with my word count until July, despite having gone back to work in March. Then there was a death in the family, and we started house hunting a couple months later, and now we just finished moving, and now I'm writing again, and maybe 200k would be within reach in a (I REALLY hope) quieter year? On the other hand, since this year was so rough, it might be kinder to myself to go with the regular 150k pledge, and then do 200k for 2021 if it still seems like a good idea a year from now. So that's probably what I'll do.

[theemdash]

I also had a very rough year, so you have my sympathies. You've hit a 200K pledge in the past, so I think a good way to gauge is to think about if you'll be recovered from this past year in January or still struggling with residual fallout. If you're not 100% certain everything will be settled on Jan 1, I say 150K for sure.

[linaewen]

I've been doing the 240 Day Habit Pledge the last two years, both times successfully completing it in December (though a bit earlier this year than last year). I found it helpful in keeping me on track with writing and editing, yet I feel like I need more of a challenge to keep me honest in actually writing words. I am considering going back to a Word Count Challenge. I have done the 150K twice before and I was woefully short! My word counts both times were more in line with 75K, so I'm wondering if I should go with that one, or try to challenge myself again with the 150K? I have a tendency to think I will do better and be more consistent than life actually allows me, so I'm a bit nervous about biting off too much in an effort to challenge myself!

[theemdash]

If you've been tracking word counts the last two years or can estimate, you might see if your word counts have increased as your habit has become more regular. If you don't have evidence of that, I say go with 75K. It would still be a stretch based on your previous attempts at 150K and could be a great way to get push your writing life forward.

[newsbypostcard]

I breezed through 350k this year and am on track to hit 500k, so I'll be back to try 500k next year officially. I do this knowing I may be going back to school in September, so I'll be frontloading earlier in the year in an attempt to hit 400,000 before September even starts. This is 50,000 words every month Jan-Aug—but since I've managed that Sept-Nov (and in some cases blown it considerably out of the water), I'm hoping I've built up enough habit to meet it. Lofty goals, but I'm really looking forward to the challenge.

[theemdash]

I stand in awe.

[belovedmuerto]

I did 150k this year and I'm coming in short, but not as short as I was thinking I would (my initial goal was to choose a stretch and if I even made half the goal it would still be more than twice what I wrote last year), so I'm going to do that again next year because it feels a bit more within my grasp! Plus I've written more than 3x what I wrote last year at this point, so I'm pretty chuffed.

[theemdash]

That's amazing! Congrats! It sounds like the 150K pledge is exactly the motivation you need.

[oldestcharm]

I'm thinking of going for the 350 habit pledge. While I did hit my 150k word count earlier than I anticipated, it's been an exhausting year and I've kind of screwed myself over with some of my non-writing goals. Besides, I'll be working on different projects comics that will require me to figure out how to cut down the word count instead of boost 'em, although I think I'll still write some fic. However, working on something every day sounds like a delightful challenge. I can't wait for all that outlining, scriptwriting and thumbnailing. It'll be interesting for sure.

[theemdash]

Heck yeah! I love the idea of switching to a Habit Pledge to focus on comic projects. Sounds like a great plan!

[seerofheart]

I'm havering a bit even after reading this, haha

I know I want to drop down from 200k, because I've got a) a dissertation coming up next year b) a new job with more hours and c) I want to focus on getting back into visual arts as well as keeping up with writing
On one hand, I know I found 150k easy enough last year, but I did still have less going on in my life at that point, so finding time to write was simple. Finding it this year has been tricky, and I've been more prone to writing binges of 2-7k words on a free day, because getting into the necessary headspace hasn't been easy for anything more than 100-500~ word short bursts.
If I drop to 75k, though, I know I'll make it, even with other stresses on top - but if it's too easy, I might fall out the habit entirely.
And I don't think habits pledges are for me, either - I'd be more prone to chucking 100 words down and calling it a day then hahaha

I think I'll spend some time considering what's best for me before I pledge. I am contemplating the option of going for 75k on paper but making my 'real' goal 100k, nicely in the middle of the two options I'm thinking of. Then I can stretch goal to 150k if life turns out to be less hectic than I'm envisioning.

Either way, 2021, I'll probably go for 150k again!

[theemdash]

From what you're saying, I agree that a Habit Pledge isn't right for you. If you're sitting down and churning out 2K-7K in a sitting, that makes me feel like a Word Count Pledge is the better fit.

I like the idea of choosing 75K, but aiming for 100K. That's a good fit for a very busy year and would let you juggle quite a bit more. But, in case you don't know, we do allow dissertation and thesis writing to count for Word Count Pledges, so if you have a lot of dissertation writing next year, you might be able to hit the 150K (if you're comfortable counting it—some people are not, and we get that).

[velithya]

I'm definitely going to swap to a Habit Pledge this year! I was way off with my estimates of what was achievable for me while working and I gave myself permission mid-year to stop stressing/being upset with myself about how far behind I was and just deal with life. I think a Habit Pledge will, firstly, help me set a regular writing routine, and secondly, be a lot less stressful than trying to reach a set number of words if my time is limited again in 2020!

[theemdash]

Fantastic! I love hearing about how people take what they've learned this year about their writing lives and use it to adjust their goals. Sounds like you know exactly what you're doing, and it sounds like an excellent plan!

[ayebydan]

I might try jump to 150 but I think I will change my mind several times before I finally commit to anything.

[theemdash]

You're in a pretty good position to make the jump to 150K, but I can understand your reluctance to commit to it. Maybe try writing down all the projects you expect to work on next year and see if that helps you make a decision. (I mean, I know I never stick to the project list I create now, but I know things like I'm planning 50K for NaNoWriMo and there's another ficathon I participate in and usually write 10K—so I can use those landmarks to help me start figuring out how many words I might write in a year.)

[pipisafoat]

I've been out of the game for a while, and my 2020 includes: training a small puppy, training an adult dog, running a youtube channel, and running an emotional-labor-intensive group all on a daily to thrice weekly basis; moving at least once in the year; attempting to return to work after several years; and probably two funerals.

A significantly less busy year (though with worse health) was fine at 200. I'm thinking 150. (I'm scared at 150. Halp. Make fear stop!)

[theemdash]

Honestly, that sounds like A. LOT. and I would encourage you to consider 75K. Especially if you feel uncertain about pledging 150K. There's no reason for you to stress out about your word count on top of all of that, so if 75K would make you feel more secure, I think it's an excellent choice.

[prettysophist]

Right now I'm in the position of spectacularly failing to meet my 150k word goal for 2019. By a lot. At the same time, I know I'll probably have a lot more motivation and energy during 2020, and it might actually be a more realistic goal this coming year...

Going down to a 75k goal would be more demoralizing than failing to meet a higher goal for me, so the options I'm considering are:

*Staying at 150k, with the risk that the bad habits I've got into will follow me if I don't change things up.
*Switch to 200k to give myself a kick up the bum.
*Switch to a 240 day habit pledge, but also set myself a personal goal of 150k words.

[prettysophist]

Update: I'm going to pledge 240 Day Habit, set my pace tracker to 100k, but not push myself to meet it. Right now I need to get back into the habit of writing often rather than binge writing :)

[sopdetly]

This is the first year I actually met my goal in, like, a long, long time. I did the Habit 120, and I'm going to do that again next year. This year I met the goal early, and I'm pushing myself to get to 180 by the end of the year. I flirted with a stretch goal of 200 days this year, but it kinda fell a little apart in October, bah. But hey, that's why we get to try again and do better next time!

But I definitely know aiming for 240 is, phew, a Lot. I probably will want to hit 180 days at least 2 years in a row (probably more like 3) before I really bump it up. I'm still developing my habit, so 120 works perfectly well for me, even if I'm "secretly" aiming to crush it hard. :D

[theemdash]

I love 180 as a stretch for you.

[entwinedlove]

I failed in meeting my 350k goal miserably this year, which is upsetting seeing as how I managed 400k+ in each of the three previous years. Lots of things came up like depression and a new job, and then my focus shifted to learning a new craft (I can now knit!).

I'm thinking the modest 150k word goal would be a good goal for me in 2020 but I do like the idea of doing the habit pledge (120 days), just to motivate me to start writing more frequently again. I'm going to have a good think on it before making a decision.

[theemdash]

A good way to think about it is to decide which will motivate you to write. Will ticking through 12K every month get you to the page regularly, or do you need the set number of days to get yourself to write? Also consider if you'll "phone it in" on the Habit Pledge, writing a very little bit and calling it done.

There's a lot to consider about which goal will motivate you to create a habit, and choosing it is entirely subjective.

That said, based off your current word count, I think you'd have no trouble nailing 150K if you think a word count would be more motivating.

[icywind]

Although I am going to likely make my Habit goal this year I feel like I maybe should have taken a break from things this year because of the hangover/residuals from everything that happened last year. I know I definitely would've crashed and burned on a WC pledge, so I'm happy I did Habit though I also feel slightly guilty because of how many days I just did planning type stuff rather than actual wording, even if it still counts - you know?

With that in mind I am not sure if I will do a Habit pledge again next year. If I do, I might actually end up doing the 120 and be more strict on myself for what I count. I think it might be more likely though that I go back to a Word pledge but keep it low at 75k just because I'm still feeling like I'm getting back into writing after essentially avoiding it for parts of this year. I just started a new story that I'm pretty excited about and I have a few things I want to/need to finish so I'm sitting better project wise than I was at the start of this year. The WC pledges just seem to strike something in me more than the Habit did (tho again this year was just overall a mess so perhaps I'm being overly hard).

[theemdash]

If the Word Count Pledge motivates you more, absolutely choose one! I love the 75K pledge for you. Your last time tackling it, you weren't quite there, so this could be your moment to reclaim triumph!

Or, if you wanted to grab a Habit Pledge again but hold yourself more accountable to what you work on, that's great too! I could see you limiting yourself to only drafting activities through January and see what your day count is like at the end of the month. It might prove to be too restrictive, and then you can open up your activities without much fuss.

I feel like you're on the right path considering what you want to get from this pledge first and then deciding which pledge will motivate you more to hit your true goal.

[derry]

This is some great advice!

I'm thinking about making a Habit pledge for 2020. This past year has been very turbulent, writing-wise, and I think overall consistency is the key for me to keep my head in the game (and, most of all, to meet my own expectations and be happy with my progress). It's also good for me and the quality of my work to write a little bit every day, rather than churning out 5k once a week.

On the other hand, I love making word count spreadsheets and watching the numbers go up, pushing myself to complete the next 1,000 marker before midnight... so I'm not completely sure what I'll do yet. I'll give it some thought! ^_^

[theemdash]

For me, I needed to create a writing habit for myself wherein I was writing daily rather than writing large word counts sporadically. It actually made the difference between being able to hit GYWO word count goals and not.

In full disclosure, I achieved the daily writing habit outside of the Habit Pledges, BUT it was an important step in positioning myself to be able to tackle the Word Count Pledges.

If you need to write more steadily, I think a Habit Pledge would be great. (And if you use the official GYWO Habit Tracker, you can still track your word count and push yourself to the next 1K before midnight.)

If you want to keep your focus on producing words/drafts, I think the 150K or 200K pledge might be awesome for you. A slightly higher goal might also help you write more often and create a steady routine.

Million words?

[kevinmc]

Hi! New here - just heard about this site from other writers. I’m a full-time author; I’ve managed 750k and 850k these past two years, but I’m planning to break my target of a million in 2020.

Is there a setting for that level of commitment here? I only saw the “ludicrous” setting at 500k, but I’ve been beating that for several years now. I’m hoping to challenge myself this year, and a group of folks to do it with would be awesome. :)

Re: Million words?

[gywomod]

Our highest pledge offered for 2020 is 500K, but we usually have one or two members per year who aim for 1 million, so you wouldn't be alone. The trackers that the community provides allow you to set your own goal, so while you will "officially" track to 500K, you can have your tracker set up to help you reach the 1 million mark. (Or whatever other tracking you use.)

Word count goal

[jessmountifield]

I'm new to this, but I love having a community to talk to about this stuff and I feel a bit lacking lately.

I just hit 500k for this year, so I think I'm going to aim for something higher if that's an option. Especially as my eldest tiny human goes to preschool soon

Re: Word count goal

[gywomod]

500K is our highest pledge goal. You can see all the pledges we offer on our website. (Here's a tip: the more people who sign up and hit higher pledges, the more likely we are to eventually offer higher pledge goals.)

If you're looking for an active community, this is a great one. There's somewhere between 7 and 12 discussion posts every month, not including challenges and community announcements.

[craterdweller]

Been a while - but thinking of giving this another go ... I think I'm much more of a word count person - as I tend to write in spurts and will be moving sometime in Jan/Feb. There's usually an exchange or challenge that catches my eye in the beginning of the year - which would give me enough words to get me past the hump of the inevitable missing days that the move will cause. And then there's the NaNos and Camp Nanos. I'm thinking maybe the 75K pledge or should I go for the 150K? I'd love to complete the basic pledge, but trying to be realistic with the upcoming move ...

[theemdash]

If you're comfortable completing the 50K during November and are planning to participate in both Camp NaNos, it sounds like 75K will be possible with ease. The last time you pledged 150K was in 2016 and you surpassed the 50% mark, so 75K looks fairly achievable for you.

Will knowing you'll hit your pledge help motivate you to stay on task? If so, make your life easy and go for 75K!

If you feel like you need more motivation to stay on track all year, 150K is still within reach—even if you'd have to push a little more.

[meridian_rose]

I was very behind but caught up later this year. I'm nearly at 114k out of 150k and hope to get in a bit more this week, so I've signed up for 150k again for 2020. I'd like to make 120k but given I was at one point over 50k behind, 115k would still be pretty damn good :)

[theemdash]

That's AMAZING progress. Yeah, nailing 115K is great.