Choosing Your GYWO 2023 Pledge

[gywomod]

With GYWO 2023 Pledges opening next week, which pledge to choose 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 2023 will be released the week of Dec 12.

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 you want to emphasize the habit of your writing life—encouraging you to sit down to write more often—a Habit Pledge is built to support that. 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 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 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. 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 most challenging 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've participated previously and 120 Days was too easy, but 240 Days was too hard, try the 180 Day Pledge to land right in between!
• If you haven’t tried writing daily before but want to, we recommend the 180 Day Pledge as a way to ease into a semi-daily writing habit before tackling a more challenging 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 2022.
• 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 2022.
• There are no penalties for not meeting your pledge, so don’t be afraid to choose a pledge 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 50,000 words or more above your 2022 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, 350K, 500K, or 1M

Step Back on Word Counts

• If you wrote 50,000 words below your 2022 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 non-writing projects, 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 (which we all know, thanks), 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, 150K, 500K, or 1M.

Keep Your Word Count Consistent

• If you're going to hit your 2022 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 2022 pledge level works for you, let it work for you in 2023.
• If you came close to hitting your 2022 pledge level or it was a reasonable challenge to make it, this might be the right pledge level to try again in 2023.

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.

And if all else fails, you can do what some of our current GYWO members have suggested and pick your pledge based on the associated pledge color. 😉

Habit Pledges—120 Days (Greenhorn), 180 Days (Apprentice), 240 Days (Journeyman), and 350 Days (Master)
Word Count Pledges—75K (Light), 150K (Modest), 200K (Basic), 250K (Moderate), 300K (Difficult), 350K (Herculean), 500K (Outrageous), and 1M (Ludicrous)

As a reminder, your GYWO pledge is locked in for the full year.
You cannot change pledges mid-year.
If you hit your goal early, you're still part of the same pledge group.
So choose a goal to sustain you ALL year.


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 2023. Come back next week and follow the instructions in the Pledges & Requirements post to make a pledge for 2023.

Comments

[theemdash]

Last year I optimistically pledged 250K, which I've hit in the past, but many, MANY real-life obstructions have prevented that goal. Several of those challenges will carry into 2023, though I expect most of them to be resolved in the first quarter of the year. Even so, after this past year, I've decided I'd rather aim a little lower and be comfortable if I wind up surpassing my pledge.

That said,
I have an in-progress fanfic that should yield about 20K words.
I'm planning to start drafting a novel, so roughly 80K words.
Regular blogging + a few additional projects should account for about 50K words.
Which leaves me with 50K remaining, which isn't that much considering I also write posts for GYWO, other fanfic, and various other things. (There's a few revision projects slated for 2023.)

So, I'm feeling confident about 200K for 2023 (even though I think I'll hit that goal some time in October or November.)

[tiny_ninja]

I love how you're always able to quantify how much you're going to write on different projects to figure out your goals. ♥

[lady_with_red]

I hit my 350K goal in late Nov. Everything this month is gravy. And that's with two 'bad' months'. And I've written about 300 days so far.

I guess I'll got with the same pledge for next year because it gives me enough room for things to go wrong but I still made it early.

Thanks everyone, it's been a ride.

[tiny_ninja]

Even if things go wrong, you still know you have the ability to make your goal, which can be reassuring later in the year. Congrats on hitting your 2022 goals! ♥

[iluvroadrunner6]

I had pledge 300k this year, but then I bought a house and had a big vacation and I lost six months of writing consistently because of those things. So I'm going to try again next year with the same and hopefully be able to hit it.

[tiny_ninja]

It's so much work to buy a house, never mind the moving bit afterward. I also hope you enjoyed your vacation - that's so needed these days! I hope writing time is in abundance for you next year, you can do it!

[green]

Depression and anxiety kicked my ass this year, and my 250k pledge wasn't even close to being met. I might not even hit 150k this year. Woe. But I'm gonna go back to Basic, I think.

[theemdash]

Same here! 200K for 2023 despite my heart belonging to 250K.

[celli]

I don't write very many words per session - I've only written above 75K once before this year - so I think I'm definitely better off with a habit pledge instead of word count. Since I started doing habit pledges with GYWO, I've aimed for 120 days every year, but only succeeded once before.

I've actually written every day this year but I have never written this much/this often before! So do I think I can keep this up for another year? *makes very dubious face* Also, will upping the goal challenge me or scare me? *makes another dubious face*

Having said all that...I think I might bump up to 180. I think.

[theemdash]

If you think this pattern might hold, I think 180 is a pretty safe way to up it. Not too much more of a commitment, but it might also help push you to dig in and keep going.

You can do it!!

[muscle_wizard]

So I'm stubborn and didn't consider what the full impact of moving and getting a new job this year would do to my writing drive lol. I pledged 250k and will probably squeak out around 130k if I'm lucky. I'm planning on going for 150k next year while life stabilizes and I keep working on my health.

The words I wrote this year I really enjoyed! But I learned I needed a break in order to find that joy again, so I took several steps away in between projects. Writing became one of my few forms of escapism this year and I think I put too much on it, so the break(s) were well needed. I figured out what projects I really want to accomplish next year and am going to continue balancing it out with other hobbies.

Gonna start counting rp words next year. I wanted to challenge myself this year by only counting solo work but honestly that's not important to me anymore and feels more detrimental for my future enthusiasm than anything.

So! 150k, rp allowed is what I'm looking at.

[tiny_ninja]

Sometimes, even if you didn't meet your goal, learning when it's too much and when you need to step away is a huge success. Shooting for a lower goal so you can also focus on other things sounds like a great plan. It's part of why I take a lower habit pledge, as a reminder that, yes, rest is also necessary and valid.

[ranalore]

I bumped up to 180 from 120 days this year, and didn't even manage 100 due to health issues and struggles left over from unexpectedly moving cross-country at the end of last year. Even so, I think I'm going to aim for 180 days again next year, because "downgrading" to 120 and "greenhorn" status just feels discouraging.

[theemdash]

Not feeling discouraged by your pledge is key. Do what you need to do to keep yourself motivated. Crossing my fingers for you to have a better 2023!

[prettysophist]

This will (hopefully 🤞🍀) be my second year in a row meeting a 240 day habit pledge.

I had initially thought that my choices were between pledging 240 days again or switching to a low word count pledge, but after a lot of flip-flopping and thought about what makes my brain do the writing, I've decided that 240 days will feel too unchallenging now I know I can do it consistently, and a word count pledge won't give me the structure I need to keep up a consistent writing habits so I'm going to try for 350 days! It's a big jump up, and I'm not confident of reaching it, but I think I will achieve more aiming high and falling short than coasting along safely.

[tiny_ninja]

Good luck on completing your Master pledge next year! I hope it's just the encouragement you need to continue your writing habits. ♥

[meridian_rose]

This is really good thought provoking advice. My concern with the habit pledge was getting so far behind I'd never catch up, but I enjoyed the habit pledge and found it less stressful overall. I picked 180 days and was couple of days behind, then 29 out of 30 days for NaNoWriMo let me finish early. I don't often do NaNo though so I think I'm sticking with 180 days, which seems reasonable to me.
I love how editing for 20 minutes counts for that pledge because writing the words is vital but editing and re-editing is so important to the finished piece and things like outlining can be so useful.
I also like how the spreadsheet, my very favourite thing about GYWO because of how it lets me track my progress, also lets me record words, so I've got an overall sense of how many words I've written this year and as I'm counting habit but not (officially) words I record outlining and other notes and things as words where I wouldn't feel right doing so for the wordcount pledge :)
Thank you so much for this community, it's a tremendous resource.

[tiny_ninja]

Thank you so much for being here!! ♥

I'm also on a habit pledge so I can track the time I spend editing as well as new words created, and I also use the GYWO tracker to count my words as well. I hope the 180 pledge suits you next year as well - you can do it!

[nerakrose]

I have done GYWO since 2012 so I know that every year is different and that I can have all sorts of grand plans at the start of a year that don't work out due to...well, any number of possible things. I can't remember honestly but I think the only year I did complete my pledge was 2018 (240D habit pledge) because I was writing a big bang fic that year and was solidly writing almost every day. I don't think that kind of output is realistic for me at this time as I just have too much going on, but I love the idea of the 120D pledge because I do usually have weekends free to be creative.

The past few years I have been taking it easy writing wise and signed up for the 120D habit pledge knowing I wouldn't complete it simply because I wasn't even going to TRY. I've been down-prioritising writing for so long that it feels a little like a miracle when I do write. and when I do write I'm immensely aware of how little time I have to do it so I write a lot in short bursts - a 5k fanfic in two-three days, that sort of thing - which is nice and validating in the sense that it proves to me that I'm still capable of stringing together a narrative at the drop of a hat even if I haven't been exercising the writing muscles on a regular basis for a long time.

I think maybe in 2023 I want to try again. actually try. Build a real habit again.

I'm not sure how that's going to work out for me because I've also joined a D&D campaign (for the first time in my life so steep learning curve etc.) so that's a time commitment I'm now going to have 1-2 a month in 2023 that I haven't had before and I can see it end up being creatively draining (in the sense that I won't have much left over for writing as I usually can't focus on more than one storytelling project at a time) but I can also see it becoming a source of inspiration and *more* creativity, so... who knows?

I want to try to timetable my creative projects for 2023 to give myself a bit more structure and create more space for them all to exist. I've never done that before (I'm so mood-driven it's probably not healthy) so I'm curious to see how it'll work out. D&D will be Mondays, so that leaves weekends free, and if I timetable writing for weekends the 120D pledge could work out to completion. I have some novel wips I've been chipping away at ineffectually for...years...so this could be the plot twist I need to get back into them. I'm thinking I could use Saturdays to work on Novel Wip #1 and Sundays for Novel Wip #2 and then see which one winds up taking over my brain at which point I'll switch to work on that one both weekend days until it's completed. I'm starting it now (well, as soon as I've finished my Yuletide assignment) instead of waiting for January because I also know if I assign it 'wait until January' status in my brain it's less likely to happen at all because time is fake and I don't want to accidentally put these on hold forever.

so...with that in mind this lovely Saturday morning...I'm off to work on my yuletide assignment and then sketch out a plan.

[theemdash]

I also know if I assign it 'wait until January' status in my brain it's less likely to happen at all because time is fake and I don't want to accidentally put these on hold forever.

Saaaaaaaaame. This is why I've decided the "start new NaNo novel on Nov 1" rule really doesn't work for me and I will never be an Old School Wrimo.

But speaking to your GYWO record...

You are correct that 2018 was your golden year, but you got to 72% of 120D in 2021, so that's nothing to sneeze at!

Another thing to draw your attention to is that you are welcome to count writing you do for role play, if that will help your creative goals. We list it under the Word Count Pledges, but it would apply for Habit Pledges, if you wish it to.

Here's the verbiage from the GYWO website:

You’re welcome to count the words you write in a roleplaying game, but if you’re counting it, please consider how roleplaying fits into your writing life.

[linaewen]

The last two years I have beat my pledge of 200K by October or November, so I think it is time to up the challenge to the next level!

[tiny_ninja]

You can do it! It's a great time to challenge yourself to hit that 250k! ♥

[thissugarcane]

This year I squeaked in to 200k, while I only pledged 150, but the vast majority of that writing happened before May... and all of that creative drive is still pretty low / gone. So I think I'll be sticking with 150k given life is likely to blow up next year -- and while I'd like to try a habit pledge, I know that once I'm in the red? I lose the will to write. For me, the best motivation is being ahead.

[tiny_ninja]

Knowing what motivates you is part of picking the right pledge for you. I also get anxious when I'm behind, so knowing I have a goal I can reach is reassuring. May next year's writing continue throughout the whole year for you!

[chelseagirl]

I had to drop last year because too many life and job things were getting in the way of my writing and reminding myself I'd failed every month was stressful. I'm going to sign up for a 120 habit pledge to ease back in. But, as I said last year and will say again,"Greenhorn" sets my teeth on edge. I have a novel out (small press, but a novel). Oh well -- I guess motivation to kick ass and feel comfortable going up a level next year.

[tiny_ninja]

Easing in with the 120 day pledge sounds like a great idea. I hope it goes smoothly for you!

[fadedwings]

This is my second year in a row doing the 350-day pledge. I made it last year and am on track to make it again this year (I've written every day this year, so far). I like this pledge level. I've tried the pledge levels with fewer days and they don't work for me - I need to aim for daily writing because it seems if I give myself too many days off my brain starts telling me I don't need to write anymore. Also the less I write the worse my mental health is. So the daily or near-daily writing seems to work best for me now, so I will definitely go that route again for 2023.

I did toy briefly with the idea of a word count pledge - maybe the 500k, as that would feel like a challenge but doable as I've written a little over 400k this year, but I like the flexibility of not worrying about word count so much. A couple of times during the year I get overwhelmed with counting words (usually once in the summer and at the end of the year) and with a habit pledge I can not count words for a little while and just keep writing. Now, if the 500k pledge color was purple instead of orange, I might be a little more tempted ;)

This year has been a good writing year despite a lot of depression and anxiety. Now that I have a habit of writing daily it's easier to write even during my lows. This year I wrote two of my longest fics ever (14k & 21k) which I'm pretty proud of as my previous longest fic was 8k. And in October I wrote (and edited and posted) 26 fics (thanks to fictober and a couple of exchanges). A lot of them were drabbles but it was still impressive, I think.

[theemdash]

I was writing daily before the Habit Pledges were created, but if I hadn't been, I think those daily pledges would have been a real boost to get me to where I am now. Making plans around your writing life that will best support you is the best way to go.

Now, if the 500k pledge color was purple instead of orange, I might be a little more tempted ;)

LOL! I love how much everyone's gotten into the colors.

[runicmagitek]

Me: I might try to take it easy on 2023 for writing and drop down to 180 days habit pledge.

Also me: ...ok but the blue for 350 days is tempting 👀


On that note, I'm really happy the habit pledges exist. The last time I did a word count pledge, it was really stressful trying to balance writing with editing (I ended up with SOOOO many first drafts and none of them edited just for the sake of chugging along 🥲). That said, I wrote almost... uh... 500k words this year without trying so... yeah. I'd like a break lolsob 🫠

[racheloddment]

It's so funny to me that people are considering higher goals because of the colors. I also am a very big fan of the habit pledges. 500k is wild, congrats!!

[wickedlittletown]

I had fantastic start into the writing year 2022 and therefore changed pledge in the first week of January.
If I remember it correctly I've met my pledge goal in June or July.

Sure, this year had a few bad months and the current month is so weird and draining, despite me technically having a lot of time at hands but I'm having a mental down and I can barely motivate myself to turn on the Laptop.
But I'm sure it will be better in the next days as I suspect that one or two unsolved things are preventing me from doing stuff.

I guess, despite me doing good and I'm over 200K by now, I will still go with the 150K pledge for next year again. I still want a little challenge for myself and it's a do-able goal, as I try to write at least 10K per month.


As for the colors: I really like the one for the 150K pledge and as tempting as the nice blue is, I will keep the purple. I love blue but I would be mad at myself for not reaching my goal at the end of the year.

[glitteryv]

Even though I've participated before, I think this will be the first time I'll meet my pledge (even though I'm pretty much writing every day this month in order to do so.) For a second there, I did considered doing the 180D pledge for 2023, but a larger part of me finds that amount hella intimidating. IDK, it's possible that my 'winning' this year's GYWO pledge feels like something of a fluke.

And, in the end, that's okay? I don't mind keeping steady with the same habit pledge level (feeling moderately confident that I'll achieve it next year too) vs. aiming a smidgen higher and failing spectacularly.

* FWIW, this is the first year when I've felt like I'm back into writing mode after a v., v. long writing slump. So, for once, I'm being more skittish abt being ambitious vis a vis next year's writing.

[fannishenergy]

I'm really excited to finally be remembering about GYWO before pledging has closed as this will be my first year participating.

I had intended to go for a word goal but I think a habit pledge is what I need right now. 2022 has been a really crap year for me during which I barely wrote anything. Also a habit pledge gives me more flexibility in what I write so I'd really like to handwrite in my journal more, start a process journal for my art practice and do some fandom liveblogging/meta.

I'll be doing the suggested 180 days and attempt to build an actual habit out of it. Tempted to push it to 240 days but that's a lot less room for error.

[racheloddment]

oooooo yay, welcome!! Glad to have you here! It sounds like a habit pledge will work best for your goals. I'm setting mine as 180 days too. Good luck!

[nev_rbett_r]

After a long and difficult decision process I’ll be signing up for the first time with the (pink) Apprentice habit pledge!

As tempting as the nice (green) Greenhorn color is, I think I want to build more of a habit than weekend writing. Fingers crossed that gywo will help me carve out the evening time! Personally, I’m an incredibly slow writer so this seems semi-attainable. Maybe I’ll be more productive than I anticipate!

Additional goal: Do some gift fics and don’t be so worried about writing a masterpiece every time.

[racheloddment]

Also doing Apprentice here, high five! On pace is about 15 days per month, so I like to think about it as writing every other day, and there's definitely some wiggle room for catching up. Good luck!

[oldestcharm]

These past two years have kind of ruined writing for me because I keep obsessing over the word count and reaching higher and higher until I'm just bummed out and hate everything I write. I'm kind of thinking that now that I have a much busier life and also, seeing as I'll be writing a lot of scripts, I should start from the beginning and go with 75k. Maybe it will bring back my enjoyment.

[theemdash]

I have been there!! I've churned out words to churn out words, not really paying attention to what I was writing and feeling burn out because of it. Once I figured out the problem and started focusing on writing what I cared about instead of writing to THE GOAL, things got better.

Good for you figuring out the higher word counts aren't working for you right now and it's time to step back. "Enjoy writing again" sounds like a good side goal for 2023, too.

[misslucyjane]

I took the last few years off because Life got a little too much, but I've decided to pursue writing full-time and it felt like time to come back.

So, hello again!

[fadedwings]

I usually do track words too and often do a word count goal for inkingitout but it felt sort of anti-climactic to me this year when I met my word count goal in June or something ;) I know that's a good thing, but I ended up writing more than double my 200k word goal for that comm. I guess maybe I just needed a higher goal? I signed up for 500k for 2023 for that comm and 350-day habit goal for this one.