Some people are able to write 10,000 words a day. I’ve always thought that’s impressive, and I’m really happy they can reach a high word count. At the same time, I also think it’s fair to say that this goal is not for everyone. That’s okay.

Each writer sets different standards and, therefore, different goals.

A friend of mine committed herself to write for three hours at the end of her day. She didn’t count the words. She sat at her desk and started typing as much as she could in that time frame.

Ever since she shared that aspect of her discipline, I promised myself to imitate that action somehow. Nowadays, I still struggle to set a scheduled like that. Who wouldn’t? Life keeps us so busy with so many activities and responsibilities.

Whenever I discover the “secret to success” from a person I admire, it’s tempting to replicate the same method. Deep down inside, I’m hoping it can work for me, too. A few days ago, I came to the conclusion that I can’t assign three hours of my day to writing. I have a day job, and that makes it difficult. However, lunch breaks and commutes do help a lot.

They don’t sum three hours, but I make the most of that time. I do my best to compose my stories in my tablet.

So dear writer friend, it’s not always about the word count. It’s paying attention to the way your day unfolds to spot the spare time you have available to craft your stories. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a few minutes. Repeated efforts will bring results, no matter how small they seem to be at first.

This is how you do it: You sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. (Neil Gaiman)

Let’s keep writing.