I started writing today. Not on anything I have already done or thought of or whatever. I just opened up a blank page and started typing. I think I stopped at about the fourth page or so, 1840 words. Not too bad.
But a year ago, last March, my total word count was 145,771. Currently my year count is just 109,066. So, like, can you see my frustration? True, a writer is not defined by his/her word count. But I am a visual person, I view that number as proof I did something. I don’t go to work each day and bring home a paycheck every other week. I don’t get to stamp ‘done’ on a form and file it away. My word count was/is my physical evidence. Editing, while just as much work (maybe more so!) as writing, does not result in any noticeable format that I can view and say ‘there!’. And editing is a bitch for word count junkies.