Accountability and Writing

Accountability is important in writing. If you’re a procrastinator or have the habit of getting stuck whenever you have to look at a blank page, you can probably already understand the importance of having something to keep you on track and focused when you set out to right.

But it’s not just for the writers who have trouble writing. Even the most organized and efficient of us benefit from tracking our successes and explicitly challenging ourselves to keep learning, improving, and outperforming our previous attempts.

Accountability groups

Accountability groups vary in their intents and challenges. Some will encourage you to share your word count day to day or week to week, and others operate on sprints—with one person calling out a sprinting time and other members joining to keep up. What’s most effective varies by person and by project.

How do you find a good group?

It depends on what you want and where you want your group to be. Some writers meet over Facebook, and other challenges like NaNoWriMo and the now-defunct Book-in-A-Week host accountability groups on their own forums, often with fun games and casual discussion as well as more formal challenges.

Independent Accountability

Groups have a lot to offer, but is it possible to try out accountability on your own? Below is a set of activities that can help you push yourself to the next level without finding a group.

Where do you go for accountability? Do you track time or word count? Please share your thoughts in the comment section or click on the blue button below to join my Facebook group for self-published fiction writers.

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