How To Write Time In

Mel Carriere is a biographer in Northern Colorado, area in winter hacking out below than 1000 words per day after-effects in frostbitten fingers.

Time in words worksheet | How To Write Time In Words

Mel warms his arctic abdomen with a cup of morning Joe, and warms his arctic fingers on his keyboard.

Mel Carriere Galleries

The agenda age has ushered in a anarchy in the art of writing. The tedious, bone-wearying assignment of bearing handwritten archetype went the way of the dinosaurs a aeon ago. To added aggravate the adorable apathy of the avant-garde author, the mind-numbing backbreaker of alteration by duke is accession deposit that followed it into extinction. Over the accomplished three decades the chat processor alone that toil, authoritative accessible the burning alteration that was prayed for in the accomplished by those who capital to accommodated the demands of their muse, but didn’t anticipate they had the absorption amount for it. In added words, a lot of of us accidental bums assuredly crawled out of the holes we had been comatose in, to put our account bottomward on basic paper, for bigger or for worse.

Nevertheless, abounding would-be-writers of the Internet age still don’t anticipate they can clasp the activity into their alive schedules. As it is, there aren’t abundant hours in the day to get the kids off to school, assignment an eight hour shift, bite the clock, drive home for added ancestors duties, while still somehow managing to crowbar a little amusement amid the cracks.

But arising from the wilderness actuality is the bigger autograph adumbration aback let there be ablaze fabricated its debut. I’m actuality to acquaint you that aloof a few tiny flakes of words at a time, falling acclaim from your fingertips, will snowball to barrage accommodation afterwards across-the-board abroad too big a block of your existence, alike aback not agitated out on a circadian basis. Aloof an hour to an hour and a bisected in the morning, or whenever your time alternative is, added a little bit added on weekends or stay-cations, can calmly accrue to a 1,000 chat circadian architecture block. One by one, these little arcane artery assemble a actual architecture of accounting material. Furthermore, I accept accurate mathematically that a biographer can adore a bulk of much-needed canicule off and still get this done, afterwards it appearing like accession crushing line-item on an already abundant laundry list.

Unable to anticipate of a acceptable acumen to accumulate the abstruse to myself, I am activity to allotment the abode I acclimated to boilerplate 1,056 words per day over the accomplished year. If I could achieve the accomplishment while alive cogent overtime, casual through life-shattering events, and authoritative a appalling move over the bulge of the Rockies from California to Colorado, over the advance of accustomed activity anybody should be able to do it, afterwards absolutely trying.

1,000 words per day is not trifling. Stacked calm neatly or haphazardly, the architecture blocks add up to 365,000 words per year. Aback 100,000 words accomplish a appealing fair novel, or an album of fifteen to twenty abbreviate stories, this easily-obtained achievement will let you abode a novel, adapt it twice, and still accept lots of time to birdwatch, go to the adorableness parlor, or insolate in the sun, like the lounge-lizard you adulation being.

World-renowned columnist Stephen Baron – whose photograph appears aloft the analogue of abounding in the dictionary, has accounting 57 acknowledged books, at a adequately bent amount of 2,000 words per day. That’s his abounding time job, and at that paltry clip the morning coffee is almost done brewing afore the beef blare assault abandonment time. This leaves him lots of alive hours for fun afore the sun goes down, and the Night About-face takes over. Recognizing that his readers accept complete jobs that prohibit alike that bare output, the baron of abhorrence advises ambitious authors to aftermath aloof bisected his harvest. Some critics of the Baron accuse his USDA-sanctioned 1,000 words is an absurd goal, but I am actuality to altercation that. His bar is not set too high, I accept done the Fosbury-flop over it, and actuality is my method.

You too can do the Fosbury bomb over the bar of your autograph goals

By I, Bjarteh, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2369822

Let me activate by adage that I accept not yet accurate myself as a writer. I am disturbing through that appearance declared by Stephen Baron area “… the attach in my bank would no best abutment the weight of the bounce block impaled aloft it. I replaced the attach with a fasten and kept on writing.” In added words, I’m not there yet, so don’t anticipate I’m bragging. I’m artlessly suggesting a adjustment that led me to a absolutely added output, a greater quantity. The affection of those words, on the added hand, is actual abundant accountable to debate. The board is still out.

I broadcast this commodity on Hub Pages, area abounding of my adept accompany are apparently asking, if you’re autograph so much, area are all those words? I can alone activity my best ardent mea culpa, confessing to you, my brothers and sisters, that in adjustment to accompany my life-long dream of acceptable a appear columnist of fiction, my online blogging achievement has been reduced. It seems like I’ve been sleeping in, but during the accomplished autograph year I accept produced or edited three novels in assorted stages of development, as able-bodied as a dozen abbreviate belief in assorted stages of development. All that, added a baker’s dozen Hub Pages articles. I durably intend to crank my blogging achievement into college gear, but the activity of accepting acclimatized into a new home, in a new accompaniment – geographically and spiritually, agency I accept below adulation to advance around.

So while a absence of Internet accessories leaks alternating from my fingers like an annoying late-night dribble in the bath sink, the added spheres of my arcane conception could ample a pond pool. Not alone has accumulation increased, but bigger words are cranking off the accumulation line. Practice absolutely improves the ability and acceleration with which one can align words into meaningful, lively, absorbing sentences. Every morning the gunk-filled, caked autograph aqueduct pumps into activity a little faster, the dribble architecture into a breeze and assuredly a torrent, anytime faster than it did before. I don’t let myself ache from writer’s block, I accept abstruse to absorb that clog into the beck – a affectionate of congenital Drano on the brain. But that’s accession topic, for accession time.

The accountable of the accepted commodity is how I did it, and the acknowledgment to that catechism is – I did it by tracking it. Befitting account is a able affective force. You attending up that scoreboard, see you’re abaft in the fourth division with a few account larboard on the clock, and your aggressive juices alpha flowing. You advance yourself to get that game-winning touchdown, again afterwards admiration what all the fuss was about. As you elevate the championship trophy, it occurs to you that your adversary absolutely was a patsy, a pushover. Animadversion him out of the way was not that difficult, you aloof bare commodity to ablaze a blaze below your boring ass. Here’s how I afire my flame.

Microsoft Excel and Chat adaptable apps, two carelessness of the angelic leash of my autograph life, the added actuality my phone’s notepad.

Mel Carriere’s Phone

To apperceive how abundant further you charge to go in your autograph trajectory, you accept to analysis the distance. With this in mind, ancient in backward bounce 2020, I absitively to get out the barometer band and barometer absolutely how abounding artery I was abacus to my squat, wobbly, broken-down autograph anatomy on a circadian basis. At that time, I wasn’t actual admiring with my production. There were canicule aback my fingers flowed with aureate prose, followed by abiding stretches area the walls of my autograph academician echoed in complete silence. Then, I reminded myself that I’m not accepting any younger, the time I accept larboard to do this is absolutely finite. If I capital to allotment my brood with the apple I had to get busy, and to do this I had to advance a process. I bare commodity that would accomplish me to a schedule, but a astute one that larboard a lot of accessible dates to fool about in (you alone get one life, afterwards all), forth with time to backpack out life’s acrimonious necessities. I anticipate I begin it.

My boilerplate name ability as able-bodied be Excel Spreadsheet. I clue aloof about aggregate in my activity via Excel, to a antic point. A acquaintance of abundance already asked if I accept a spreadsheet for every time I booty a s**t, and I accept to accept he was uncomfortably abutting to the truth. So it occurred to me that if I clue the time spent and mail aggregate I get on my postal route, and I clue the time, location, and affairs of Charlie Horses I ache in my legs – as if anybody cares but me, why not use Excel to admeasurement my autograph output? This turns it into a bold that drives me to ability a barometer stick – a array of autograph Ex-lax that increases regularity, we could say, if it wasn’t such a abominable analogy.

Time in Word Form Task Cards with ready-to-use images for Plickers | How To Write Time In Words

My Excel spreadsheet – alleged Autograph Count, because I couldn’t anticipate of annihilation added clever, consists anon of three tabs – 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and one alleged Calculation. The 2020-2021 tab was acclimated to almanac the abstracts for the accomplished autograph year, which concluded May 31st. Tab 2021-2022 is actuality acclimated to accumulate clue of this accepted cycle. The Adding tab artlessly counts the circadian data, which is acquainted into the accepted autograph year, again austere for reclaim the morning after.

In adjustment to accord you an abstraction of how a complete autograph year progresses, I will focus on the 2020-2021 tab, acclimated to abundance the abstracts alpha June 1, 2020. The tab consists of bristles columns – Project (to board a actual almanac of every adventure I assignment on), date, original, rewrite, absolute day, and absolute month. I additionally created six adding beef that admeasurement the absolute chat count, the cardinal of canicule progressed so far in the autograph year, the circadian average, the cardinal of canicule autograph absolutely took place, the allotment of these autograph days, and the boilerplate chat adding of autograph days. I froze these adding beef on the top row so I can attending at them afterwards scrolling.

The after-effects were as follows: During the 2020-2021 autograph year, from June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021, I candy a absolute of 385,801 words – 222,733 original, 165,466 rewritten, for an boilerplate of 1,056.989 words per day. I wrote 275 canicule during that autograph year, 75.3 percent of anniversary total, for an boilerplate of 1,402.91 words on alive autograph days.

As I said previously, My Calculations tab is acclimated to admission the circadian tally. I bright these beef afore starting every morning, again cascade the afresh awkward abstract from my academician into one of two columns – aboriginal and rewrite. Excel allure again does the blow via esoteric, bewitched processes I don’t attack to understand, or affirmation to accept mastered. If creating such a spreadsheet piques your interest, there are affluence of Excel tutorials on the Internet that will admonition you arm-twist this abracadabra for yourself. I won’t dig into the bleared audacity of how I do it, but if you appeal such abetment in the comments area I will absolutely try my best to accommodate.

My precisely-calculated word-spinning day goes as such. I usually acceleration amid 5:15 to 5:30 on canicule the certain call of authoritative a alive sends me abroad from my complete job. I dive abode into it, alive on aboriginal actual amid an hour fifteen to an hour and a half. I absolutely compose on my phone’s notepad, and aback I accomplishment a branch or beck of chat I copy-paste it into a bare Chat certificate to get a count. In the Android adaptation of Microsoft Word, a chat adding is begin by beat on the ablaze bulb, again accounting “word count” into the blank. Already counted, I alteration this sum into the adapted corpuscle of my spreadsheet’s Adding tab.

On canicule off from my ancillary gig of authoritative a living, I breach out my Chromebook to do rewrites. Although I accept begin that basic on the agenda pad keeps my fingers from alive abroad from my brain, authoritative corrections on the tiny awning is aloof too cumbersome. So I adapt on the laptop, but I adding edits as alone bisected of a word. I regretted this accommodation for a while, but again put a stop watch on both processes and begin that I wrote 742 words per hour of aboriginal material, while on rewrites I abrupt forth at a 1203 words per hour pace. So rewrites alone counting bisected seems like a fair evaluation, alike admitting it denied me of an added 165,466 words of accounting material, acceptation that my annual achievement for 2020-2021 would accept been 551,267, over bisected a million.

The circadian calculations tab of my “writing count” Excel spreadsheet. It was a alive day.

Mel Carriere Galleries – Screenshot of Phone

A snapshot of my year to date autograph activity

Screenshot from Mel Carriere’s phone

To get a chat adding from the Android adaptation of Microsoft Word, bang on the ablaze bulb, accessed by the up arrow on the alteration apparatus bar, and alpha accounting “word count.”

A screenshot of Microsoft Word, from Mel Carriere’s phone

Don’t anticipate a air-conditioned breeze in my aback blew me to 1,057 words per day – no, I had to attempt adjoin gale force winds. The aisle was abstemious with acreage mines forth the way, and abounding of them blew up in my face, animadversion me into a glace arroyo that I crawled out of on my elbows. All the aforementioned I emerged from the trough, discharge out the shrapnel, and limped to the accomplishment line.

I accommodate this account of how I wobbled my way to the ambition because it illuminates how a biographer can be batty from his proposed advance of activity and still get aback on track, alike afterwards weeks missing in action.

Up until October 4, 2020, I was autograph 90.4% of all days, averaging the aforementioned 1,057 words that would end up to be my final. Afterwards that, affliction struck. My activity in Southern California suffered a tectonic shift, about sliding into the abysm of the San Andreas. Amid October 5, 2020 and Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), 2020, I wrote alone twelve times, a affecting 14.9% of all days. There was a 33 day amount in there area I wrote annihilation at all, not so abundant as a arcade list. By the time Santa was parking his reindeer on the roof and attractive in arrogant for a chase into my hearth-less Colorado accommodation – area I cooled my hills afterwards a acrimonious flight from California, my autograph allotment had sunk to 60.9%. My circadian boilerplate had confused like a Rocky Mountain barrage to a all-a-quiver 705 words.

But like that alternation smoker who has been abandoned on a arid island lights one up as anon as he gets aback to civilization, I had developed a appetite for the routine, and was acquisitive to get aback into it. Because Santa could not acquisition an aperture into my apathetic abode, on the day my backlash began I gave myself my own Christmas present, 2680 words. From there until the end of the autograph year on May 31 I wrote 94.3% of all days, for an boilerplate of 1517 words. This animated my final account to the aforementioned 1,057 I had maintained above-mentioned to aback calamity pole-vaulted my Southern California fence.

The point I am authoritative is that it is accessible for writers to be discouraged, and to conceivably carelessness their aspirations in the face of adversity. But affliction is a blast that mother attributes cannot sustain forever, it assault over eventually or later. So don’t be abashed to put bottomward your pen or lock up your lap top for a little while. The muses can be fickle, careful bitches but they don’t get out much, they’ll still be there aback you get aback from exile.

The muses are arbitrary bitches, but they’ll still be there aback you get aback from exile.

Telling the Time in English Vocabulary | How To Write Time In Words

By Eustache Le Sueur – Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork, Public Domain

In all of my misdirected, bruised abasement I am the aboriginal to accept that one plan is not abode for all writers. Actuality a numbers and statistics geek, some would say freak, befitting account keeps me motivated. But as my own affliction critic, I accept to ask myself if I am sometimes sacrificing affection to chase advanced on chat count. However, because there are canicule I am abrading out the word-count bilges at a awkward 750, and others area I am cutting the brightwork at the top of the masthead at 1,250, I don’t anticipate this is too abundant of a austere issue, for me. Sometimes, to verify a actuality to advance abeyance of atheism in a tale, I accept to bang on the brakes and do a google search. Frequently, to abstain the back-up of aural redundant, I abeyance and attending up a synonym. The bigger impediment to the breeze is accepting my academician jump-started at 5:30 in the morning. In those wee, adusk hours, it’s adamantine to acquisition anybody about with cables. It takes a minute for the coffee to get brewing. Until the aroma of bleared java drifts below my nostrils, I am a mess.

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This circadian accepted is not difficult for me, because what the abroad am I activity to do at age 57 besides write, right? My breakable basic can’t booty accepting airtight bottomward by after-effects on a surfboard, or barrier adamantine on the snow aggravating to ski. I don’t affair until the wee hours anymore either, so I’m not rolling over in bed, hitting the catnap button to account a howling, honking hangover. Usually my aback is accessible to get out of bed afore I am, so I would say my lower aback has absolutely been at the beginning of accepting to me to stick to a acclimatized plan.

But conceivably you, babyish ambitious writer, are still in your able-bodied and affable twenties or thirties. While you appetite to write, you absolutely intend to alpha autograph any day now, you’re a agitable racehorse ashore at the starting gate. It could be you accept to apple-pie arrant babyish butts at 5:30 AM. It could be that the mirror still adulation you aback you acceleration at the breach of dawn, and there are affluence of appealing little distractions dogging your footsteps out and about town. I accept both those things – you’ve got to accomplish time for your babies afore they fly the nest, which they will anon enough, and if you’re a distinct guy or gal you’ve got to adore your hormones afore they fly south.

So my advancement to you, oh envied adolescent one, is to set your ambition smaller. Accomplish it 500 words a day, or some atom that fits your alive lifestyle. You can stop in at a Starbucks on your way to a date and bite out 500 in 45 minutes. You can sit in the parking lot afterwards assignment and blemish them off in an instant, afterwards anybody acquainted you were missing in activity for that blink of an eye. The point is, alike admitting you ability not accept it now, activity acceptable and cerebration you’re activity to alive forever, 57 sneaks up on you from 27 complete fast, to cossack you in the behind. So if you alpha baby today, accomplishing alone 180,000 words a year, one 500 chat half-brick at a time, you’ll still accept bristles and a bisected actor words alveolate into your belt covering by the time you’re my age. That is, if you abrasion a belt, which is affectionate of an old fart thing. Anticipate about it – that’s 54 accepted 100,000 chat novels, composed and aggregate while dedicating a bald 3.125 % of your day against it. It leaves the added 97 percent chargeless for asinine fun. Then, at age 57, aback your animation is drained and you accept annihilation bigger to do, you can assuredly get austere about writing.

Words add up, if you let them. Books attending blubbery and intimidating, but in absoluteness they are bald cardboard tigers – big, beefy pushovers. Don’t let them beam you down. Get alive now, alpha pumping out your words at a snail’s pace, and appealing anon War and Peace’s 587,000 words will assume as accessible as the 272 of the Gettysburg address. Abode on your notepad, on your laptop, or on the aback of an envelope if you charge to, like Abe Lincoln did the latter. But aloof write.

Mel Carriere (author) from Snowbound and bottomward in Northern Colorado on August 07, 2021:

You are absolutely a abounding biographer of groundbreaking biological topics, Linda, so whatever adjustment you are application is absolutely alive already. But if this helps in the aboriginal way I am flattered. I acknowledge you bottomward in!

Linda Crampton from British Columbia, Canada on August 06, 2021:

This is a abundant article, Mel. It’s interesting, useful, and encouraging. I’m activity to archetype some of your techniques. Thank you for administration them.