NYC Midnight : Creative Writing & Screenwriting Homepage
Forum Home Forum Home > GENERAL DISCUSSION > Creative Writing Corner
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Word Count
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Word Count

 Post Reply Post Reply
Author
Message
cdfys2 View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Newbie
NYC Midnight Newbie


Joined: 30 Nov 2022
Location: Texas
Status: Offline
Points: 39
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cdfys2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Word Count
    Posted: 04 Dec 2022 at 8:46pm
How nervous do you get if your word count is exactly 500? (The limit for this round.) I actually cut out a few words because even though the numbers on the screen don't lie, they can be manipulated a bit. Using an em dash or a hyphen cuts out a word and I don't know if that factors in. So I cut mine down from a perfect 500 to 496 just to not take the chance. Was I overthinking it?
Back to Top
Suave View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Black Belt
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Avatar

Joined: 25 Jan 2015
Location: Thailand
Status: Offline
Points: 25027
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Suave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Dec 2022 at 8:57pm

Haha, when you end up using the words you just saved, then you're over thinking it.
Back to Top
Patagonia View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Black Belt
NYC Midnight Black Belt
Avatar

Joined: 14 Apr 2021
Location: Virginia
Status: Offline
Points: 1795
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Patagonia Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Dec 2022 at 9:17pm
Originally posted by cdfys2 cdfys2 wrote:

How nervous do you get if your word count is exactly 500? (The limit for this round.) I actually cut out a few words because even though the numbers on the screen don't lie, they can be manipulated a bit. Using an em dash or a hyphen cuts out a word and I don't know if that factors in. So I cut mine down from a perfect 500 to 496 just to not take the chance. Was I overthinking it?

I get a little nervous when I'm exactly at the limit, but I've done the 100 word challenge a couple of times, and you need EVERY word for those. The word count in MS Word seems to work well. And your story won't be DQ'd for being at 501 or 502 words, it'll just get some points deducted. 
Back to Top
firstofficerjoni2 View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Addict
NYC Midnight Addict
Avatar

Joined: 05 Oct 2022
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 553
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote firstofficerjoni2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Dec 2022 at 10:07pm
I was coming here to ask the exact same question, haha. I finished my first draft at 532, cut a whole couplet, which got me down to 508, and from there had to swap out as many pairs of words as I could find two-syllabled single-word substitutes for. (As you can see, I'm not down from the hyphenating high yet.)

I got to 498 to be on the safe side. Then ran it through another counter that said 499. Oh well ConfusedLOL 
Back to Top
evgar View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Groupie
NYC Midnight Groupie
Avatar

Joined: 16 Jun 2022
Location: Leesburg, VA
Status: Offline
Points: 108
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote evgar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Dec 2022 at 11:40pm
I get nervous when it's the exact count too haha (mine was for this round!). But I saw somewhere that they check your word count in a couple different document types and go with the lowest number that shows. 
Back to Top
lousie View Drop Down
NYC Midnight Addict
NYC Midnight Addict
Avatar

Joined: 22 Nov 2020
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 1495
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lousie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Dec 2022 at 11:58pm
I didn't even think of that. I usually do exactly the word count with lots of debatable hyphens and it hasn't been a problem. This time was the same. 500. Generally as soon as I cut a word, I've already found a spot for it haha. I'm way too greedy.
Rhyming R2 2023
[URL=https://forums.nycmidnight.com/topic57213_post617020.html#617020[/URL]The Scent of a New Dawn
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down

Forum Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 12.05
Copyright ©2001-2022 Web Wiz Ltd.

This page was generated in 0.125 seconds.