Script Frenzy: Waging Page Wars, Speeding Through Word Sprints

Anyone who has ever done NaNoWriMo knows how much fun Word Wars can be. But what’s the Script Frenzy equivalent of a Word War if we are counting pages?

Some people still like to do word wars, even though we are counting pages for Script Frenzy.

Simply put, a word war i(sometimes called a word sprint) s a challenge to push yourself to write more words. You can do this yourself, with a group (such as at a write-in, on Twitter or the Script Frenzy forums) or with a single buddy.

I highly recommend word wars as they are a great way to force yourself to keep going when you really want to quit and the competition can make you really push yourself.

There are no rules when it comes to word wars so feel free to make up your own. Race to 1,000 words, see who writes more words in a given time period, or just see what can add a certain pre-set word count first. The point is just to increase your word count in a competitive way.

A page war operates under a similar principal, only you race until a pre-set page point instead of word count.

Here are two simple ideas to get your started.

How to do a simple solo word or page war:

• Get yourself a stop watch and set a goal (such as 1,000 words or 1 page). If you don’t have a stopwatch handy, note the exact time (to the minute) when you start.
• Start the stop watch and write until you meet the goal, stopping the watch when you finish. Log the time on the watch (or note the time if you weren’t using a watch).
• Keep a record of the time it took you to reach that goal.
• Now try to reach that same goal again, this time in less time.

How to word or page war with a buddy or group:

• Determine a goal (such as 1,000 words or 1 page) to add to your existing word count. (This is important because it doesn’t exclude anyone who is behind. If Billy has 2,000, he writes to 3,000. If Sally only has 500, she writes to 1,500.)
• With a count of Ready, Set, Go! everyone in the group starts to write.
• Whoever reaches the pre-set point first indicates as such. (This is most fun if you have to indicate you won with a bell, air horn or other such obnoxious noisemaker kept in the center of the room so it becomes more fun to triumphantly sound your victory. For online buddies, a celebratory IM or tweet works as well.)
• No prize is needed, bragging rights are usually award enough.

Are you a word warrior or a page prince? Please share your ideas and experiences below. Above are just two ideas. How do you prefer to do it?