Fun with writing stats

[sholio]

Because I was curious and I've been keeping detailed enough stats since 2015 to determine this kind of thing (actually since 2009, but it was when the Zoe biz started in early 2015 that I got very consistent about writing; before that it was influenced by a lot of other factors), I decided to tally and sort my monthly stats and see what my best writing months are.


Leaving off the fanfic, and also 2015 since it escalates drastically in the middle due to getting deeply involved in the Zoe project, what I came up with is more or less what I expected based on my anecdotal impressions of how and when I write. Most to least productive months, at least in terms of word count, 2016-2021:

January
March
October
February
April
August
November
May
September
July
December
June

January is way out alone in front, with a very significant separation between it and the next closest months, which tracks with my general impression that I tend to launch the new year with a lot of enthusiasm. March is next, which also tracks - one thing I've noticed increasingly over the past few years is how my drive goes through the roof in March due to the returning daylight. (I can't believe it took me as long as it did to realize how daylight-sensitive I am.)

Then the middle months are all relatively similar, with another sharp drop-off to the bottom five. There's the summer triad (May-June-July), reflecting my tendency to be outside instead of inside, especially when the weather is first warming up in May and June, as well as frequently planning summer travel. December is another non-surprise; I know my writing goes off a cliff in December due to holidays and also the inverse of the January effect - the last month of the year is a more contemplative, resting time for me.

The one surprise is September being near the bottom of the pack, and especially because August and October are much better. I don't know - I could see it as a swing back toward writing in August after the summer slump, followed by a rest in September, and then charging back in October and November.

The data also supports my general impression that my writing goes in boom-and-bust cycles, and also that it's typically front-loaded towards the early months in the year, falling off a bit in the back half. (There are four first-half-of-year months in the top 6, and only two back-half.)


Possibly of interest to no one but me, but I like looking at this kind of thing! It's fun to poke at how my creative brain works.

Comments

[inky_magpie]

I like looking at other people's writerly stats :) I haven't been writing consistently, long enough to have any sort of record myself even though I've been writing on and off for most of my life.

I'm hoping to be a little more consistent because I want to get my current project to at least a second complete draft, which would be a first for me.

[sophia_sol]

Thanks for sharing, it really is interesting to see how much the rhythm of the year is reflected in one's work! I'm kind of curious now to do a similar analysis, but of how many books I read in different months. I know January's often a slow reading month for me, but I don't know if there are any other patterns!

[jenett]

I am very interested! I find the patterns really fascinating.

[oracne]

Fascinating!

[ellenmillion]

I love looking at patterns like this! I glanced at my spreadsheet, and don't have any striking seasonal trends like you do - my counts definitely took a big hit (by about half) when the pandemic stopped school and summer camps, but mostly I slog along at a steady pace. Except December, which does appear to be a regular stinker, probably because of the holidays!

[scioscribe]

This is really fascinating! I need to start keeping a monthly wordcount spreadsheet of my own.

[hogwartstoalexandria]

Always love looking at these!

My tracking used to be very precise and then I got lazy and now it's mostly a matter of keeping track of my trackers (lol) on the nano site.

Stats are so cool! And I always have grand ideas for the year and yet January is often a terrible months for me 😂 haven't checked but I feel pretty confident in saying April has always been my best month (not this year though, but I'm starting self-pub also! And that's taking a toll on my fannish stuff/takes time to figure out a rhythm), what with camp Nano somehow working way better for me than Actual nano. Also very much in the "summer ew" camp of writing.

Thank you for sharing!

[silverflight8]

The darkness of winter gets to me and I'm at a middle latitude. I don't know if I never noticed as a kid but I definitely notice it now. Maybe because school gets out earlier than work does.

[maplemood]

This is so cool--I suspect that I'm also a boom-and-bust cycle type of writer, but I haven't actually collected the stats to prove it! I love reading about other writers' processes and patterns--this was a lot of fun!