Ever stop to wonder about HOW MUCH you've written on myLot?
By Denmarkguy
@Denmarkguy (1845)
United States
April 12, 2007 2:06pm CST
OK, so I was a bit bored, this morning... and got to thinking about writing and participating on sites like myLot.
It seems to me that it's a pretty good bet that most people who are regular contributors here-- beyond just a few weeks-- like to write. More than a few people here are actually writers for a living, from aspiring novelists to technical writers. But have you ever stopped and wondered just how MUCH this "myLot addiction" adds up?
Putting some rough estimates and a little math to work, the results were somewhat... enlightening, as well as "scary."
About 25 discussions, at an estimated average of 200 words each: 5000 words
About 1050 "counted" responses, very CONSERVATIVELY estimated at an average of 110 words each: 115,500 words
About 300 "not counted" responses; those made as comments back to people who replied to my own discussions, or where a multiple-post "dialogue" started on someone else's discussion; these estimated at a shorter 65 words each: 19,500 words
All in all, about 140,000 words.
"So what?" I hear a few voices ask.
I've always wanted to write novels, but never could find the time to just sit down and DO it. Here's the kicker: 140,000 words is by most publishing companies' standards what qualifies as an "epic" novel; in terms of what you have on your bookshelf, something with 500+ pages.
Ironic, huh?
Have YOU ever stopped to wonder just how MUCH you have written here on myLot? Especially if you are someone with thousands of posts to your credit?
A bit scary, isn't it?
11 people like this
25 responses
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
12 Apr 07
WOW, no kidding? To be honest, I have never stopped to wonder. Words are... free.
If I am paid on a per word basis (such as if I write for a magazine or do some editing/translation), then I would keep counting every word I make. :P
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Yes, indeed, most words are largely free...
2 people like this
@patgalca (18366)
• Orangeville, Ontario
12 Apr 07
I have thought about it in the sense that I am writing on here instead of working on my stories or poems. Tsk tsk. In reading your discussion I think I might be able to come up with a novel on message board discussions. I said, NOVEL. That means fiction. I would not be lifting stuff off of message boards but the premise for a novel is there. Currently there are young adult books being written in email and IM formats.
140,000 words, however, is not really considered an epic novel. My first novel is 125,000+ words, over 600 typed double-spaced pages, probably a 300 page novel when printed.
Having received two rejection letters (one for poems, one for a short story I thought was a sure thing) in the last two days, I should probably put more attention to my novel.
5 people like this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Thanks for responding!
The thing I found a bit eye-opening was that I have generally used the "excuse" that I seem to be "too ADD-ish" to sit down and write a novel... yet I have cranked out this much verbiage in just two months.
Word counts for publication seem to vary, depending on who you ask. I know agents and "experts" STRONGLY advise first-time authors against manuscripts in excess of 150,000 words. I have seen a rather wide spread on "words-per-page" estimates.
Hope the novel works out for you!
2 people like this
@texasclassygal (5305)
• United States
12 Apr 07
You know I never thought of that before, I am not a writer or an aspiring novelist of any kind, I am a stay at home Mom, part time worker, and yes I have reached over that 1,000 mark, just think I could have been writing a book, but I am not that good so it would have probably just sat on the self. I have more fun with the discussions here than attempting to write a novel. I will wait for someone to write it for me.
~ Take Care ~
4 people like this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I think different people write in different ways. For some people it is a lot easier to write 10 words 1000 times, than to write 100,000 words once. I sort of fit that category myself, being slightly ADD-ish.
@RobinJ (2501)
• Canada
12 Apr 07
When I read this I thought you have got to be kidding, but no you have facts and figures to back it up. I have written 676 I think, and I try to make it a good post with more than just a few, that was great lines. This is mind boggling as I used to be on Yahoo answers and my post on there were almost 7000. I got my computer and INTERNET last July and started on yahoo on July 12/06. I know I spend a lot of time on the computer but because I enjoy it so much it never bothers me, If I was told I had to produce 8000 posts with minimum 200 words in 9 months I would be in a frenzy. Thanks that is so cool. Regards Robin
4 people like this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
It's just a topic I have found interesting for a long time-- those of us who like to write seem to leave almost encyclopedic volumes of text behind. And what even puzzles me more are the people who say they "can't write" yet their output of text over time is almost as much.
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Well, the "pay-per-word" rate is not exactly stellar, you're right!
@maribea (2366)
• Italy
12 Apr 07
ops I have my eyes still rolling over all these numbers..how did you decide to do all these calculations??? very smart of you, indeed and funny to learn that we can write poems and novel here even though we don't feel any fatigue in our composition work....anyway I am one of the people who love writing..I love for my personal eyes and I keep as a secret dream that I would publish my book one day or another..and I decided to join this site in order to practise my English and I am improving day by day...thank you for this nice discussion...I hope we can write our personal and peculiar novel here!!!
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Really, it is just an "approximate guess" by looking at a few typical examples of my discussions and responses, and then multiplying it out by the total numbers, which are easily available-- I was bored.
I guess part of my point here was to say "YES, you can!" to all those who always tell me "I can't write that much" when I say "You could write a book."
@7nicole1 (1633)
• Canada
12 Apr 07
No but now that you mention it I have probably written alot but I have seen others on here that answer these discussions with mile long answers so then I got think how much these people have written here and they probably would have a small libary worth of writings. It is kind of wild when you get thinking about it.
3 people like this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
This is just a TINY tipe of a huge iceberg... think about this: There are almost a MILLION discussions on myLot-- all with multiple RESPONSES. And this is a TINY site. Think about MySpace-- 125,000,000 million members, many of whom have blogs.... the mind boggles.
@brokentia (10389)
• United States
14 Apr 07
Shut up! ha ha Just kidding! LOL
Well, I am sure that by my number, you can see that I like writing.
I AM here everyday. And I AM one of those people that NEVER give a one liner response. I have even had to learn how to shorten my responses because I have been told that I write too much. ha ha
So, based on your figures and the average word count per response and comment...if it were me, I probably would have already written a couple epic novels. ha ha
And here I thought I didn't have the time to write a novel! LOL
Watch out story outline...here I come! ha ha
1 person likes this
@rsmith512 (1561)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I love writing too, and sometimes I feel like my number should be way up there in the clouds because of the time that I spend on myLot.
I love being here, but I wish sometimes that it wasn't that hard to get your number to go up.
I have learned to shorten some of my responses because most of the time...it doesn't really need to be said and I just feel like I will be blabbering on.
And, sometimes I feel like I should try to say a little more!
I think that I have written an "epic" too!
And epic novels are really long. :D
We are doing a good job!! LOL :)
1 person likes this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Well, ya'd better got to work on that novel... and I expect a signed first edition when you get done! (j/k)
The thing that's a little scary for me is that I've been adding "random stuff" like this to cyberspace since I first got an Internet connection in 1994. 13 years. When I found the old style text BBS forums of back then I was hooked on web forums... and since then, blogs, and web sites... and... and... give me a pill, it's an ILLNESS.
Now, where were we?
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
13 Apr 07
He he, I was just wondering this last night. I figure that I've written at least a novel's length here on Mylot, too. I try to write at least one full paragraph per response. I used to try to be a novelist when I was younger and I know it's a lot harder to write a full novel than writing out responses here. I can remember having to go back and check the continuity, the characters, and doing lots of revisions. Here, I just post what's on my mind.
2 people like this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I know what you mean-- I've attempted novels at various times, too; and it's usually the "structural" issues that get me... I write pretty well (and prolifically) but I'm not great at keeping myself organized. There's also the contiguous time issue. If I were to ever actually FINISH a novel (I have dozens of outlines) I sense I would have to sit down and write it from start to finish over a two-week period, working 10-12 hours a day.... I couldn't just "dabble" over a six-month period, because I tend to lose my train of thought.
@moonmagick (1458)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Wow. And here I am spending time here on Mylot while I am working on writing a novel. Just think, I could have been done with my novel by now.
I had never really thought about it. But you are right. It is interesting to stop and think just how much I have written here. And I am not even nearly as active as some people. There are people on here who have done so many posts that they could easily have a shelf full of novels to their credit.
I still love coming here though. It is a creative outlet for me. And a great place to feed that urge to write, particularly when I am not sure what I want to write about.
1 person likes this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I'm not here a LOT, but it has become part of my morning coffee "ritual," and I check in if I have a period of slack time in the middle of working.
Actually, much of what I read here sometimes acts as a "spark" for actual serious articles, or triggers "blog fodder." So in a sense, it IS a creative outlet. One of the things I like about myLot is that it is NOT just "another website filled with hysterical teens" (not that I have an issue with teens)... so often there IS some interesting stuff here "for the rest of us."
@dbeast (1495)
• India
13 Apr 07
wow that is some calculation done.if i had taken all the time and all the words i guess i could have become a well known author with my books selling like hot cakes and within minutes.lol.i wish it did.i never knew that we write so much and i have never though about it till now.well so i can call myself an author with my responses to my credit.a really cool thread you have started buddy.it has left me thinking.maybe i Will start my book now.lol.thanks.
@susieq223 (3742)
• United States
12 Apr 07
You are right! It is scary! And I say I don't have time to write my book! Guess why? LOL
4 people like this
@wachit14 (3595)
• United States
12 Apr 07
Technically, you are correct about the comparison between mylot posts and novels in terms of the number of words, but there's no guarantee that you would ever be able to sell a novel and, therefore, no guaranty that you would ever make any money from it. At least here we can make money from what we write...guaranteed. Maybe not as much as a novel, but a sure thing nonetheless.
3 people like this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Well, I think different formats fit different people's styles fo writing. I was always best at "article length" stuff-- 300-2000 words per article; I tend to get "bogged down" on anything much longer than that.
@rsmith512 (1561)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Wow! That is interesting.
I never would have thought that I could have written an "epic" novel. That is a lot of words.
I am not one of those people that leave a little one liner or a few small sentences that don't really mean anything.
I put a lot of thought to most of my writing here, and I think over the past months that I have been here, my writing has improved.
I am one to come on here daily because I like to write and enjoy commenting/responding to others.
Reading some of these discussions makes me feel happy and giggle. So, I really enjoy being here on myLot.
Kudos to everyone that has made myLot enjoyable! :D
1 person likes this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
MyLot does seem to have found a really "addictive" format... if their underlying business model is even the tiniest bit well designed, the site is well on its way to becoming the MySpace of web forums.
@AnythngArt (3302)
• United States
13 Apr 07
Thanks for making us all think about this. You are correct in your implication that we could all be putting this writing energy toward better pursuits. MyLot writing is, of course, much easier than trying to write something serious. In fact, I often use it as a reason not to work on writing that I need to or should be doing. Still, if we wrote a few lines into a Word document along with every response that we post on MyLot, think of what we might have after a few months' time! Thanks for provoking this insight!
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Yes, myLot is definitely a "diversion," and sometimes it can become too MUCH of one! I can usually tell by how much I write HERE, how much I am avoiding something ELSE. If I write 50 responses on myLot it's a good bet I had something else going I REALLLY didn't want to deal with...
@James72 (26790)
• Australia
13 Apr 07
Actually you have raised a very interesting question! I have sat here for 10 minutes or so to roughly work out how many words I would have contributed to this site. If I have averaged around 100 words per post response (sounds about right as I average around 5 lines plus)and I have posted approximately 650 responses so this alone amounts to around 65,000 words..... And then you take into account the topics I have posted myself which would amount to around 15,000 words..... And then the responses I have placed to topics I have created would probably add up to around 25,000 words.....
So in all, I have written somewhere in the vicinity of 100,000+ words I guess and maybe even more! This is an extremely rough estimation though but interesting to work out. Great topic!
1 person likes this
@Zelmarq (12585)
• Cebu City, Philippines
13 Apr 07
Wow, I have never thought about this math think. Honestly it never came to mind until I read this post from you. Maybe I just enjoy my time here on mylot and I am just taking my time and love the people here on mylot. I am not good in math and I wont have to trouble counting my posts here. LOLZ!
Thank you for this interesting topic.
Hope you have a nice day.
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
Oh, I didn't actually sit down and COUNT my posts... I just used some "math trickery" to estimate from looking at no more than 10 items...
@seamonkey (1976)
• Ireland
13 Apr 07
Wow, that is both enlightening and scary. I may do posts that go well beyond three lines, and some slightly under, so depsite my post number I would have no idea of an accurate word count for myself other than it is A LOT!
1 person likes this
@Denmarkguy (1845)
• United States
15 Apr 07
I don't claim accuracy in this... since my discussions and responses vary considerably from topic to topic. "A lot" is a pretty good estimate...
@mpm1113 (11)
• United States
13 Apr 07
Well, since I am new here I haven't posted a lot yet. What you said in your post is quite scary lol. Ah well, getting payed a tiny bit to write here isn't anything to complain about I'd say. So I wonder who's made the most money on here anyway?
1 person likes this
