"How much do you write?"

I get asked that question a lot when people find out what I do for a living. Being a reporter for a newspaper is not the only time I write. I also dabble in writing outlines and manuscripts for various ideas in my spare time - not as much as I would like though.

So it is always a hard explanation for me for that reason, but also because a true writer is always - and I mean ALWAYS editing their work, rewriting - so that makes the answer even more difficult.

I work when the news happens, so I could write EVERY DAY just for that. But I can not be everywhere all the time, and my bosses like for me to take some time off to relax my brain... lol

Honestly, I am always looking for interesting stories to write in our community. If the opportunity presents itself, I take it.

I also try to work on my own ideas too when there's time to sit in front of my computer. I don't even count how much I write just for life - and social media when I log on - as everyone else does.

So, as you can see, I am a FULL-TIME WRITER!

I might rewrite a story a couple times - sometimes three or four, maybe only twice, but I have reworked a project up to a dozen times because information changed or was added while working - it can take some effort before a story is complete and ready for editing. (At least twice! Because I write, then leave it alone for a few minutes to do something else and then come back to it - often finding where I meant to write something but didn't, or what I wrote doesn't make sense to me - so I do it again... lol)

Having an editor check your work can be difficult at times.

My husband used to do it, and offer advice and critiques, but he took a job doing something else away from the reporters' job we shared - and my instant editor wasn't always free to help me.

I work with a small staff - there's only 3 of us at the paper - so that was hard to do too. SO, I found GRAMMARLY in 2017 to help me with my work. The FREE version was awesome, so I paid to have even more help in making sure I present my best work for the readers.

Besides helping make sure I am grammatically correct, is also keeps track of unusual stuff - like my vocabulary usage, my writing tones, style, and confidence expressed in the work I do.

There's even a plagiarism watch tool... and I thank God that has never popped up on a story!

But it has provided me an answer to that question too.

If you take the number Grammarly provides me each week of what I turn into is for a final scan for mistakes BEFORE I turn in my work times let's say 3 (because I often have written at least one story a week more than twice) you will have an estimate of how much I write.

This week I was advised Grammarly checked 24,047 words last week and 3,088,768 words since I started paying for my account on June 7, 2018.

That makes (estimated) 72,141 words last week July 7-13, 2020.

It makes 9,266,304 words since June 7, 2018.

NOTE: That doesn't count the three manuscripts I am working on that haven't reached the point where I am ready to scan them into GRAMMARLY, the notes I take, all the emails, messages, and the Facebook posts I send out... lol

WHEW - mindboggling, but I wouldn't change a thing about my life even though my brain is slowing down a bit these days... lol