FAQ!

What is word sprinting?

A word sprint involves writing/editing for a set amount of time without interruptions. That means no procrastinating on the internet (no facebook, twitter, blogs, or e-mails!), no stopping to edit and no brooding over word choice—just writing for as long as the word sprint lasts. When your time’s up, you total up how much you've written during the sprint and report your word count to whoever’s running the sprint and/or the other people taking part. Sound simple? It is!

*When editing during a word sprint @GetWordies count words deleted and added to counts. They are the only ones I know of. Others you just stated what you did, example deleted ??? words and added ??? words. At least that's how I have seen it done.*

Who can host word sprints?

Anyone and Everyone! You can use any of the hashtags listed here to connect with other sprinters on Twitter, join ongoing word sprints or announce your own. Or you can post a request asking if any sprints are happening  and use all tags for sprints.

What are all these hashtags, anyway?

Hashtags are a way for Twitter users to connect with other people interested in a certain topic. For example, if you search for #wordsprint, you’ll find all the other Twitter users who have included this hashtag in their tweet—which usually means they’re hosting or taking part in a word sprint themselves. If you include a word sprint-related hashtag in your tweets, other people interested in this topic can find you too.

How do I know when sprints start and how long they go for?

Different people have different ways of announcing sprints. Here are a few examples of common formats used to announce word sprint times:

 :15 for 20
20@:15
20@15
:15 to :35

Some tell you when to be back at the start of the sprint as well.

How do I know how long the break between sprints are?

Most will tell you ahead of time. Most are 10 minutes, though some have only 5 minutes between them.

What do I do during the breaks?

Use the bathroom, stock up on snackies & drinks (caffeine is best) and I usually do chores. My breaks are as follows: Get the dishes soaking, wash dishes, start and do laundry (including folding, I can get a load folded in 1 break).

What about quality over quantity?

A first draft is rarely ever perfect. Word sprints are here for the purpose of getting down the words –Wordies are wordies no matter how bad or perfect they are. Write as much as you can during your word sprints and then edit later in another sprint!

What if I'm editing, how do I count wordies?

Editing is a big part of writing. @GetWordies you can use deleted total and added totals together. If you have a program that doesn't track changes use your best guess. Others use the number of pages or chapters edited. Add hashtag #amediting

What does LSW mean?

LSW means Last Sentence Written. Some sprinters like to add them.

What are Writathons?

A writathon is @GetWordies 12 hours of sprinting. Usually from 9am-9pm CST. 50 minutes sprints starting at the top of the hour and a 10 minute break between them. Sometimes we do 30 minute sprints with the 10 minute break for our writathon.