It's been a long six months since I last wrote. Everything was going fine between us, I had my novel and you had my banging on about how much I was getting done. It was the perfect kind of relationship, I could vent and you just took it.
But then something new and shiny came into my life. Promising a quick sensation release, saying my words would be out there almost immediately and people would defintely read them. Well, I fell for it. Writing short stories about a character that has lurked in my head for a few years now. Oh, how optimistically we all got stuck in. There was a website, a name, and I'd gone into seven weeks worth of content before I understood that I would be getting no more responses from the guy behind it.
Seven weeks worth of stories that now languish, crying to be set free, if only I can devise a platform.
Worst of all, I left you for this failure and never even bothered to write. The novel lay alone in its file, untouched, unloved, my mind occupied by the collapse of the shiny new thing that had so entranced me.
Cut to six months later.
My friends got married this weekend and it was brilliant. Meeting people I'd never seen. Seeing people I hadn't chated to for ages.
Then realising that all of my friends are moving on, making a life and I'm still living at home with my parents and going nowhere.
It was all I needed really, a swift metaphorical butt kicking.
So on Monday I was back in the routine. Up before 9, breakfast, coffee, then writing.
I'm averaging just over a thousand words a day, broke the 50 thousand word barrier yesterday and realised that I'm going to go past the 60k ideal I was aiming for.
Anyway, let's have the tally:
Words done Monday: 1290
Words done Tuesday: 1099
Words done Wednesday: 1712
Words done Thursday: 1067
Total words this week: 5168
Total words so far: 50080
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Done that now
Huzzah, I finally finished the awkward chapter!
It has take me a while, not being able to sleep and getting completely floored by my CFS mentally these past weeks hasn't helped, but it is at last done.
I don't know that I'm completely happy with how it has turned out, but I'm not going back to check until I do the next draft.
Could I work out how to end this chapter? Not really, I think it's now the longest one in the book so far, but I did it by letting the characters have a moment of full release from the tension with a giggling bout. It fits, it suits, I hope it works.
Now though, I can get onto the finale. Got the first big set piece coming up, which isn't action, but if I describe it properly, will still be a very cool moment for the reader to picture in their minds.
As for the project that is to follow, well, I'm putting the details in place. It's going to be a science fiction story, for adults, not the audience of this book. I may write up a couple of the short stories I have floating around in my head to get me back into that style of writing first.
All in all, progress is being made.
Words today: 469
Total Words: 34982
It has take me a while, not being able to sleep and getting completely floored by my CFS mentally these past weeks hasn't helped, but it is at last done.
I don't know that I'm completely happy with how it has turned out, but I'm not going back to check until I do the next draft.
Could I work out how to end this chapter? Not really, I think it's now the longest one in the book so far, but I did it by letting the characters have a moment of full release from the tension with a giggling bout. It fits, it suits, I hope it works.
Now though, I can get onto the finale. Got the first big set piece coming up, which isn't action, but if I describe it properly, will still be a very cool moment for the reader to picture in their minds.
As for the project that is to follow, well, I'm putting the details in place. It's going to be a science fiction story, for adults, not the audience of this book. I may write up a couple of the short stories I have floating around in my head to get me back into that style of writing first.
All in all, progress is being made.
Words today: 469
Total Words: 34982
Monday, March 02, 2009
Councils of War!
I seem to have manouvered myself into a part which I had tremendous trouble writing in my last novel. Namely, the council of war sequence. Where all is explained.
OK, so last time was a much more free flowing affair, coming about halfway through the book and changing the course of what the reader was expecting up until then. This one is an actual council of war, planning for the battle that will take place in the next few chapters.
However, the last one took me something like 6 years to finish, so I'm not looking forward to it. This is what coes of going "Wouldn't it be cool if M could do this and this and this." Yes it would, right, how do I weave this cool stuff into the narrative? Et Voila! Council of War scene!
At least this one is not a chapter in and of itself, it's the tag end of a chapter that sets up most of the main characters viewpoints and emotional states prior to the last punch up.
So what did I do? I introduced a new character, right in the middle of the situation, where noe was planned, now I have to do something with him. OK, so he was slightly set up before, but I could have excised him from the story without a problem, now he's solved a major emotional obstacle and is going to have to stay.
I have no idea how to use the bugger in the rest of the story though. I'm not seeing this end well for him.
Words Today: 1086
Total Words: 33510
OK, so last time was a much more free flowing affair, coming about halfway through the book and changing the course of what the reader was expecting up until then. This one is an actual council of war, planning for the battle that will take place in the next few chapters.
However, the last one took me something like 6 years to finish, so I'm not looking forward to it. This is what coes of going "Wouldn't it be cool if M could do this and this and this." Yes it would, right, how do I weave this cool stuff into the narrative? Et Voila! Council of War scene!
At least this one is not a chapter in and of itself, it's the tag end of a chapter that sets up most of the main characters viewpoints and emotional states prior to the last punch up.
So what did I do? I introduced a new character, right in the middle of the situation, where noe was planned, now I have to do something with him. OK, so he was slightly set up before, but I could have excised him from the story without a problem, now he's solved a major emotional obstacle and is going to have to stay.
I have no idea how to use the bugger in the rest of the story though. I'm not seeing this end well for him.
Words Today: 1086
Total Words: 33510
Friday, February 27, 2009
Spot on.
So I reached the end of today's section, which has mostly involved making the villain somewhat cartoonish before unleashing unexpected violence and death.
As I did the word count I found I had hit 996.
Well, can't stop there can I?
But finding the right 4 words to close out the section, because I wasn't about to start the next just yet, was quite hard. Especially as I had already ended the sequence.
But I'm a trooper, I have succeeded where lesser men might not have been all that bothered.
"Who would he choose?"
A little menacing, no? Even out of context, just knowing it's the bad guys thoughts makes it so.
All done for the week. Maybe time to get back to the comic pitch I have to do a rewrite on. I have decided to scrap an issue I'd planned and replace it with something more fantastical. As the artist said, I'm not playing up the fantasy elements enough, well this one should do it.
It's also planned as a mostly silent episode now.
Let's see if that sticks.
Words today: 1000
Total Words: 32424
As I did the word count I found I had hit 996.
Well, can't stop there can I?
But finding the right 4 words to close out the section, because I wasn't about to start the next just yet, was quite hard. Especially as I had already ended the sequence.
But I'm a trooper, I have succeeded where lesser men might not have been all that bothered.
"Who would he choose?"
A little menacing, no? Even out of context, just knowing it's the bad guys thoughts makes it so.
All done for the week. Maybe time to get back to the comic pitch I have to do a rewrite on. I have decided to scrap an issue I'd planned and replace it with something more fantastical. As the artist said, I'm not playing up the fantasy elements enough, well this one should do it.
It's also planned as a mostly silent episode now.
Let's see if that sticks.
Words today: 1000
Total Words: 32424
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Return to the fold
Well, that break lasted a lot longer than planned.
Last week was supposed to be a week off and of doing some research. Instead it became a week of finishing a chapter on Monday, then playing GTA 4 and watching films.
I went out to see Slumdog Millionaire, which is a wonderful film and I've had the soundtrack (an Oscar winner dontchaknow) on almost constant spin.
But halfway through last week, I realised I dodn't know how to proceed from the point I had stopped. Couldn't think of which character to follow and focus on. My main idea, it turned out, I had already done properly and in full in an earlier chapter. So that was out.
And so, until today, I've been stumped. But then, as so often happens, I made myself sit down and begin to write. Just follow the protagonist for a bit, put the words down and let it come. As it nearly always does, this sparked off ideas and now the chapter is on the move.
Part of the problem is that I'm now racing headlong into the climax and I'm worried about word count. A stupid thing to get hung up on I know, but I'm tempted to try some padding, but also think that if I crack on with plot the words and situations are there to reach the goal of 60k.
Meh, I at least have got some traction back now. But I'm disappointed because if I'd kept up the pace of early January, this novel would be maybe a thousand words away from completion now. Instead it's half done with about a sixth of the words being the first 4 chapters which I haven't written yet. They'll probably be the last things I do actually write.
Words Today: 752
Total Words: 31424
Last week was supposed to be a week off and of doing some research. Instead it became a week of finishing a chapter on Monday, then playing GTA 4 and watching films.
I went out to see Slumdog Millionaire, which is a wonderful film and I've had the soundtrack (an Oscar winner dontchaknow) on almost constant spin.
But halfway through last week, I realised I dodn't know how to proceed from the point I had stopped. Couldn't think of which character to follow and focus on. My main idea, it turned out, I had already done properly and in full in an earlier chapter. So that was out.
And so, until today, I've been stumped. But then, as so often happens, I made myself sit down and begin to write. Just follow the protagonist for a bit, put the words down and let it come. As it nearly always does, this sparked off ideas and now the chapter is on the move.
Part of the problem is that I'm now racing headlong into the climax and I'm worried about word count. A stupid thing to get hung up on I know, but I'm tempted to try some padding, but also think that if I crack on with plot the words and situations are there to reach the goal of 60k.
Meh, I at least have got some traction back now. But I'm disappointed because if I'd kept up the pace of early January, this novel would be maybe a thousand words away from completion now. Instead it's half done with about a sixth of the words being the first 4 chapters which I haven't written yet. They'll probably be the last things I do actually write.
Words Today: 752
Total Words: 31424
Friday, February 13, 2009
Week's End
Well, two writing days out of five isn't great, but it's better than none.
Another thousand words today and the end of a chapter.
I've probably got one, maybe two more chapters I could write without diving back into the research, but I think I'll take next week off from new writing and change focus to research and rewrites on other projects.
In other news, my latest pitch to Abaddon fell at the final hurdle. Apparently I've never been so close before, so I'm getting there. Came up with 5 new ideas for pitches in the four hours after I got the rejection, I'm sure there will be more by the time the submissions gate opens again.
Words Today: 1192
Total Words: 28143
Another thousand words today and the end of a chapter.
I've probably got one, maybe two more chapters I could write without diving back into the research, but I think I'll take next week off from new writing and change focus to research and rewrites on other projects.
In other news, my latest pitch to Abaddon fell at the final hurdle. Apparently I've never been so close before, so I'm getting there. Came up with 5 new ideas for pitches in the four hours after I got the rejection, I'm sure there will be more by the time the submissions gate opens again.
Words Today: 1192
Total Words: 28143
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A slothful sense of no motion
Well, last week was mostly a bust. Spent all day Monday in bed, barely able to do anything. Couldn't even think about writing. The rest of the week wasn't much better, but I did get the first part of an action sequence done.
Then that was it until today. Part of that is because I went to see some friends in Reading over the weekend, which completely took it out of me.
I've managed about 45 minutes this morning, and that's it.
I have at least finished that action sequence, now I'm about to get going on the following one, which leads onto another one, and then there is a break before the big final action set piece. So I'm in sight of the conclusion.
A couple of issues as there are some plot points happening elsewhere that I should be making reference to, but I don't want to lose the momentum I've built up.
Words today: 653
Total Words: 25810
Then that was it until today. Part of that is because I went to see some friends in Reading over the weekend, which completely took it out of me.
I've managed about 45 minutes this morning, and that's it.
I have at least finished that action sequence, now I'm about to get going on the following one, which leads onto another one, and then there is a break before the big final action set piece. So I'm in sight of the conclusion.
A couple of issues as there are some plot points happening elsewhere that I should be making reference to, but I don't want to lose the momentum I've built up.
Words today: 653
Total Words: 25810
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