I'm not saying ugh just because it's Monday because I actually like Mondays. It's an UGH day because I'm in what I think is about the last quarter of this book, and I'm having a lot of trouble. I spent way too much time this morning trying to make it work and it really didn't work. So now - after 482 words - (which is not nearly enough if I want to get a first draft done by the end of February...) I'm stopping. Fortunately, it's not raining, so I'm going to get some fresh air and walk down the hill to the post office.
I am hoping that my brain will continue to work while I walk and when I return, I'll have figured out some things about this manuscript.
Stay tuned.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Organization
Oops.
I made a big mistake this morning. I felt like some organization of the manuscript was needed. So I printed out (a first and usually a very exciting time to actually see the story on paper) about 70 pages starting at page 94. Then I spent most of the morning and all the way until 1:30 this afternoon trying to set up one of the secondary characters. The result is that I accomplished it but I don't feel particularly good about it. Even though I advanced the word count (42481) I didn't move the story ahead. And that's really - for me - the measure of a successful day. Because then you have more of a place to start the next time.
I think I'm avoiding some part of the plot. So that's the place I need to start Monday morning. See you then.
I made a big mistake this morning. I felt like some organization of the manuscript was needed. So I printed out (a first and usually a very exciting time to actually see the story on paper) about 70 pages starting at page 94. Then I spent most of the morning and all the way until 1:30 this afternoon trying to set up one of the secondary characters. The result is that I accomplished it but I don't feel particularly good about it. Even though I advanced the word count (42481) I didn't move the story ahead. And that's really - for me - the measure of a successful day. Because then you have more of a place to start the next time.
I think I'm avoiding some part of the plot. So that's the place I need to start Monday morning. See you then.
Distractions
One of the most important things when writing is staying in the story. But sometimes there are distractions. These come in all shapes and sizes. For me it was the holidays, company and some travel. I finally tossed in the towel in mid-December knowing I wanted to make butter cookies more than I wanted to write.
In late January, I jumped back in, finally meeting my New Year's goal of 40,000 words last Friday. The 40,000 words was mostly psychological as I'm no longer worried about the number of words I have to write as I feel pretty confident that the story will take at least another 20,000 words to tell.
In late January, I jumped back in, finally meeting my New Year's goal of 40,000 words last Friday. The 40,000 words was mostly psychological as I'm no longer worried about the number of words I have to write as I feel pretty confident that the story will take at least another 20,000 words to tell.
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