Nope, not the 90’s Hip Hop Dance show that was AWESOME! No, I’m referring to the grind of taking time out to sit down for a few hours every day and write with conviction.
My first two works were a little odd. On my very first, I had little to no idea what I was doing as I was just starting and so I went along writing a little here, a little there and eventually I ended up with a finished manuscript (don’t ask me how I don’t know.) The second I started the very same day I finished the first one, didn’t even give myself a break of any kind. And that turned out to be a mistake. About six weeks and 20,000 words in I took a break to start editing my first and I completely lost all enthusiasm for the second. It was a bear to finish which didn’t end up happening until almost six months later.
So last Thursday I started on what I am tentatively calling THREE. Only because it is my third, it doesn’t relate to the first two in the slightest. But this time I am also still editing and querying my first, and also my second which is in Beta reading now. Looks like I need to get good at juggling quick.
I haven’t written continuously (with the exception of edits, some of which are extensive) since last October when I finished Two. I wanted to sit down and prepare for this one, get an outline set, flesh out the characters and details and all the little things so that when I began, I could plow through it. And that’s what I did, I took a little break, did all my prep work, focused on improving my craft and set up a schedule. Which began last Thursday.
My goal is approximately 2500 words per day. For an 80,000 word project that puts me right at a month’s time before finishing. My first took five months. My second almost nine. I am determined not to let that happen again. I want to stay in this headspace and get the work done, grind it out so to say. And for the first week, things have been going swimmingly. I’m at a little over 13,000 words already which is fantastic. But there is always a plot twist.
Unfortunately my characters have decided they have minds of their own and have deviated from the outline I so painstakingly crafted. Road bump. And while I like where my characters are going, I can’t keep up that sort of speed without the map, so it is back to the drawing board.
I guess I should budget for two months.
Darn characters being all interesting and independent! I hate/love it when that happens.
Best of luck with your juggling! Be sure to tell us what tricks you develop. I’m a big fan of learning from other people’s mistakes. 🙂
LOL. Yes, god forbid you take nine whole weeks to create a work of art from scratch.
*dripping sarcasm, in case you couldn’t tell*
In all seriousness, though, wow! Just imagine how much you’ve improved in a year, and how much you’ll continue improving with this pace. Just don’t forget to slow down and smell the roses once in a while. It’s always possible to improve your writing ability, but only if you approach your newest novel with a critical eye and the determination to avoid the mistakes of the previous one. Which I know you’ll do, and are doing, but still, it’s a conscious thing every day we sit at our laptops!
Best of luck with the new novel! I would love to read it. 😀
Let’s hope so! The rough is done now, and I haven’t gone back to read it again yet and make all the “little” edits for a first draft, I wanted to wait a few weeks so I could do just that: look at it with a critical eye. But you’re right, I don’t want to work continuously, I want each work to be significantly better than the last and hopefully I achieved that with this one.