Welcome to my first Work In Progress Wednesday. Kate came up with this wonderful idea and I decided to join in.
I'm currently working on the first draft of "Winter Illusion" which I began writing for the 2008 nano. I unfortunately didn't finish it and have worked on it sporadically since then. I just finished reviewing the draft and found that I have 72,792 words and 50 chapters. I didn't number the chapters and just put chapter next for each one. According to the word count, the chapters average 1455 words each. I haven't found any specific guidelines for length of chapters and generally they can be as long or short as you want them. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong) I'll go back during the edit process and try to whittle down the number of chapters, combine some, etc.
I also have 7 unfinished chapters in which I just wrote a synopsis and moved on because needed to do more research, (for example: what happens during an autopsy and the findings) or they were from the male and female villains perspective and I wasn't ready to go there. Then I have the climax and ending chapter and not sure how long or how many chapters it will take.
I'm at the point where I going to stop worrying about numbers and just get down to the process of writing - just do it. I'm playing with writing things out in longhand and have started reading and utilizing "A Writer's Book of Day's: A Spirited Companion and Lively Muse for the Writing Life" by Judy Reeves. The book is chock full of advice and very encouraging, plus many writing prompts to jump start your imagination and write.
I'm also playing with the best times of day to write. In the mornings, I find myself pushing out the minimum number of words in order to go online: check emails, work on my blog, and read other blogs. Then after lessons and household chores, find myself online for a couple more hours. Since the internet is such a big temptation, the plan is to have two internet free days - Tuesday and Fridays, and limit myself to two hours on the other days so I can concentrate on working on Winter Illusion. Since Lent starts today, I am giving myself 40 days to finish the story.
What I hope to accomplish during the next week is
1) write every day for a set period of time
2) finish at least two of the unfinished chapters
3) make writing a habit and part of the daily routine, rather than when I get around to it.
What do you use for motivation? How do you reward yourself for making your goal for the day?
What a great idea to use Lent as part of your writing goals. I also agree that the Internet is such a huge temptation, sometimes it is really hard to stay away from all its distractions.
ReplyDeleteYou also seem to have number worries similar to my own:) It is so easy with the word count function to obsess about these things, but it sounds like you have a novel sized amount of words right now, and with more to go until the end, you should be in good shape!
A very good post. Good to have this weekly post for accountability. And, such a good idea to tie this in with Lent. Sounds like you are going to make it happen.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggested resources for Lent.
Thanks Margot - I think you helped give give me the idea and it was floating about in my head. Then serendipity. Kaye came up with wip wednesday. I'm certainly going to work at making it happen.
ReplyDelete:) Robin
Great progress for you, too! And 73K words? You're almost there! Thanks for dropping by my blog, btw. Here's to finishing our books!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the idea of writing for Lent. I never quite liked the idea of giving something up when you could instead positively add something or do something to make your life and/or the world a better place.
ReplyDeleteI also really really like that Erica Jong quote which pretty much sums up my post-40 lightbulb in the brain.
Thanks for stopping by -- I was happy to visit here and I'll be back!