I know this is going to seem like a cop-out to write 2 posts in a row giving an update about my novel but this is something I should have been doing all along. Last year, I created this website, vowed to update it regularly, and then I abandoned it once I started working on my novel again as all of my time and attention was poured into that. I should have been posting regular updates since I wasn’t doing any writing on this blog. I’m not going to make that mistake this time. So, for all future posts, if I’ve been too busy to think of something fun and entertaining to write because I’ve been spending all of my time trying to finish the first draft of my novel, then I’m going to make a post with an update on the progress of my novel. I need to keep updating this blog regularly. I mean, I’m paying for it so I need to utilize it.
As mentioned previously, I’ve dedicated time during the week to focus on my novel. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Eventually, once I start getting into a good rhythm, I’ll expand my writing days to include Mondays and Fridays. I did the same thing last year. I dedicated a few days a week to writing and once I was in a groove, I would work on it Monday through Friday like a normal job. I am not sure how long it will take before I start increasing my own productivity but it’s not something I’m going to force. If I do that, I’ll just end up hitting a wall, similar to what happened last year when I came back from Disney World ready to work, only to find myself staring at my computer screen for hours on end.
When I stopped writing last year, I had begun a chapter and wrote about 5 pages before I called it quits. Last week, when I finally got back to the novel, I had to spend some time re-reading what I had written so far in that chapter so I could remember where my frame of mind was when I began it a year ago. Don’t get me wrong, I have an outline of the entire story/plot laid out so it’s not like I had forgotten everything but I had to remind myself of what exactly needed to be done to complete the chapter. Before I went to Disney World last year, I made it a point to finish whatever chapter I was working on before that trip so that I could enjoy my time instead of constantly thinking about what needed to be finished in that chapter. In hindsight, when I came back from that trip and started writing again, I should have at least tried finishing it before calling it quits for a year. Or I should have never started that chapter at all.
Picking it back up in the middle of a chapter was not as difficult as I had imagined. When I start writing, I like to give myself little goals to hit every day. For now, I have given myself a minimum of writing at least 1 page a day, which would equate to about 3 pages a week. That’s minimum. That’s not to say that I only write one page a day but since I am just beginning again, it’s best to start small and work your way up. In fact, I usually end up writing more. But I cannot stop writing for the day unless I have at least one page written. And, once again, when I start getting into a good rhythm, that goal will change to reflect my pace. I’ve actually been writing around 2 pages a day since I began last week so I’m feeling pretty confident right now.
Between last week and this week, I’ve written around 6,000 words and roughly 11 pages. Which is a lot more than I had expected given how long it’s been since I made any headway in my novel. Last week, I probably wrote more dialogue and this week, I barely wrote any. So for me, I feel like I wrote a lot more this week because sometimes I struggle when writing exposition and I certainly wrote a lot of it this week. It’s nice because it’s one area I’m trying to get better at.
Even with the 11 pages I’ve tacked on to this chapter I started, I’m still not finished with it. I should have it completed next week but so far, this is actually the longest chapter in the book. It is not what I intended but that’s just the way it is at the moment. Plus, once I get into the editing phase, a lot of the other chapters will likely get beefed up a bit. However, with this chapter, I’m likely going to split it into 2. There’s a reason for it but for now, I am leaving it as only 1 and I’ll probably split it later in the editing process.
Thus far, I have 173 pages and around 89,000 words written. Still at 18 chapters, of course. Technically 19 when I split this one into two. It’s certainly coming along a lot smoother than I had anticipated. My plan next week is to finish the chapter I’m on and revise my outline a bit to solidify the final chapters of my book. Right now, my outline shows only 4 chapters left but I think that might change pretty soon.
Well, that’s all for now. I’m going to try to have something different for my next post but don’t be surprised if you start seeing more and more of these updates. In addition to solidifying the final chapters of my book, I need to revisit my writing schedule next week to try and devote some of that time to writing on this website. These posts aren’t typically long but I don’t always write them as quickly as I have today. Anyways, thanks for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions. Or if you just want to say hi!
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