Milestone



Though a month later than my original goal, tonight I finally reached the 60,000 word count mark in my novel in progress.

Only 40,000 words to go. Funny thing is, I actually feel like I'm gaining momentum! I am enjoying the writing process more than I ever have before. I find myself thinking about the book even when I'm not sitting in front of the computer working on it. I've started reading books on craft to help me create better scenes, more textured descriptions, more interesting conversations. Currently I'm reading Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld, which I find to be a terrific book with plainspoken, practical advice.

I have moments when I wish I was one of those writers who outlined before writing, because from one chapter to the next, I'm not really sure how I'm going to get from where I am to where the book ends. In fact, at the moment I'm not entirely convinced that the person I thought 'done it' really did do it. Still I can feel myself making progress, learning as I go. And I remind myself that this is just the first draft, I get to be terribly horrible right now as long as I continue to put words down and move the story forward.



Comments

JCK said…
Yeah, you! That is really fantastic, Suzanne. A huge accomplishment and persistence at its best.
Erika Liodice said…
Congrats, Suzanne! Keep up the good work!
Anonymous said…
When you get to the end of this first draft, I supect you'll have learned as much about what to do as what not to do - and you would not have learned it better any other way than by doing it. And hey, if you feel half way through that something isn't working, some approach or method, then don't be afraid to change it. I read Viktor Kyam's autobiography years ago, in which he said he wrote down his reasons behind business decisions on 3x5 file cards and kept them.
That way, he didn't waste time reinventing his own thinking, which if done in the middle of the night/ in dreams and so on, which if you are trying to recall in the bright light of day, can sometimes be very elusive. Seemed a sound approach to me....
Vodka Mom said…
that is AWESOME!! now get to work.
Keetha said…
Congrats to you! That is wonderful. BIG pat on the back from me to you. :-)

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