Word count: 2632
Spent the day catching up on all the business stuff that I had to let slide while I was ill.
I'm going to have to rethink this whole exercise.
Showing posts with label Novel Month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Novel Month. Show all posts
Monday, 8 November 2010
Sunday, 7 November 2010
A book in a month: Day 7
Word count: 2632
Feeling better, but that's only speaking relatively.
I wonder of Tolstoy had days like this.
Feeling better, but that's only speaking relatively.
I wonder of Tolstoy had days like this.
Saturday, 6 November 2010
A book in a month: Day 6
Word count: 2632
No change from yesterday. It's 19:30 local time and I've recovered just enough to make this entry and I am obviously in no state to do any serious writing unless it's a chapter that involves a stream of consciousness account of fighting a fever and the irony of having a thrown-out back and diarrhea at the same time.
Where's my notebook.
No change from yesterday. It's 19:30 local time and I've recovered just enough to make this entry and I am obviously in no state to do any serious writing unless it's a chapter that involves a stream of consciousness account of fighting a fever and the irony of having a thrown-out back and diarrhea at the same time.
Where's my notebook.
Friday, 5 November 2010
A book in a month
Word count: 2632
This is a turn up. I've thrown my back out, I'm running a fever, and it took me ten minutes to write this sentence on my netbook while lying flat out.
Mourners are requested not to send flowers.
This is a turn up. I've thrown my back out, I'm running a fever, and it took me ten minutes to write this sentence on my netbook while lying flat out.
Mourners are requested not to send flowers.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
A book in a month: Day 4
Word count: 2632
Another dismal day. That's because a) my cold is now full-blown and b) I had to slog my way through a scene I have no intention of keeping in the second draught. The next scene is more promising, but it was one I had to work on outlining before I sailed straight into it.
Another dismal day. That's because a) my cold is now full-blown and b) I had to slog my way through a scene I have no intention of keeping in the second draught. The next scene is more promising, but it was one I had to work on outlining before I sailed straight into it.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
A book in a month: Day 3
Word Count: 2309
Good grief, it's even worse than yesterday. Much too low a word count, though I hope to get a little more time later this evening.
One of the advantages of this book in a month exercise is that there isn't the time to go back and do any rewriting. It's a good thing because I've come to hate what I've written and I want to completely change the setting and the characters to make it more dramatic and faster paced. Now it feels like a thick block of exposition that I have to get through before the story really gets started. In normal circumstances, I'd be back to square one, but now I haven't the luxury, so I just make a note of how I want to revise it and carry on.
Good grief, it's even worse than yesterday. Much too low a word count, though I hope to get a little more time later this evening.
One of the advantages of this book in a month exercise is that there isn't the time to go back and do any rewriting. It's a good thing because I've come to hate what I've written and I want to completely change the setting and the characters to make it more dramatic and faster paced. Now it feels like a thick block of exposition that I have to get through before the story really gets started. In normal circumstances, I'd be back to square one, but now I haven't the luxury, so I just make a note of how I want to revise it and carry on.
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
A book in a month: Day 2
Word Count: 1935
Here it is day 2 and I'm already hitting a speed bump. I'm coming on for a cold on a day when I'm faced with multiple distractions, there's an election on, and the dogs are aware that a) it's a nice day and b) I haven't taken them to the dog park in two weeks.
In the end, I had to flee to the public library for an hour's peace so I could bang out a mere 500 words.
Great. That's an extra thousand words I have to spread across the next 28 days. The important thing is that I didn't just blow off the entire day, so 30 percent success.
Here it is day 2 and I'm already hitting a speed bump. I'm coming on for a cold on a day when I'm faced with multiple distractions, there's an election on, and the dogs are aware that a) it's a nice day and b) I haven't taken them to the dog park in two weeks.
In the end, I had to flee to the public library for an hour's peace so I could bang out a mere 500 words.
Great. That's an extra thousand words I have to spread across the next 28 days. The important thing is that I didn't just blow off the entire day, so 30 percent success.
Monday, 1 November 2010
A book in a month: Day 1
Today's word count: 1410.
Starting a new novel on a Monday is never easy. Mondays are when the work week starts and there are always a thousand and one distractions. Worse, the first installment always takes more time than usual because I'm starting fresh and I have to establish the voice and ground rules for the characters. That means every hour stretches into two, with less time remaining for other work. But getting started is the important thing. After all, the novel that is never started is the one that is never finished.
Starting a new novel on a Monday is never easy. Mondays are when the work week starts and there are always a thousand and one distractions. Worse, the first installment always takes more time than usual because I'm starting fresh and I have to establish the voice and ground rules for the characters. That means every hour stretches into two, with less time remaining for other work. But getting started is the important thing. After all, the novel that is never started is the one that is never finished.
Friday, 22 October 2010
Write a novel in a month
November is National Novel-Writing Month and the organisers invite the public to dust off the keyboard and get started on that novel they've been meaning to write all these years.
The goal is simple: On 1 November, start writing your novel with the goal of producing 50,000 words by 30 November. Personally, I'd have preferred a month with 31 days, but there you are. That means you need to write about 1,700 words every day, which is not as hard as it sounds. The idea is not to sit and fuss over every word or turn of phrase; it's to crank out as much as you can in the given time. What you'll end up with won't win you the Booker Prize (though by today's standards, I wouldn't be too sure), but you'll have that hardest part of novel writing out of the way: A first draught. December is when you sit down and start polishing it.
This comes along at a very good time for me. For the past eight months I've been making notes for a new novel and this seems like as good an excuse as any to get started on it. Next month, I'll be cranking out my 1,700 words and posting a diary of my progress here on The Quill & The Keyboard. You're invited to tag along and hopefully it will inspire a few procrastinators to sharpen their pen nibs, smooth the foolscap, and freshen that bowl of roses on the writing desk.
For more tips on getting started, Wired has a wiki on National Novel-Writing Month.
The goal is simple: On 1 November, start writing your novel with the goal of producing 50,000 words by 30 November. Personally, I'd have preferred a month with 31 days, but there you are. That means you need to write about 1,700 words every day, which is not as hard as it sounds. The idea is not to sit and fuss over every word or turn of phrase; it's to crank out as much as you can in the given time. What you'll end up with won't win you the Booker Prize (though by today's standards, I wouldn't be too sure), but you'll have that hardest part of novel writing out of the way: A first draught. December is when you sit down and start polishing it.
This comes along at a very good time for me. For the past eight months I've been making notes for a new novel and this seems like as good an excuse as any to get started on it. Next month, I'll be cranking out my 1,700 words and posting a diary of my progress here on The Quill & The Keyboard. You're invited to tag along and hopefully it will inspire a few procrastinators to sharpen their pen nibs, smooth the foolscap, and freshen that bowl of roses on the writing desk.
For more tips on getting started, Wired has a wiki on National Novel-Writing Month.
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