I wrote 6,154 words today.
That is…I *believe*…the most I’ve ever written before. I know I’ve done 5K days before, but I don’t think I’ve ever done 6,000…let alone MORE than that. Now, my goal WAS to get 7,500 words done today, which is just about the max, I think, at my current words per hour rate. But, damn. That’s pretty damn good. I’m very, very happy.
My brain was MUSH when I went into the last couple writing sessions, and I still wrote some good stuff. I also stopped today at a really fun part, very action-packed, and so I should get to dive into that tomorrow first thing.
I have two more days this week. Tomorrow…we go for 7,500 again, but I would be very happy to break 7K in general. And I can do it. I know I can.
I do have to say; this writing all day really tuckers me the fuck out. I get very, very tired at the end of the day. But I’ll also say this: there were times today when I was certain that what I was writing was crap. But there were also times today where I read over what I’d written and it was NOT crap. It was lucid, descriptive and engaging. So…I’ve decided to just keep plowing forward and TRUST THE PROCESS. Trust that I will read through sections and be able to identify ‘hey, this isn’t working here’ and ‘hey, this part is the shit don’t you dare touch it.
I just have to trust myself, and more importantly the process of writing, revising, getting feedback, and revising some more. Trust that shit.
Two more days this week of all-writing-all-the-time. Then we go away for a week, and THEN I get to try and figure out how to finish these next two novels AND do narration work at the same time. Pretty sure I know how I can do it. It’s gonna be exhausting…but I can do it. I. Can. Do. It.
Love writing, you guys. Love it. Need to find this same love with rewriting.
I’m also discovering what a “pantser” I am. I always pegged myself as a “plotter,” someone who outlines the shit out of their stories…and while I DO outline a decent amount, I really pants A LOT of my stories. I have to let the characters make decisions on their own, in the moment. Today, there was not a single scene I wrote where everything went perfectly to plan. My characters and events surprised me in each and every scene. And *that* is why I love writing my first drafts. Because I never know what’s going to happen.
Rewriting is the exact opposite of that. In rewriting, I know exactly what MUST happen, and I have to make sure it does. That’s like pulling freaking teeth for me. But, hey, this is only the beginning. I’m going to get better at that. I’ll learn tricks here and there, and develop my own processes for handling rewrites. Hopefully in a year or two’s time, I’ll be looking back on this blog entry and remembering how hard I used to think it was, and how easy it is now. Hi future-Ira!
Okay. That’s all for tonight. Good night! Have a bit o’reading to do!