This is what 41,000 words looks like
I continue to work on my novel. Half my strategy seems to be sidling up to it and pretending I’m not writing it. I scribble something on the whiteboard, but that’s not really writing it – I’m just putting down thoughts. Then I type it up on my computer, but that’s not really writing it – that’s transcribing with extra detail. Then I edit it and play with the structure of the novel, play with lines and add little bits and pieces – that’s not really writing either.
So far I’m up to 41,000 words of not writing. I’ve still got a long way to go and so please, don’t congratulate me (Derek down below will tell you why).
Do kick me in the bottom if you see any sign of me slacking off. Signs of slacking off include not twittering about the novel for more than a week or getting far too caught up in other projects.
2 thoughts on “This is what 41,000 words looks like”
I find that the more I plan, the less I get down on the page, because I get far too wrapped up in the large implications of little decisions. I can’t simply enjoy a scene as a scene – I have to examine every little spider-thread and how it impacts on all my other nodes and important moments. Still, if it works for you, keep going!
I find I have different levels of planning. There are many aspects of the novel still finding its shape. I have a sense of the whole arch, although I’m not sure how everything happens. I think it’s important to still have a sense of discovery, whatever the approach. My characters continually astonish me.