I wrote another thousand words this afternoon, bringing the total up to 66,000. Tomorrow's job is to sort out the order and structure of the chapters, and then (ambitiously) get 4,000 words done! I'd love to reach the milestone of 70,000 tomorrow. It would be a great morale boost. We'll see.
I need to go on some kind of Artist Date tomorrow ... that is, taking myself out to fill up my mental well with imagery and ideas. Sounds very impressive, doesn't it? Really, it can be something as simple as going for a walk somewhere beautiful, or visiting a gallery. If I'm going to be productive tomorrow, I'll need that time.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
On we trudge
Total word count: about 65,000
Today's word count: 1,200 so far
Cups of coffee: just two
What's playing: nothing. All I can hear is the sound of hammering from a couple of blocks away.
Phew, it has not been an easy morning. I'm working on a new chapter designed to fill a gap fairly early on in the book. I needed another chapter there, one that developed some characters further and also introduced traditional Christian religion, which will play a part later. Up till now it has all been traditional Shona religion and superstitions. After this chapter is one that has been bugging me for ages - I like it, and I really like some of the writing in it, but it has always seemed sort of pointless. I'm not sure if I should lose it altogether, or try to spin something out of it. I think the problem is that it doesn't serve a particular purpose, or have a strong central theme or time ... it's rather anecdotal. I like the way it ends, but ... well, anyway, after lunch I'm going to get out the toolbox and pick that one apart, and hopefully get it into some kind of shape.
I have worked out that I only need to write 1,800 words a day to reach my target of having the first draft completed by 30 March. It doesn't really matter if I don't make it by then, but I work well to deadlines. Of course, I'm hoping to write more than 1,800 words a day, too, but it's good to know that it's achievable in such small increments.
Today's word count: 1,200 so far
Cups of coffee: just two
What's playing: nothing. All I can hear is the sound of hammering from a couple of blocks away.
Phew, it has not been an easy morning. I'm working on a new chapter designed to fill a gap fairly early on in the book. I needed another chapter there, one that developed some characters further and also introduced traditional Christian religion, which will play a part later. Up till now it has all been traditional Shona religion and superstitions. After this chapter is one that has been bugging me for ages - I like it, and I really like some of the writing in it, but it has always seemed sort of pointless. I'm not sure if I should lose it altogether, or try to spin something out of it. I think the problem is that it doesn't serve a particular purpose, or have a strong central theme or time ... it's rather anecdotal. I like the way it ends, but ... well, anyway, after lunch I'm going to get out the toolbox and pick that one apart, and hopefully get it into some kind of shape.
I have worked out that I only need to write 1,800 words a day to reach my target of having the first draft completed by 30 March. It doesn't really matter if I don't make it by then, but I work well to deadlines. Of course, I'm hoping to write more than 1,800 words a day, too, but it's good to know that it's achievable in such small increments.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Books and moods and bad titles
We went to see my dad (stepdad number two) quickly this afternoon, and he told me that his sister had found my book in a shop the other day. She got really excited and bought three copies, one for each of her grandchildren. So I'm expecting millions of dollars of royalties to flood my coffers any day now. Actually that's probably true, except that they will be Zimbabwean dollars and I will only be able to buy a stick of chewing gum with them. All the same, it's nice to know that it's still out there. My publisher passes on the occasional letter to me from a reader, and it's always a surprise to remember that my book is out in the world being read. A nice surprise.
We haven't done much this weekend. Yesterday was a real energy trough for me - it was raining, and gloomy, and I was tired, so I lazed on the couch for most of the day and then felt guilty about it. I'm not looking forward to winter, although it has its good points, because that's when depression tends to rear its ugly head. It's amazing how much my mood is affected by the weather. I think it has been excellent timing, writing the first draft in summer. Winter is a good time to do all that nitty-gritty editing and rewriting stuff, but I think creating from scratch would be a bit of a slog while my energy and mood levels were so low.
One thing I forgot to mention after my meeting with my advisor the other day is that I confessed my complete lack of talent for coming up with good titles for my books. On the computer, they are all saved under names like "Book 1", "Book 2", "Other Book". The current one is actually saved as "Chapter 1" because I intended to save out all the chapters as separate documents, but that didn't happen (stupid idea, actually, until I come to the editing. It needs to be one solid mass of text while it's in a state of flux). So, my advisor has promised to keep his eyes open for good phrases or images that would make a snappy title. I really need the help.
We haven't done much this weekend. Yesterday was a real energy trough for me - it was raining, and gloomy, and I was tired, so I lazed on the couch for most of the day and then felt guilty about it. I'm not looking forward to winter, although it has its good points, because that's when depression tends to rear its ugly head. It's amazing how much my mood is affected by the weather. I think it has been excellent timing, writing the first draft in summer. Winter is a good time to do all that nitty-gritty editing and rewriting stuff, but I think creating from scratch would be a bit of a slog while my energy and mood levels were so low.
One thing I forgot to mention after my meeting with my advisor the other day is that I confessed my complete lack of talent for coming up with good titles for my books. On the computer, they are all saved under names like "Book 1", "Book 2", "Other Book". The current one is actually saved as "Chapter 1" because I intended to save out all the chapters as separate documents, but that didn't happen (stupid idea, actually, until I come to the editing. It needs to be one solid mass of text while it's in a state of flux). So, my advisor has promised to keep his eyes open for good phrases or images that would make a snappy title. I really need the help.
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