Tags
day dreaming, first draft, J.C. Hart, new novel, novel, progress, sun-touched, voices, voices in my head, word count, writer, writing
It’s Monday here in New Zealand, and yesterday I reached 50,000 words on Sun-Touched. It’s funny because last weekend I hit 40,000 words (I’d written 5k in a week and was really proud of myself) and M said to me ’50K next weekend!’ and I replied something along the lines of ‘LOL’. 10,000 words in one week? That was ridiculous. I mean, sure, I was steadily increasing the number of words I was writing a day, but 10,000 in one week?
So I’m actually quite surprised to be sitting at 50K. I mean, that’s half a novel. I’m halfway, and the writing is only getting easier. I’ve decided that I while I love the shiny new ideas, and the planning and day dreaming that happens before you start writing a new novel, while I adore the freshness of new characters and a new world, what I love most is when I’m in the thick of it all, when all the threads I’ve put into play are intertwining and leading me inexorably towards the end of the novel.
I can’t see me doing 10K every week – I do have study and family and all those other things to think about – but it’s nice to know that when I put my mind to it, I can knock out a lot more words than expected. I’m firmly in ‘the habit’ now, and sitting down to write 500 words is no longer hard.
A key to getting back to the place where I can write more in the day has been letting go of the past. There has been a voice in the back of my head going ‘you used to write 1.5K a day, every day.’ It’s a loud voice that drowns out the other ones that tack on ‘you only had two children then, one of them a newborn,’ and ‘you weren’t studying then,’ and ‘you were getting a little more sleep back then too, ya know?’
Finally, I kicked that loud voice to the curb and introduced a new one which says something along the lines of: Life happens, and there are only so many hours in the day. You love to write, so make time for it, but quit being so hard on yourself!
This week I have had many 1k+ days, a 2.5k day and even a 3k day. And there are no voices in my head telling me that I’m not doing enough. I’m in love with my story, and relaxed about my output. And I know, more than anything else, that I’m the only one who can write this novel. And it’s awesome.
Glad to see you’ve put those voices to rest, Cassie. You are *rocking* on Sun-Touched!!! CONGRATS on hitting the big 50k! I think I need to take a page from your book. Forget what I used to be able to each night, and focus on what I can do now and work from there.
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Very inspiring Cassie.
That is fantastic progress!! Go you!
“And there are no voices in my head telling me that I’m not doing enough. I’m in love with my story, and relaxed about my output. And I know, more than anything else, that I’m the only one who can write this novel. And it’s awesome.”
What a great mental place to be in! I’m so happy for you! ^_^