This post is about 250 words.
A quiet house tonight put me in the exact frame of mind to crank out a few thousand words: mostly new, but some came from light editing. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been filling in some gaps (intros, transitions, chapter ends), and tonight saw more of the same.
I also worked on the intro to the final conflict with the primary antagonist, shifting and re-shifting sections as I tried to find the right sequence of information delivered by the dialogue. It’s a complex section that recaps information from earlier in the book, parts of which are not fully fleshed out yet.
Then I saw the word count pass 90,000 words.
I’ve exceeded my word count range (though I expect to cut a number of things in the second draft). It’s now twice as long as anything I’ve ever written, which feels pretty good. But as I find myself beyond the self-imposed deadline of the first draft, I wonder how much more fleshing-out is required before the draft is done. I might have to stop at 100,000 words because that’s a pretty long book for a first-time author, as well as for the audience I’m trying to reach. I’m not one to limit a story to satisfy a metric like word count, but compromises are sometimes required. We’ll see.
–Michael
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© Michael Wallevand, June 2016, except images from Superman: The Animated Series and Clue.
In my own story, I was looking to create another advisor for Tildy, someone to serve as a counterpoint to the witch, Tildy’s adoptive mother. I also wanted a way to have Tildy work through some of her own concerns without always relying on inner monologue. I didn’t want to add another companion on their journey, but if the advisor was also a secret, this could lead to future conflict. When I recalled Mimulus, I knew I had the inspiration I needed.
The writing was broken into smaller chunks. I’ve found my frequency increasing, which means I’m finding more opportunities during the day to sit down and do some writing, even if it’s only a few dozen words. Additionally, since the first draft is nearly done, I’m filling in some small holes (e.g. transitions, intro paragraphs, and conclusions). I’d previously been equating progress to the number of marathon writing sessions I’d have. Lesson learned.
It’s getting easier. Not that I know much about working out, but we all know that exercise increases strength and endurance. The same is true for your brain, as well as those nimble typing fingers. I’m quite certain I’m not the first to say something like, “The more you write, the more you write,” but it’s true. Over time, you’re changing the way your brain works, which is both awesome and somewhat unnerving. And perhaps an idea for an interesting short story.
I’m having fun. It’s feeling less like work, which is great because this novel is like a part-time job where I’m not getting paid…yet. I’m getting up early and staying up late. I’m investing so much of my personal time that, were this to feel like a slog of a job, I’d probably never complete the thing. To be a couple hundred hours into this project and having more fun each day, well, I think that says something about the subject matter, as well as the improvements to my work ethic.
There’s a saying attributed to Mark Twain that goes something like this: “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one.”
Twenty years ago – almost to the day – I was at the Galleria dell’Accademia 
The Lost Royals 