So…I didn’t finish 50,000 words in 30 days. I knew before I started that I wouldn’t finish. I knew from the beginning that because my novel was outlined at 30 chapters and on average 3,000-4,000+ words per chapter so far I would not finish the project itself in a month. Somewhere between the election and my birthday things slowed down.
I know a lot of people didn’t finish. I know a lot of first timers don’t finish. It’s okay.
Right when the third week rolled in I thought if I doubled my writing time I could possibly still finish even if it was by the skin of my teeth: November 30th. But then I thought about what my project would look–let alone read like–if I wrote as much as I could just for the sake of finishing. It didn’t feel organic anymore. So I slowed down even more. Regrouped. Went back to the basics (which I’ll explore in the next post) of the story. Relaxed I had a nice cup of tea and wrote something else for a bit.
Now mid-December I am making headway and feel the organicness of the moment, the spontaneity that comes with writing and the twists and turns that surprise me when the story takes flight on its own.
Lemmon Avenue 