1130

1208 1209

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:45:58 -0500

1208 was about writing and flow.

1209 was about spending time with my family.

WC: 37.895

1207

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:39:09 -0500

Worked on a pay the bills thing last night instead.

1206

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:07:06 -0500

1300 words. 1300 fun words. I’m having so much fun writing the climatic scene.

My lead character can be a real douchebag.

It’s fun to write in the voice of douchebag.

1205

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:57:14 -0500

almost forgot to record yesterday.

about 1,000 words leading up to a really crucial point and I stopped because I really had to step back and think about it and now it is 12/06 and i’m done thinking about and going to write.

1204

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:14:51 -0500

I took the day off from work yesterday and realized that I write so much better during the day than I do at night.

Unfortunately, writing during weekdays is rarely an option. But, at least I got the story flowing again at a point where I thought the flow had stopped.

That makes me think of a tampon analogy so I’ll stop there.

1203

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:20:58 -0500

Rewriting, moving stuff around, deleting, replacing, working things out. About two hours of that.

1202

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:28:58 -0500

I only wrote 585 words.

It’s a combination of a shitty week at work that’s leaving me drained, plus the fact that I’m at a point in the story where I need to start tying things together. This isn’t the same free flow writing of the first 35,000 words and I’m definitely having trouble.

I guess 585 words is better than zero.

1201

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:44:06 -0500

Having issues. Will force myself to get back in creative mode tonight.

1130

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:45:08 -0500

nada. zilch. zero. nothing.

Is it ironic that I didn’t write anything at all on 1130?

I just didn’t have anything last night. I could have tried and maybe vomited up some gibberish that could have been spun into gold later, but who the hell has ever spun vomit into gold?

Instead, I watched Intervention and went to bed at 10. Sometimes, that’s a successful night.

1129

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:40:14 -0500

Just a reprint of what I wrote over at my main tumblr, so I can keep my progress intact here.

About a month and a half ago, I started something called 1130, which is my version of NaNoWriMo. My goal was not to finish a novel by this date, but to get to a point where I had disciplined myself to get into the habit of working on the novel every day.

So, ~~today~~ tomorrow being 1130, let’s take stock of the last month.

I’ve written 35,710 words. I’ve incorporated some characters from another unfinished novel into this one and they fit perfectly. I’ve created a town and its people and they’ve become part of me. I’ve written most every night (I write a daily progress report here) and I’ve gotten to the point where working on the story has become part of my nightly routine.

I like what I’ve written. I believe in this story and I believe in myself. I started out in October with a small idea and it’s grown into what I think is a really good story that’s going to be a pretty good book. Even if it’s a self published one.

I’m glad I didn’t do NaNoWriMo and put the pressure on myself to get to 50,000 words by today. 35,000 may not seem like an awful lot of words to get down in a month and a half, but I’m doing what I can with the free time I have and I’ve done it without neglecting anything or anyone. I’m proud of these words. I honestly did not think at the start of this that I would, on November 30, sit here and tell you I’m happy with what I’ve done and how I’m progressing.

I’ve got a long way to go. I estimate this is going to end up at about 60,000 words. So I’ve a lot left to write and then, ugh, the editing and rewriting. For now, I’m feeling really pleased with myself. Not even for the content of the story, but for sticking with it, for making a habit of writing and for coming this far without finding an excuse to ditch it.

[I just finished a chapter in which I killed off a character that I started out hating, but grew rather fond of. I feel like I should apologize to someone for that. ]

1128

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:12:00 -0500

I wrote about 1500 words and I’m pretty satisfied with averaging that many a day right now. These chapters have been hard to write yet I’m having a lot of fun with them. The thing about writing a story that deals with paranormal things in a comedic situation is you can really make anything happen without having to back it up with physics or fact checks.

Han Solo makes another appearance. And there turns out to be redemption for a character I originally thought would end up being completely unreedemable.

Now, onto 11/30, where I look at my progress so far.

1127

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:34:00 -0500

about 1500 words.

I know I should be writing more than that a day, but I’m working on the build up to the climax. There’s lots of action and conversation and being that I’m more of a descriptive/narrative writer, I am taking my time with these passages.

Which means I am deleting and rewriting the same paragraphs often.

I’d like to get to 40,000 before the weekend is over.

1126

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:18:20 -0500

What? It was a holiday.

1125

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:50:40 -0500

30,000!

1124

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:55:30 -0500

Day off of novel writing. Writing paid articles instead.

And by writing paid articles, I mean thinking about them while eating sushi then falling asleep watching COPS.

1123

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:54:55 -0500

Wrote 1385 words last night. They weren’t great words, but they moved the story along. The idea within the words is good, I just need to rewrite after a less stressful day. Some days, it’s very hard to come home from work and get the entire work day out of your head and de-stress and get to a place where the writing will be good. On those days I like to write anyhow just to see if an idea pops up and then go back to rewrite later.

I’m also writing two articles for PJM at the moment, so I’m spreading myself thin, writing wise. Especially when I’m writing articles about Oprah and Twilight. My brain wants to cry.

1122

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:48:16 -0500

Only 300 words. I had to spend time writing an article for someone that pays me, instead.

I have a feeling this is going to be a slow writing week, what with the holiday coming up and work being crazy.

I also have to think about my goal. What the hell was my goal, anyhow? I certainly didn’t want to finish this book by 11/30, but I wanted to be moving along, and in the habit of writing every night.

Well, I’ll be more than halfway done with the book (pre-editing, of course) and I’m writing 99% of the nights and the nights I’m not writing I’m still jotting down notes about the story.

So I think come 11/30, I’ll be satisfied with my goal and see where I can get to by 12/30.

1121

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:25:40 -0500

1300 words! It’s not a whole hell of a lot, but it means I’m back on track again.

Plus, Han Solo makes a brief appearance in this chapter as an apparition. I hope some day to be successful enough for George Lucas to sue me for that.

1120

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:49:02 -0500

I’m keeping this diary sort of thing here to:

keep a record of my writing habits
document the process of writing this novel
hold myself accountable every night
and to have this to look back on when the novel is finished as a “show my work” kind of thing.

I’m really glad I am making these notes to myself because looking back at the beginning, when the writing was going fast and furious and I was all excited, is what’s keeping me going past this week, when the words seemed to not want to come at all and I’ve been frustrated to the point of letting it go.

Instead of writing last night (11/20) - because nothing was happening in that department - I went back and read what I wrote here from the beginning and then read notes I made to myself on the pages of the novel and went to bed if not inspired, at least determined to get past this wall I’ve hit.

I woke up at about 5 this morning with a whole bunch of thoughts about how to proceed. I laid there for about an hour with my eyes closed, just imagining each of the four main characters. I put them all in the same situation and thought about what they would each do in that situation.

And I had my motivation and impetus for today. I’m expecting to get back on the writing trail this afternoon.

1119

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:44:37 -0500

hit a wall at 26,000 words. typical.