Spikes and Horcruxes
Since I started writing Remember, November, I've been keeping track of my word count every day. My daily goal has more than doubled since then, and I'm happy with how regularly I've hit it.
This book, Book IV, however, as seen some incredibly wild swings in how much I've gotten done each day. Many of the reasons I've outlined in prior posts, but over the last month or so, it's really turned into spikes and troughs. Days I can almost double it followed by days where I can't even hit it. Even though I'm excited by those big days, I want to be more consistent, which I feel is more important long-term. Like the economy, you want steady progress, not big boom-and-bust cycles where everything goes to hell every so often.
Part of the reason for this pattern recently, I think, is that because each of my books are like a horcrux, and a little bit of my soul goes into every one. It's cliche, but there really is a piece of me in all of my characters, and sometimes I give that piece out freely and joyfully, while other times they have to wring it out of me.
But on days where it just isn't happening, you have to be able to forgive yourself (as long as it doesn't become a pattern). You take a Mulligan and 'walk it off' as it were, and come back the next day. I used to berate myself into pretty dark places before, and it didn't really help, since I had to come back and do the work the next day anyway. It wasn't motivating. Be healthy, kids! And that includes mentally.
There are a lot of sources of motivation for me nowadays, but it's not always enough. One of the scenes I've been looking forward to writing the most in this entire series is in Book IV, and I have a very clear idea of what it looks like. Have I written it yet? Nope. It's the dessert of this banquet, and I'll be saving it for last. There are things I will discover in the process of writing it that will have ripple effect that I will have to add to other parts, but that's what second drafts are for!
But as Pink Floyd said, 'How can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat!?' I'm eating my meat, just some bites are bigger than others. And that's okay.
This book, Book IV, however, as seen some incredibly wild swings in how much I've gotten done each day. Many of the reasons I've outlined in prior posts, but over the last month or so, it's really turned into spikes and troughs. Days I can almost double it followed by days where I can't even hit it. Even though I'm excited by those big days, I want to be more consistent, which I feel is more important long-term. Like the economy, you want steady progress, not big boom-and-bust cycles where everything goes to hell every so often.
Part of the reason for this pattern recently, I think, is that because each of my books are like a horcrux, and a little bit of my soul goes into every one. It's cliche, but there really is a piece of me in all of my characters, and sometimes I give that piece out freely and joyfully, while other times they have to wring it out of me.
But on days where it just isn't happening, you have to be able to forgive yourself (as long as it doesn't become a pattern). You take a Mulligan and 'walk it off' as it were, and come back the next day. I used to berate myself into pretty dark places before, and it didn't really help, since I had to come back and do the work the next day anyway. It wasn't motivating. Be healthy, kids! And that includes mentally.
There are a lot of sources of motivation for me nowadays, but it's not always enough. One of the scenes I've been looking forward to writing the most in this entire series is in Book IV, and I have a very clear idea of what it looks like. Have I written it yet? Nope. It's the dessert of this banquet, and I'll be saving it for last. There are things I will discover in the process of writing it that will have ripple effect that I will have to add to other parts, but that's what second drafts are for!
But as Pink Floyd said, 'How can you have your pudding if you don't eat your meat!?' I'm eating my meat, just some bites are bigger than others. And that's okay.
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