Forward Progress

The goal is 1500 words a day to get 150,000 words between two novels before November 1st. It’s also to get a first pass through the rough draft of book one.

 

So far, I have gone through the first chapter of the first book. It’s more cohesive and has notes in a few places to add, subtract, whatever. I’ve read through the second chapter, and I think I’ve figured out where to start to get to where I want to be.

 

The second book passed 12,000 words last night. Only one day I did not reach the 1500 words, and if I had stopped exactly at the goal I’d be at 10,500 words. It’s only been a week, but I’m starting to feel the momentum carry me further. It’s easier and easier to open the work-in-progress and jump in with my characters.

 

One of my hardest parts about staying focused through the end of the editing is the ‘ooh, shiny!’ factor. I want to write something else. Right now I’m thinking about machines. I have a couple ideas about how that could go (and yes, I do write them down), but I’m making myself wait for that until November. That will be my NaNoWriMo treat – to be able to start on something completely new. Then I’ll be able to finish the editing during December.

 

And yes, I’ll also be deciding how to shop out the novel I just finished. Do you ever wonder how much you can do in a day? I do. Every day. And I keep pushing myself to do more.