I don’t have the energy to write properly, so here’s a brief deconstruction of the whole ‘write a 50000 word novel in a month’ shebang as it applies to me.
I was apparently somewhat cranky when I wrote this.
week the first
-averaged 2000 words a day, which coasted me above schedule
-did not sound like absolute shit
week the second
-stayed on track, but with mounting difficulty. Broke off to write a couple of short stories, one of which made absolutely no sense at all
-summarily called out for cheating and veering off track by the pep talk author of the week. It went something like this: “Hey, cheater! If you were planning on starting a different story, STOP RIGHT NOW!”
I should probably add another 3000 words to my total to counterbalance that lapse in fortitude.
-still not sounding like absolute shit. Wrote a couple of sections which I liked more than some of the stuff I didn’t hate in the first week
week the third (present)
-struggling to hit 1000 words a day. I had a 3000 word night. Brutal. Everything starts to sound awkward and vile. I’ve lost any so-called style I might once have had. I haven’t quite stooped to the level of pure padding, but I’m seriously beginning to wonder when I’ll get to that point. Look at this paragraph. Execrable.
further example: marvel at how the construction deteriorates as we continue down the page. Let us examine the horrendous frame transition. You’re quite welcome to fix it.
week the fourth
I’ll get to that.
What happens after the month is up? I need to maintain the discipline required to actually finish a story. The whole purpose of cranking out all the short stories and throwing them up online (even though I know some of them are pretty bad) was to force myself to finish stuff. So far it seems to be working.
Let me summarize my own character conflict for you: stubbornness versus latent laziness.
**update:
-apparently I can write 2200 words in an hour, and possibly a little more if I’m not distracted intermittently by various things.
Let’s make that 2400 words an hour (it’s quite doable if I’m focusing) so we arrive at a nice round 40 wpm. I’m losing 60 words a minute to thinking time, assuming I round my typing speed off to an even 100. Useless knowledge for you and me. Imagine writing at 6000 words an hour, though. That would be something.
My friend and I had an hour-long write-off, which was fairly satisfying, I suppose. At the risk of rendering my other observations redundant, I’ll say that having other people to motivate you works wonders as far as inciting action goes.
Today’s peptalk: “it’s all easier after 35000″. I don’t know.
So? I need more outline and more problem-solving. fuck you, connective insight. how you leave me adrift.
13000 words to go. Let’s say 2000 words an hour. I should be done with the 50k target in 5.5 hours. Huh! And after, hark! the gong show of trying to polish some sense out of the mire. I think this needs to run another 50000 words, another month. A month-long break, first.
update: max speed so far, 2525/hour. huh. what do you know.
on Nov 30th, with 8500 more words to go, I was strangely unbothered about the whole thing, since I had the above calculations to soothe my worries. In fact, I look at this like writing a term paper or some such. A 50000 word term paper, no less. I don’t know if I would have been able to do it without the incentive of competition and heaps of moral support. I think next time around it will be much easier.
After a couple of hours I sit here at 47500 words, and decide to take a break, because I will be done with this in an hour. Well, done for now, anyway.
It’s a surprisingly satisfying feeling to be able to sit and think 1000 words is a mere matter of twenty or thirty minutes.
HOWEVER! THINGS I AM LEARNING INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
-apparently I’m undergoing a transitory period of stylistic metamorphosis which doesn’t seem to be working at present
-evolution probably a good thing, in the long run
-it’s a first draft. it doesn’t matter if prose sounds less than perfect (I’m not talking about grammatical matters okaythankyou.)
-since it’s all going to be rejigged and reworked eventually
-and frankly, ratifying plotting issues is far more important than fucking around with every other word in a sentence that might be completely eradicated anyway. I need to stop compulsively editing text and start spewing it out, at least for the purposes of a first draft. Let me reiterate and italicise that point for myself.
Left unchecked, I spend hours contemplating the nuances of punctuation.
-I hate how everything on this blog sounds stilted and awkward compared to bullshit I have written on my prolix blog because:
-I’m stressing out about plot and style
-protips from wiser people: stumped? make a decision and quit being avoidant.
Things I have come to realise:
-all my real problems are rooted in plot and organisation, or a distinct lack of either.
-it was wise to shunt aside my natural and immature aversion towards exposing creative foibles. I suck, but attempt to grow.
-having brutal yet constructively critical friends is quite remarkable (thanks).
-I am not at all sensitive when it comes to taking criticism, save in one regard:
SEMANTOFASCISM
-I’m perfectly happy to take stylistic pointers from people, but I have no patience for people who condescend to me as though I fail to comprehend the grammatical mores of our language as she is written.
-this whole write-a-book thing would be a lot easier if I didn’t have so much shit to chew off my plate this month
-it is far, far easier to find motivation when other people you know are zooming past your daily word count and you are receiving constant reminders of just how possible this task is. Mind you, I haven’t slept too much this month, but that’s my prerogative.
-this has been a learning experience. If you’ve ever considered writing a novel but never actually done it – do it. It sounds hokey as all hell, but when I look at the 30000 words I have written so far, pearls of shit and all, damn me if I don’t feel some small amount of pride.
PROCESS
-I write in a very haphazard fashion, and usually think up an ending first. Now I have six different endings or something equally ridiculous. I find ending short stories very difficult for some reason. Long stories, not so much.
-so now I have this big accretion of stuff that is all over the place; tying loose ends together is arduous, arduous!
-I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to write sequentially.
-having an outline really helps me, along with a mindmap. (I’m using FreeMind.)
*Anything marked “the horror” (or the most recent posts) came from this month’s verbiage fest.
