Monday, January 5, 2015

End of the Year Routine

I seem to do it every year. I start writing a book I'm excited about in fall with the hopes that hard work and the drive to finish will get me to the end before the year is out. It never happens. Too much gets going on and my momentum is sucked away by family and events.

This year I started THE END OF SUMMER at the beginning of October. The Sunday before Thanksgiving I totaled a word count of 14,000 for the week. The week of, maybe a thousand. The week after the same. Writing is like a work out habit for me. As long as I do it and remain in the routine everything is fine. Once you break the routine it is so hard to get going again. Add to that the idea from everyone around you that you can do whatever you want, whenever you want to. It's not like a real job to them because I don't go off to an office and no one but me cares if I show up.

Well, just like every year, the season of time suck and momentum kill is past. I am back to work and finding it a hard transition. Over the last few days I have muddled through some work on END OF SUMMER. I have created a new version and broken open a chapter to add a new scene that both added more complexity to the complications and put more time into the main character's romantic progression. It was something bothering me. Katrina and Nelson were drawn to each other from their first encounter, It worked. I was feeling their chemistry and I let that drive the progression into intimacy. It was unrealistic for Katrina and it showed as her feelings developed. So I went and gave her a step-away moment. I'm happy with it so far.

I'm happy also with the settled time and return to routine that promises to bring this book to an end. I have heard other writers talk about enjoying the ride of their characters in the story. I don't. I want the end and I enjoy the looking back. From the moment that I begin a new story I am impatient to finish. Now at 66,200 words I am eager to get to the end. The only real problem is that I had been shooting for under 80,000 words. Story and characters are telling me to forget that target they want a little more room. I'm not so close to the end as I thought.

2 comments:

  1. Boo! Keep working because I loved the snippet you shared and I can tell it's going to be amazing. And I care. And Sharon cares. We want to read it! I know it's not all fun, I know it's a chore at times. The nitty gritty is tough. But finishing is what makes it all worth while. SAFE WORDS was amazing and I'm so glad you pushed through and finished it. If you ever need a shoulder, a nudge or an outright shove, let me know. I'm here!

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  2. I never stop. I get anxious to jump back in when my routine is upset. It is a failing I have. I think a lot of other people do as well. When your momentum is stalled it is just hard to get it going again. But I am back at it. Just finished a thousand words on End of Summer and will do another thousand before I stop for the day. Always onward.

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