Word Count & Progress Update

Posted by Jennifer B. at The Writing Cocoon.

Yesterday’s words flew from my fingertips. I’m enjoying my story again. Things are happening, and there is direction. I’ve been reading about writer’s block and writing a first draft, and I’ve found some helpful tips to keep me moving. One such tip was to write dialogue only to get through a rough patch or finish up a first draft. I tried this yesterday and it kept things flowing and allowed me to get lost in the story and characters for a while, which is exactly what I’ve needed.

This first draft has changed so much and I’m learning every day about crafting a story, that I know that I need to just get it finished. Then I can know how it is supposed to end. From there I figure I will have to pretty much rewrite the whole damned thing.  For starters, it is pretty awful; I don’t need to read a word to tell you this. Second, the beginning seems to change more and more as I get closer to the end. Someone said that you have to write the end to know how it begins, and that seems to be true, for this story at least.

I wasn’t home much Friday, plus, I didn’t plan my time very well. I didn’t write a single word on the novel draft, but I did get some brainstorming in and started another short story. Saturday I wrote 1,948 words on my novel. It felt easy, and I think I could have kept going. I don’t want to burn myself out, though. I want the writing to feel fun and exciting, and I want to end my sessions feeling like I have more to say. Don’t know yet if that is a good strategy, but that’s what I’m going with for now.