The book is coming along amazingly. I’m completely into it, and I’m not just saying that because I am the one writing it. I really feel like this book has something to it. I can’t wait for my test audience to read it. More on that in a bit, though.
I have wanted to write this particular story for some time, and on 9/22, I announced that I would be doing this. I set a 1,000 words a day (at least) goal for myself, and I have stuck with it. As of 10/16, I have amassed 30,986 words.
It’s looking like the book is definitely going to be somewhere in the 100,000 word range. It will probably exceed that upon completion of the first draft. In doing revisions, I will probably end up cutting that number down a bit. There are already some parts of the book that I realize need to be fixed/changed/eliminated for the sake of the overall flow. However, I don’t want to do any of that until the full first draft is done.
I am finding myself being emotionally affected by certain elements of this book. I wrote something last night – a 2,500-word conclusion to a certain section of the book – and it really got to me. I was a bit grumpy after I finished it, and that grumpiness carried with me when I came to work this morning. Or maybe it was the fact that I had to wake up earlier than normal so Rowdy could take a dump. Who knows?
I am making sure to really pay attention to the protagonist and other important characters in this book. I want the protagonist to be someone who is hated – but not hated all the time. He has to be vitriol and endearing at the same time. I want you to read the book and absolutely abhor and at the same time sympathize with him.
I am not sure if any of you jackals have paid attention, but when I first decided to take action and jump into writing this, I set up a page link at the top of this site called BOOK PROGRESS. It outlines my ever-mounting word count and what I am listening to. Take a look at it, my precious.
Music has definitely been important. I need to listen to something when I am writing. If I don’t, there is a buzzing in my head. I mentioned this in previous posts: The music I listen to is very indicative of what the tone of the story is. I started by listening to the Red Dragon score and then moved into the American Beauty score. The current music keeping the buzzing at bay while I write is the Dust Brothers’ soundtrack to Fight Club.
Now onto more important things. Most of you won’t get any info on the content of my book until the final draft. However, I am going to want to give the book to some trusted readers after I have gone through and have a second draft. Right now, Jess is really the only person who has read it. I also let my friend Amy read it. If I keep up at the current pace, the first draft of my book will be done sometime in late November. That’s a bit earlier than I originally planned, so good for me. I am on point. So, sometime between December and January I will probably conclude the first revisions. That’s when I am going to need some critical readers. I am not going to hand it everyone – juts a select few who I trust. We’ll see what happens with that.
That’s it for now.
I know what you mean about getting emotionally affected. I wrote a short story about a Southern Baptist preacher and his family that was (surprise!) a lot like my own family and tapped into some drama from my childhood, and I seriously had a stomachache after writing it. I was trembling all over. Words is intense, yo.
Jess:
I agree. I have found that I don’t have the cajones to actually finish a chapter without having to get up and smoke multiple times. It is a really emotionally testing thing at times.