Operation Write My Novel | February Recap

After having a very successful writing month in January… February did not go so well. It was a combination of feeling mentally unwell and being busy and just letting excuses get in the way of writing. It happens! It’s the reality of trying to write a novel while also working a full-time job, maintaining a blog, and trying to have a social life. But since I am committed to writing these posts and keeping everyone updated on what the novel-writing process really looks like, here’s my honest recap:

Week 5 (January 28 – February 3)

• Words written: 4,046
• Chapters written: 1
• Things researched: “record sleeves,” “vinyl records,” “filched definition,” “unique drinks to make,” “bijou cocktail history,” “affectionate names in french to say to a friend,” “french foods”

I had such a fun time writing this week, even though I had to really challenge myself to sit down and do it. Some weekends, I just don’t want to worry about writing! But alas, as one of my cheerleading coaches once told me when I didn’t go to practice one evening (I was ten, by the way): “This isn’t a ‘want’ thing.” So I sat down and wrote, and lo and behold, it was fun! The whole chapter involved my two characters meeting for the first time and getting to know one another.

During my writing date, I edited chapter 3, which was probably the most difficult chapter to write. Once I finished editing it, I said to my writing partner, “Are you ready to cry your fucking eyes out?” Because that’s basically what this chapter does. Or, at least, that’s what I want this chapter to do. It needs to have an emotional impact, so I wanted to know how she would react to it. And… once I finished reading it, she told me she needed to take a minute because she was so emotional. YASS. Actually, I needed to take a minute, too, because it really was! Whew. But at least I know I’m hitting the right emotional tone with that chapter.

Week 6 (February 4-10)

• Words written: 0
• Chapters written: 0
• Things research: n/a

Oof, I took a zero for this week. I think I just needed a weekend off after five straight weeks of writing and editing all weekend long. It was a good break and I did not feel bad about taking the zero. I was also in the middle of a depressive episode this week, and I just didn’t have the mental stamina to sit down at my laptop and write about a fun and happy romance. Life happens, and I know I’m going to have weeks where writing is impossible.

However, I did end up editing a chapter because I met up with my friend for our weekly writing date and was able to focus enough to read through one of my earlier chapters. This chapter was interesting to edit because I switched between past and present tense throughout this chapter. This is weirdly something I do often when writing. My novel is supposed to be in past tense but I slipped into present tense for a few paragraphs here and there. So… a lot of my editing this week was fixing my tense mistakes. Heh.

Week 7 (February 11-17)

• Words written: 1,503
• Chapters written: 1
• Things researched: n/a

I wrote the majority of this chapter during my writing date because I was a little busy this weekend, as I had adopted Lila and was focused on getting her settled into her new home. 🙂 A good excuse, don’t you think? Thankfully, I still got my chapter for the week done because it was a short chapter. I wasn’t able to edit any of my previous chapters this week, which puts me a little behind. I may need to add in a few extra writing sessions soon so I can catch up.

Week 8 (February 18-24)

• Words written: 0
• Chapters written: 0
• Things researched: n/a

Oops, another goose egg for the month. I don’t even have a great excuse for this one, only that I had a busy weekend and in the free time I did have, I didn’t feel like writing. I feel like I’m getting into more of the “meat” of my story and it’s typical for me to lose steam now. This is when I started really doubting myself and having such resistance to writing. This week, I couldn’t push through the resistance.

During my writing date, M. and I spent the first hour having a super deep conversation about dating, relationships, and the baggage we bring to each. It was cathartic and necessary but it also meant that I didn’t really feel like beginning to write when I knew I only had an hour to get anything down. It’s a silly excuse because getting any words down is better than getting no words down but alas, I did not do so. I think I may add in an extra writing session once a week throughout the month of March to help me catch up from a very lackluster February. Oof.