Hello and happy Friday! I am pleased to see the weekend, most especially because it looks to be a fairly low-key one for me. Saturday will be busy: blood work, a writing date, and family game night, but Friday night and Sunday are plan-less and I’m hoping to keep them that way!
Today, I wanted to give another update on my novel, even though this update isn’t as great as I wanted it to be. But I’m still writing and still working toward this goal and that’s all that matters, right? Right.
July 8-14
- Words written: 1,037
I had a pretty good writing date this weekend and wrote 1k words! However, I ran into a roadblock with my novel: I had no idea what I wanted the next scene to be about. I knew I wanted it to be from the hero’s point of view and introduce his conflict, but I couldn’t figure out what the scene should look like. So I spent some time plotting the next handful of scenes, which was really helpful.
Let’s talk about outlines for a sec, though. I really love working off a full outline, but what I keep discovering as I write is that the overarching story can change dramatically as I get to know my characters better and understand their motivations. I outlined my entire WIP at the end of last year and I’ve already had to blow it up when I decided to change the inner conflict of my hero. So, now I’m only outlining a few scenes at a time (around 4-5). I think this is going to work much better for me because it takes much less time to brainstorm a few scenes every few months than to spend a month or more outlining an entire novel. But it also means every now and then, I’m going to hit a roadblock when I finish writing what was in my outline and will have to dedicate time to figuring out the next part of the novel.
July 15-21
- Words written: 0
Womp, womp. No writing for me this week! I had a very busy weekend and during my writing date, I had to complete a project for work. I’m feeling very discouraged about my novel right now because I’m just not making the time to write like I need to. I really need to figure out a different system for me. Maybe challenging myself to write for 30 minutes a day? Or maybe challenging myself to write 1,000 words during my weekly writing date + adding a separate writing time in the middle of the week? I’m noodling over a few ideas.
July 22-28
- Words written: 0
Another unsuccessful writing week. Oof. My friend and I canceled our writing date this weekend (she was sick) and it was a busy weekend for me, so I didn’t make time for novel writing. July was a very busy month for me, but I need to figure out a system of writing even when life is busy. I’m never going to finish this novel if I don’t figure it out!
July 29 – August 3
- Words written: 1,429
Look at that! I wrote some words! I am hoping this is the start of my upswing when it comes to writing. I had a delightful time writing this week, too, which was a nice change from how I have been feeling about my novel. (The writing has felt really hard lately, which I know is par for the course, but man, I hate it.)
My goal right now is to have 40,000 words in my WIP by the time November rolls around. I’m planning on participating in NaNoWriMo (writing 50,000 words in 30 days), which, if I am successful, will ensure I can use December to put the finishing touches on my rough draft. Currently, I have just under 23,000 words in my WIP so I would need to write around 1,400 words per week to make the 40k goal happen. That feels very doable!
This feels like another lackluster writing update, but so it goes sometimes. I’m starting to realize that I need to figure out a better schedule for writing so I can hit my word count goals and make sure the rough draft is done by the end of the year. Right now, I’m relying on NaNoWriMo to help me catch up and I don’t love that, because I’m worried about being able to complete NaNoWriMo. But I’ll worry about that when the time comes. For now, I’ll focus on aiming for 1,400 words weekly so I can be in a good spot when November rolls around.
You are doing great! I love your idea of switching up your goals. Even fifteen minutes is enough time to write a nice chunk of works – so I would recommend starting small.
My mom always reminds me that there are other things to work on when the words won’t come – I don’t know if that would be helpful to you. Synopsis, query letter, character sketches – there are all sorts of ways to prompt your brain to get into the novel, even if you aren’t directly working ON the novel.
Hang in there! You are making progress! You will get it done!
You’re doing great, Stephany. Writing a novel cannot be an easy feat, so the fact that you’re diligently working on it is admirable.
(Late comment… again… sorry!)
Anyway, this is fascinating to read, as I face the same challenges when writing journal articles or grants. I freeze and then… don’t do anything.
A couple of things that have helped me were identifying MY best time to write – and then making the time at that time of day. For me, it’s first thing in the morning, when my brain is goinggoinggoing and I know the words (should) come. But if you’re a night owl, then maybe it’s after dinner? Or in lieu of a TV show? Just a thought.
The other thing comes from a faculty development blog that I read, that highlights the importance of daily writing. They recommend 30 minutes, but man, I aim for 10. 🙂
And… sometimes you just have to close your eyes and type. It might be garbage (mine often is!) but there’s also usually at least one gem in the bunch of drivel that I can salvage.
Just some (random, probably-not-helpful) thoughts from someone who does not write creatively…but who faces challenges nonetheless. 🙂