Category: Writing

First real afternoon post in a while, which means the shift change is starting to work. (Most of my writing yesterday was actually in the morning.)

I started work on Chapter 4. Lots of awe and wonder, cultural exchange, that sort of thing. It’s one of my favorite things to write (and read) about, even if it’s not the most exciting. We’re getting there, though.

This post marks another milestone: 20,000 words! Not only that, but it’s the 10th of the month. Work it out, and you’ll see that I’m 2 days ahead of the minimum pace. That’s good. Every day I get ahead is one less that I’ll have to worry about. At this pace, I’m done on the 25th, the day before Thanksgiving. Can I keep it up? We’ll see…

This session’s word count: 788
Total word count: 20,652

Chapter 3 is done, and we move on.

On a sadder note, the first thing I saw this morning when I started up my browser: Tommy Hanson, former Atlanta Braves pitcher, died at the age of 29 from what they’re saying is “catastrophic organ failure”. Every part of that just sucks. No one should leave this world at such a young age. But so it goes, and so passes one of the last great Braves pitchers. (There might not be another one, thanks to Moneyball, but I digress.)

Back to the story, though. I’m 3 chapters in, almost to the halfway point. The “man against nature” conflict is working, I think. There’s not a lot of action, but this was never meant to be an action story. (I’ve got others in mind for that.) Chapter 4, with yet another POV, should be a little easier, because I know where I’m going. It’s just the getting there that’s the hard part.

This session’s word count: 2,013
Total word count: 19,864

I thought I was going to be able to write a little more than this, but apparently not.

I’m close to two-thirds of the way through Chapter 3. I know where it’s going from here, and I think I’ve got an idea for the following chapters. We’ll see, but not today. My eyes are starting to get too tired.

This session’s word count: 931
Total word count: 17,851

So I didn’t get to write anymore yesterday due to…scheduling conflicts. (That’s a polite way of putting it.) But I’m back today, and the “shift change” is going well.

Chapter 3 is shaping up to be a big turning point in the story, which is good. Of course, it’s also becoming the “split the party” portion of our show, which any GM will tell you is a horrible idea. What can I say? I like horrible ideas. Besides, a split makes sense right now.

I don’t feel like I’m done writing for the day. Knock on wood, cross your fingers, and all that.

This session’s word count: 1,391
Total word count: 16,920

Chapter 3 has begun.

I woke up after midnight, so I’m officially on the “morning” shift now. There’s still plenty of free time to write, though, and I’m taking advantage of it as much as possible. I’m a quarter of the way through the new chapter, and the path through the story is looking clearer. It’s really shaping up to be a “man versus environment” thing, with little in the way of character drama as of yet. That makes sense, as the main characters are basically in a survival-type situation at the moment.

Hopefully, I’ll have more to come today, but it’s not a sure thing.

This session’s word count: 1,707
Total word count: 15,529

So that’s that. Chapter 2 is done, and no storms, except the one that’s moving in on the characters. (Insert evil laugh here.)

And now I’m at an impasse. It’s a good thing that I have a little bit of a buffer built up, because I’ll need some time to think about where to go from here. I’m sticking with my original plan: 8 chapters, 7 POVs. That much is set. What order I go in (and who gets that all-important 2nd chapter) will be decided soon.

I’m shooting for slightly over 50,000 words on this one. Episode 1, when I wrote it in 2013, came out to a little more than 49,000. Let’s hit the mark this time, why don’t we?

This session’s word count: 2,412
Total word count: 13,822

Well, I didn’t get that 3rd post out yesterday. For tonight, I’m dodging the raindrops and hoping that those thunderstorms the forecasts keep calling for can stay away. (I’ve had a few…bad experiences mixing computers and lightning, so I don’t even bother. If it looks bad, it’s time to shut down.)

I’m most of the way through Chapter 2, and there’s a lot of lonely night left to go. I’m taking a short break, though, because I’m tired of sitting here. I want to finish the chapter today, so I hope I’ll make at least one more post.

This session’s word count: 1,157
Total word count: 11,410

I’ve got the radio turned to classic rock tonight, and they played “Silent Lucidity” earlier. In my mind, that’s the ending them to Before I Wake (here that, Hollywood?), and that got me in a writing mood.

I think I’ve got the glitch figured out. Turning off “tearing prevention” seems to have helped (knock on wood!). So things are a little better. I’d say I’m halfway through Chapter 2 and, more importantly, over the 10K mark. We’re in 5-digit land, baby! And there’s still more day to come. I might even have a third post in a few hours.

This session’s word count: 651
Total word count: 10,253

Once again, it’s after midnight, so it’s a new day.

I worked some more on Chapter 2, and I hope to add to it a bit through the wee hours. I’ve been having a couple of computer glitches (something to do with KDE compositing and vsync and Radeon drivers, I don’t know all the details) which have hampered my pace, but I have nothing but time. Expect another update before noon.

This session’s word count: 731
Total word count: 9,622

I started writing late last night, so I figured I’d roll it into a single post.

Chapter 2 is in full swing. I still haven’t gotten out of the exposition phase, but things are developing. It’s a different POV, but one I can empathize with, which makes the whole thing go faster. I’d say I’m about a third of the way done with it. And that means I’m running out of time to figure out where the story goes from here.

On the off chance that I write some more this morning, I’ll throw in a “late morning” post or something. Otherwise, see you tonight or early tomorrow.

This session’s word count: 2,177
Total word count: 8,891