Month: November 2017

And here’s the morning post. Early, early morning, at that, but this is the way the schedule worked out. I made progress in Chapter 11, though it’s pretty slow going at the moment. I don’t know why. Hopefully, it’s not because I’m burning out on the story. I’m only 1/3 of the way through, so that would be bad. Anyway, more late tonight, probably. Oh, and average is for 12.5 days, as explained before.

This session’s word count: 1,996
Total word count: 56,279
Daily average: 4,502
Last year’s cumulative total: 41,238
Projected word count: 135,069

Now comes the endurance round. We’ve reached 50K, so the only remaining goal is the end. And I’ve worked a bit towards that today, finishing Chapter 10 and starting Chapter 11. I plan on writing more in the wee hours, but that will come in a separate post. For now, I’m taking a break, but I’ll be back.

This session’s word count: 3,843
Total word count: 54,283
Daily average: 4,523
Last year’s cumulative count: 41,238
Projected word count: 135,707

Phase 1: complete.

Reaching the 50K milestone doesn’t need anything special this time around. There’s nothing to celebrate. I knew I was going to hit this mark, barring some unfortunate disaster in the first week of November. The question I had was what day would be the big day, and I don’t think I ever guessed the 11th.

So I finished Chapter 9 and most of 10. This one’s a bit of downtime (that’s even the chapter title), a chance for everyone to catch their breath and reset. And that’s what I’ve been doing, too. Now, I may write more before I go to sleep. Owing to my weird schedule, that would be after midnight, so part of Day 12. If so, I’ll put up another post then. Otherwise, I think this is good enough.

This session’s word count: 4,715
Total word count: 50,440
Daily average: 4,585
Last year’s cumulative total: 33,520
Projected word count: 137,563

Sleeping schedule is starting to fall apart, in case you haven’t noticed. The book, however, is starting to come together. Chapter 9 is mostly done, introducing the fourth and final member of the party while getting more involved with the main plot.

For the next few days, as I try to reorient myself to something approaching normal, I’ll probably do late-night posts. (As in even later than this.) Anything between midnight and sunrise I’ll count as “half” days for the average, like last year, since there’s always the possibility that I’ll write more in the evening.

Oh, and we’re at the 1/3 mark for the month, so I’m adding a new stat: the pace. Basically, it’s a projection of the daily average through the rest of November. A testament to my ambitions, you might call it.

This session’s word count: 4,390
Total word count: 45,725
Daily average: 4,572
Last year’s cumulative total: 29,609
Projected word count: 137,175

One chapter in 2 days should be good enough for most writers. For me this month, though, it’s half the usual pace. But I can’t do much about that. I slept very late today, and I had some family matters to take care of last night. So I might write a bit more later tonight, but I’m calling this a decent day’s work. Chapter 8 is done, the story is now in motion, and I think I’ve broken through my usual “wall” around 30-40K by sheer momentum.

This session’s word count: 3,168
Total word count: 41,335
Daily average: 4,592
Last year’s cumulative count: 29,609

So ends the streak.

I’m cutting it a little short today, because I slept late, I’ve got stuff to do tonight, and there’s no way I can finish what’s turning out to be a longer chapter than anticipated. I hate it, but that’s the way of things sometimes.

On a more positive note, the story is starting to shape up, and at just the right time. See, last night, I was rereading Before I Wake. (I like reading my own stories. That’s half the reason I write them.) As I read it, I noticed something. One of the most emotionally powerful moments in the book came in Chapter 8. One of the most pivotal scenes in Nocturne also came in its Chapter 8. Lair of the Wizards starts getting serious in Chapter 8. The children of Innocence Reborn grow up in Chapter 8. Cam’s deeper mystery in The Shape of Things begins in Chapter 8. I don’t know how it worked out this way, but it does, so it’s probably for the best that I’m giving this particular part of The Soulstone Sorcerer a little extra work. Because it will continue the pattern.

This session’s word count: 3,348
Total word count: 38,167
Daily average: 4,770
Last year’s cumulative total: 25,079

I kept the streak alive, despite all odds. And believe me, everything was working against me today.

Chapter 7 is done, but at the cost of being shorter than the rest. That’s okay, I think, because it was at a natural stopping point. For The Soulstone Sorcerer, I have a strict set of 4 POV characters, and I don’t plan on mixing their perspectives in a single chapter. So, since Steph (our RPG party’s bard) reached a good ending, I figured I could move over to Ian (the ranger and party leader), who’s exploring a different part of The Starter Town. Don’t split the party, I know, but sometimes it just has to be done.

This session’s word count: 3,772
Total word count: 34,819
Daily average: 4,974
Last year’s cumulative count: 23,780

This one’s going great so far. How long can I keep it up? Probably not too much longer, but I’m riding this streak till the bitter end. Chapter 6 is down (in 6 days!), and I’ve finally made it out of the intro stuff. Now we’re getting into the storyline. Not the main one, as that still has some ways to go, but the meat of the book is now on my plate.

On a side note, look at that comparison to last year. I’m at half again the total this time around. At this rate, I’ll be done with the 50K mark on the 10th of the month. That’s just insane.

This session’s word count: 5,736
Total word count: 31,047
Daily average: 5,174
Last year’s cumulative total: 20,562

I hate this time change. It makes everything feel later. I’m writing this at 6:15, and I’m wondering if I should be getting ready for bed!

On a writing note, though, Chapter 5 is done, which extends my chapter-per-day streak to 5. No way I’m keeping that up for too much longer, especially since we’ve got a chance of storms tomorrow and Tuesday. Oh, well. My biggest fear isn’t so much the weather, but that I’ll have to shut my desktop down. Because I’m not entirely sure it’ll come back up. Cross your fingers.

This session’s word count: 4,650
Total word count: 25,311
Daily average: 5,062
Last year’s cumulative total: 18,103

Everybody’s working for the weekend, including me. I don’t mind, though. This isn’t just work. It’s my spare time, too.

Chapter 4 has now gone down to my authorial assault, and I have to say, this novel isn’t looking nearly as hard to write as I originally thought. That’s not to say that it’s easy, mind you, but I never expected to be this far through it after only 4 days. If nothing else, I’m building up a buffer.

This session’s word count: 4,768
Total word count: 20,661
Daily average: 5,165
Last year’s cumulative total: 14,669