Today’s word count: 4,103
Total word count: 51,854
Daily average: 2,469
That’s 50K in the books, but we’re not done yet. Finish the drill. True, the final chapter is more of a recap and setup for the last three Adventures in the Otherworld stories, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to give them my all. And it doesn’t mean it’s free. I still have about 6,000 words left to write. So you can call this a victory now if you like, but I’m going to wait until I know I’ve made it to the end.
Today’s word count: 2,335
Total word count: 47,751
Daily average: 2,387
Projected total: 71,626
Getting close to the end now. Chapter 8 starts with a little meandering, mostly because I don’t have a good action-type ending. No, this is more of a dramatic story. I could even make it melodramatic, come to think of it, but the whole point of fiction is to escape reality.
Today’s word count: 2,208
Total word count: 45,416
Daily average: 2,390
Projected total: 71,709
Well, that’s finally over. Two chapters remain, and one’s basically a recap/cliffhanger. Shouldn’t be too hard to finish in 11 days, right? Not that I’m going to rest on my laurels, if I even have laurels. What does that saying mean, anyway?
Also, I would like to join all Americans in thanking 12 very specific people in Wisconsin for daring to do the right thing. Fiat justitia et pereat mundus.
Today’s word count: 2,065
Total word count: 43,208
Daily average: 2,400
Projected total: 72,013
I hate this chapter. I should be done with it tomorrow, though, so that’s good. I’m not sure the “finish the novel before Thanksgiving” plan is going to work out. Two chapters, plus almost half a third, in only a week? Not these days. On the other hand, I’m slightly more confident about getting the whole thing wrapped up before the 30th. I just wish I could be that confident about…oh, anything else in my life these days.
Today’s word count: 1,893
Total word count: 41,143
Daily average: 2,420
Projected total: 72,605
Part of the way through Chapter 7, but it’s a Jenn chapter. Those always take me forever to write, and I never feel I’ve done her justice. She’s just so…different. She’s confident, athletic, devout, and a born leader. In other words, exactly like me in no way at all. Eight years writing this series hasn’t changed that one bit. If anything, I feel I’ve become even less like her.
Today’s word count: 2,123
Total word count: 39,250
Daily average: 2,453
Projected total: 73,593
I had a dream this morning. I was at my old high school, a place I haven’t so much as seen in over 20 years. I honestly don’t know if I was there as a student or some kind of teacher, but I was my current age, with my current looks and current gadgets. After the day had ended, I walked outside and called my mother; gas was almost $12/gallon in this dream, probably why I didn’t drive myself. While I was on the phone with her, someone joined me on the sidewalk, someone I haven’t talked to in far too long. She ran up to me, enveloped me in a suffocating hug, kissed me on the cheek. Then, she saw the name on my phone, smiled, and said out loud, “Hi, Mom!”
Some days, you just hate to wake up, you know?
On the writing side of things, Chapter 6 is done. That leaves three more, and I’m averaging a little less than 3 days per chapter, so…yeah, I might be able to take Thanksgiving off this year.
Today’s word count: 2,469
Total word count: 37,127
Daily average: 2,475
Projected total: 74,254
Almost done with Chapter 6, but…major plot! That was basically the whole purpose of today. It also had the effect of leaving me on a cliffhanger. Always fun.
So this is the halfway point of the month, but I’m almost 2/3 of the way through the novel. I’m slightly more confident that I’ll hit 50K before the end, still not sure I’ll finish. Time will tell.
Today’s word count: 2,078
Total word count: 34,658
Daily average: 2,475
Projected total: 74,267
Okay, that didn’t go as planned. We were supposed to do some kind of family thing today, and I scheduled my writing around that. When the plan fell through, I was already committed. Well, I’m still on pace, so who cares? Call it about 20K left to go, and tomorrow’s the halfway mark for the month.
Today’s word count: 1,477
Total word count: 30,026
Daily average: 2,502
Projected total: 75,065
I stopped early, and I make no apologies for that. This one scene took a lot out of me, because it was another one of those “Michael putting into his characters’ mouths the words he wants to say” deals. Write what you know, right? And I know a lot about apologizing to the woman I love.
The hard part, if you must know, is doing that when the character I’m writing for is also a woman.
Today’s word count: 2,231
Total word count: 28,549
Daily average: 2,595
Projected total: 77,860
Almost halfway done with Chapter 5, and I’m going to call this the midpoint of the story. The later chapters probably don’t have to be quite as long. For this one, I didn’t have a lot of ideas about where to go, so I just put some of my own words into the mouths of my characters. That usually works. The things I wish I’d said become the things they are saying, and that’s…cathartic, if nothing else.