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juushikaTaking a quick break from writing by doing... some more writing. But here, which is substantially different. ^_^
After taking the weekend off and noticing, very suddenly, how empty the days were, it has occurred to me now much writing has become a large part of my day to day activities. I am currently writing a minimum of 1000 words a day, and usually more (1500 to 2000). I can't say how long that is in hours, because my schedule is a little different every day and the writing comes faster on some days and slower on others. I write in 500-word bursts, sometimes 1k at a time, which is around the length of a scene. At that point my attention and energy starts to flag, so I take a break (like now) and them come back to the text, refreshed. I write while listening to a mix of Rasputina and The Dresden Dolls (and when listening to this mix on Pandora, I add Poe and Tori Amos), and usually work on the laptop (which is giving me all amount of back problems, but it's worth it). I am currently 34,500 words in, including a page or two of notes. That's approximately 140 pages. I had no idea how long the final text will be, so I can't say how far I've progressed in the overall book.
All of these technical notes aside: I love the sense of productivity and purpose that writing gives my daily life. And unlike other "productive" endeavors, it doesn't leave me exhausted. It's not easy work by any means, but I don't come out of it feeling sorry that I got up that morning. That's more of an achievement than you probably realize it is. I love it. I love this story, although it is unlike anything I expected I would write, especially as a first novel. I love the writing process. I love how the story is developing in front of me, how smoothly pieces are fitting together and how exciting it is, even as the author, to see the plot evolve.
I've been a bit hesitant to talk about the novel because I have a bad habit of getting myself so worked up about the idea and the work that the idea implies that I never actually get to the creation. The concept scares me away from the act itself. And this, of course, frustrates me to no end, because it leaves me feeling like I've failed my own brain-children as well as myself. I am such an INTJ/P split, oh yeah. But, to the point: I'm far enough along on the story, now, and comfortable enough with the creative process that I don't feel quite so nervous about finally talking about the novel.
Some of you have expressed interest in it, and that makes me really happy—if also somewhat intimidated. If you are still interested, the very bare plot of the novel is as follows:
Not bad, for 35k of a story.
Wish me luck! And I shall now scurry upstairs for a few more words and definitely some reading (currently: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, which I checked out from the library yesterday).
After taking the weekend off and noticing, very suddenly, how empty the days were, it has occurred to me now much writing has become a large part of my day to day activities. I am currently writing a minimum of 1000 words a day, and usually more (1500 to 2000). I can't say how long that is in hours, because my schedule is a little different every day and the writing comes faster on some days and slower on others. I write in 500-word bursts, sometimes 1k at a time, which is around the length of a scene. At that point my attention and energy starts to flag, so I take a break (like now) and them come back to the text, refreshed. I write while listening to a mix of Rasputina and The Dresden Dolls (and when listening to this mix on Pandora, I add Poe and Tori Amos), and usually work on the laptop (which is giving me all amount of back problems, but it's worth it). I am currently 34,500 words in, including a page or two of notes. That's approximately 140 pages. I had no idea how long the final text will be, so I can't say how far I've progressed in the overall book.
All of these technical notes aside: I love the sense of productivity and purpose that writing gives my daily life. And unlike other "productive" endeavors, it doesn't leave me exhausted. It's not easy work by any means, but I don't come out of it feeling sorry that I got up that morning. That's more of an achievement than you probably realize it is. I love it. I love this story, although it is unlike anything I expected I would write, especially as a first novel. I love the writing process. I love how the story is developing in front of me, how smoothly pieces are fitting together and how exciting it is, even as the author, to see the plot evolve.
I've been a bit hesitant to talk about the novel because I have a bad habit of getting myself so worked up about the idea and the work that the idea implies that I never actually get to the creation. The concept scares me away from the act itself. And this, of course, frustrates me to no end, because it leaves me feeling like I've failed my own brain-children as well as myself. I am such an INTJ/P split, oh yeah. But, to the point: I'm far enough along on the story, now, and comfortable enough with the creative process that I don't feel quite so nervous about finally talking about the novel.
Some of you have expressed interest in it, and that makes me really happy—if also somewhat intimidated. If you are still interested, the very bare plot of the novel is as follows:
Faeries deliver three prophecies to a witch: A vampire will seduce the prince. The kingdom is in danger. The witch must take on an apprentice, and then apprentice must go to the castle. This apprentice, a young woman and the story's protagonist, learns to use and to practice magic in a world where magic exists but is rarely studied. When she arrives at the castle and meets the vampire and the price, she begins to suspect that the prophecy may not be as simple or as direct as it seems.The story follows the protagonist's journey through her training, to the castle, and on her adventures after that as she attempts to determine what the prophecies really mean and how to protect the kingdom. I'm trying to make this more like 10th Kingdom than like another bad fantasy monstrosity—I'm not quite sure what distinguishes the two, yet, but I think I'm managing well enough so far. Currently, all of my characters remain unnamed (I call them NAME and VAMPIRE and OTHER NAME and WOLF instead, which does interrupt the flow of the sentences a little...), and I need to fix that before too long. I'm content with both the writing style and the characters. I'm skipping around a bit—I've written some of the apprenticeship, some of the time in the castle, and most of the first league of the journey that follows—but the overarching plot is coming together surprisingly well.
Not bad, for 35k of a story.
Wish me luck! And I shall now scurry upstairs for a few more words and definitely some reading (currently: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, which I checked out from the library yesterday).
