In addition to reading, I'm also writing. It's probably an exercise in self-delusion, but at least now I'm committing to it publicly. I'm also calculating it.
The book is intended as a standalone (the industry is tired of trilogies, and I'm just tired) YA fantasy. I thought 60,000 words was a good target, and 1000 each day was a pretty ambitious goal. (Especially when I start writing around 11 pm and wake up by 5:30 am). Then I estimated the word count of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone.
100,800 words.
So now I've set a new goal. By the end of the calendar year (just over 100 days from now), I will have 100,000 words written on this novel. That will at least be the right number of words, assuming Janet Rowling got it approximately right. (I know that's a stretch.)
As I write this, I'm three days into it. Okay, four days, but with only three days writing behind me.
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As of 8/15/10, I have about 3000 words. Chapter 2 is getting pretty exciting!
About Me
- Steve Shea
- A 40-ish publisher (editor, project manager, etc.), husband, and father of an even number of offspring, I grew up, or failed to, reading fantasy and sci-fi. I still enjoy reading, and now am trying to write. My favorite books include YA fantasy, manga, biography, and advice to authors. I'm also a former history major/grad student/high school teacher and assessment writer. Now I work for a school supplement publisher, specializing in high-low chapter books. I spend a lot of my time controlling reading levels. At night, I cut loose and use long words. W00t!
OK, so last night I slept instead of writing. And the 900+ words I wrote the night before, for chapter 1 (I wrote ch. 3 first), have to be thrown out. I wrote my "terrace" version, setting up the situation before the calamity, and realized I really needed to get to the calamity, which will be the "sandbar" version. I'm really excited, and bummed to not have known this already. I'm so busy!
ReplyDeleteI'm most of the way through my second chapter (chapter 1), and now I'm having major reorganization ideas again. Gah! About 7800 words in toward the 100k goal, way behind!
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