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This month to date, I’ve written 121,571 fiction words. Today went better than yesterday, so I’m feeling better about the whole thing. Yesterday was a real challenge, but today I knew what I was going to write, so it went a lot faster.
That’s the way it always goes.
That’s why I’m a pantser-turned-plotter. Writing by the seat of my pants isn’t as fun as it once seemed. At least now that I have word count goals and self-imposed deadlines for publishing novels.
When I wrote my first book, I didn’t have a clue where I was going. I knew what I wanted the story to be about and I had some basic ideas about characters and events, but I didn’t even know what the end was going to be so it took me a long time to get there. It was my slowest book to date for that very reason.
With each subsequent book, I’ve learned to whittle down the process, getting to the point of being able to write a book (or two!) in a month. I’ve learned from my own mistakes and triumphs, but not only that. I listen to writers who have had success and taken their advice as it fit my situation.
If you’re a pantser wanting to turn into a plotter, check out the books I recommended in this post.
I did about a third of what you did today – pretty good as I’m still on my first novel (which I started sometime last October, I think). I’m getting closer to the end.
Although I’ve always had an end in mind, I started with not much else in mind. I’ve already decided the next novel will be plotted to some extent. From your advice here, I took time out of my line up of reading to read Take Off Your Pants. I think it’s going to be a big help in the future.
Thanks so much for the inspiration!
The first novel is definitely a learning process. It sounds like you’re doing great! How far along are you?
I just passed 75000. I hope to hit 80K before Monday.
I’m getting close to the ending I’ve got in mind (if I can figure out how to get there from here) and as I’m pretty sure it’s going into the thriller genre I might need to add another POV during editing or it might be on the short side.
Way to go! I’ve found that multiple POVs really help, especially with thrillers. It keeps the action moving and adds to the suspense.