Novel Progress: 60,000 Words
Jan. 20th, 2005 01:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mabfanFor those of you keeping track at home, the first draft hit 60,000 words today.
I'm currently in the middle of the book, of course, and so I'm undergoing what a lot of writers undergo at this point. (Or at least, I'm led to believe from my books on writing that a lot of writers undergo what I'm about to describe.) Basically, the fun part of creating the world, introducing the characters, and laying out the complications has ended. And the part wherein I have the fun of writing the final confrontation and resolving the plot threads lies quite a distance in the future.
So right now, I'm in those middle-of-the-novel-blahs. I know what's supposed to happen, at least, which is a good thing, and as I write the story, I can see those events unfold. I know that I'm actually making progress from the beginning of the story towards the end. But sometimes it's hard to shake the feeling that the book has taken a wrong turn or that I'm just marking time -- even though I know neither of those to be the case.
Breaking things down further: Part Two, which I'm working on now, is planned to be about 33,000 words. Right now it's at about 14,000 words, so I'm close to the halfway point...but the section doesn't feel halfway done, as far as my outline is concerned. I have a suspicion that Part Two will end up running long, just like Part One did. (For those of you who don't remember, Part One ended up at about 46,000 words.) This running long is actually a good thing for me; I'd rather have a first draft that needs to be cut (if necessary) than one that feels too thin.
Of course, it does make me wonder what will happen with Part Three. Will it be 33,000 words, will it run long, or will I find that as I get to the climax of the novel the pace speeds up and it runs shorter than what I projected? I'm looking forward to finding out.
(In other news, I received official confirmation that Analog has bought both "TelePresence" and "Sanctuary.")
I'm currently in the middle of the book, of course, and so I'm undergoing what a lot of writers undergo at this point. (Or at least, I'm led to believe from my books on writing that a lot of writers undergo what I'm about to describe.) Basically, the fun part of creating the world, introducing the characters, and laying out the complications has ended. And the part wherein I have the fun of writing the final confrontation and resolving the plot threads lies quite a distance in the future.
So right now, I'm in those middle-of-the-novel-blahs. I know what's supposed to happen, at least, which is a good thing, and as I write the story, I can see those events unfold. I know that I'm actually making progress from the beginning of the story towards the end. But sometimes it's hard to shake the feeling that the book has taken a wrong turn or that I'm just marking time -- even though I know neither of those to be the case.
Breaking things down further: Part Two, which I'm working on now, is planned to be about 33,000 words. Right now it's at about 14,000 words, so I'm close to the halfway point...but the section doesn't feel halfway done, as far as my outline is concerned. I have a suspicion that Part Two will end up running long, just like Part One did. (For those of you who don't remember, Part One ended up at about 46,000 words.) This running long is actually a good thing for me; I'd rather have a first draft that needs to be cut (if necessary) than one that feels too thin.
Of course, it does make me wonder what will happen with Part Three. Will it be 33,000 words, will it run long, or will I find that as I get to the climax of the novel the pace speeds up and it runs shorter than what I projected? I'm looking forward to finding out.
(In other news, I received official confirmation that Analog has bought both "TelePresence" and "Sanctuary.")
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Date: 2005-01-20 06:41 pm (UTC)*dances*
You're doing wonderfully!!!
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Date: 2005-01-20 06:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 09:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 06:47 pm (UTC)And Yay! for selling stories to Analog! (I have one more exclamation point in the budget, just for you!)
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Date: 2005-01-20 09:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 08:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-20 09:40 pm (UTC)Despite all this, I still hadn't received contracts yet, so I contacted the magazine on Tuesday to ask. Stan confirmed that the stories have sold, so now I'm just waiting for the contracts department to get the contracts out to me. But I generally don't like announcing sales as official until the contract is signed.
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Date: 2005-01-20 11:47 pm (UTC)Zhaneel
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Date: 2005-01-20 11:49 pm (UTC)Zhaneel
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Date: 2005-01-21 03:37 am (UTC)I feel the same way, tho I usually find myself both cutting AND adding large chunks with the second draft.
Yay on progress, also Yay on being "officially" further along in the process of those two stories seeing print!
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Date: 2005-01-21 02:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-01-23 12:51 am (UTC)