Self-Challenge Update

It’s been a while since I posted a self-challenge update and, since I didn’t have anything else planned for tonight, this seemed as good a time as any to do so.

Goal 1 – write every day

I’ve written every day since May 30th with the exception of Tuesday, June 7th.  I missed Tuesday because I was completely stressed out from work and my brain was a puddle of mush sloshing inside my skull.  Ah, well.  At least I picked it up again the next day.

Goal 2 – write at least 1000 words per day, 1500 on the weekends.

I have written at least 1000 words per day, some days I’ve written more than that.  I have not necessarily written 1500 words on the weekends.  But the first draft is at 41,050 words, so we’re definitely making some progress.  Except for one slight problem…

Goal 3 – finish the first draft before I leave for the RWA conference on June 28th. (EEEK! – that’s only two weeks away).

I’m not going to be able to make this goal.

As you may remember from a recent post, I’ve had some challenges meeting my writing goals recently.  I realized today everything came to a stop because I’m dissatisfied with the direction the WIP has been taking.  It’s not bad, but it’s not…right. It’s like I’m listening to music and some of the notes are just slightly off.  Today I had to admit to myself that I’ve drifted off track, and the drifiting started fairly early in the story.

I always think of writing a first draft like the basic sketch of a painting.  The colors, the textures, even some of the details, aren’t there yet.  But the sketch gives you the bones of the painting.  The first draft gives you the bones of the book.  Good bones, good book.  But if you’ve got the bones in the wrong place, they’re never going to be what you want them to be.  If I give you blocks and you start to build a house, then change your mind and want to build a bridge, you basically have to knock the blocks down and start over again.

The good news is that, since I’ve been working with these characters for so long, I know them a lot better now than I did when I started this thing back at the beginning of May.  I’ve lived inside their heads and I have a better sense of them.  In fact, that’s how I know that the draft is sliding in the wrong direction.

So I need to pick at some threads and unravel a bit and then start again with my better, deeper knowledge of the characters.  Which means that I won’t have the draft finished in two weeks.

On the other hand, sooner or later – it will be finished!  Then I shall have victory! And I’ll keep you updated on my progress now and then, just in case somebody’s interested. 🙂