I feel like I'm writing slow, but really I'm going at a pretty steady pace! Maybe it seems like I'm writing slow because I read about other writer's chucking out first drafts within a month, sometimes two weeks, two days, two hours (okay, maybe not).
I believe progress on a draft is more than word count. I'm getting out about 500 new words a day, but I'm also brainstorming, figuring out the structure, moving things around, fleshing out characters, jotting down notes for edits.
This story is following me around more than any other one I've written. It's always in the back of my mind. Cutting words is progress. Dumping a bad scene is progress. Figuring out a new plot point is progress, even if I don't write a word of it yet. Each day, this book is feeling more and more like THE ONE. Have I felt this way before? Sure...but this feels a different. I can't explain it.
I'm not sure where I got all this optimism from. It's annoying, isn't it? Do not worry. Another couple thousand words and I'll hate this book. I'll be sure to grumble here. Happens every time!
How do you measure progress?
You can't measure progress by just the words on the page...but how you feel about those words.
ReplyDeleteHow's that for a deep thought?lol I'm feeling pretty good about mine too but I am not going to rush it! So I think we are in the same place.
Yeah, you're right. Someone else's progress will look different to yours. My first drafts are usually written fast and VERY MESSY. But I consider the real progress to be in the editing stage when I begin to turn the mess into a story.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
I measure progress one step at a time.
ReplyDeleteI used to write fast first drafts. Then they took me forever to fix. Now I write slower, and those drafts are cleaner. Either way it probably takes just as long.
ReplyDeleteI know it's hard, but don't compare yourself to others.
Books are always written in such a unique way. Not just for each writer, but each book. It'll be interesting to see how this one turns out! :)
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