I’m writing a full novel during the month of May: beginning, middle and end. To reach this goal, I’m writing 2,000 words (or more) every day. Check out last week’s post here.
How This Week Turned Out
I have a working title: THE BONE CIRCLE. This will probably change, but at least I have something to call my story.
By the end of the week I was well out of the “honeymoon” period. The words are no longer flying at me faster than I can type them down, but that’s to be expected. I still have a strong idea what I’m going to write each day (and I usually know what I’m going to write the next day) and for now that’s absolutely fine. I have resorted to a little light outlining. Normally, I try to avoid this until the second draft but it’s giving the novel a direction. (I don’t count the outlines in my 2K words)
Breaking Down The Week
SUNDAY MAY 2 – 2,121 WORDS: Touched on this in last week’s post.
MONDAY MAY 3 – 2,075 WORDS: My first workday this month. Got up at 5 am to get most of the writing done. Finished up the rest of 2K words during my lunch break. My hero reached her inciting incident! Soon she’ll be setting off on her journey.
TUESDAY MAY 4 – 2,076 WORDS: (one word more than yesterday). BONE CIRCLE isn’t the only project I’m working on. I spent much of today finishing up beta reader edits on my other novel, THE NIGHT HIGHWAY. I also have a short story that’s on the verge of being ready for submission. Therefore, I was up until almost midnight reaching the 2K mark (see tips below).
WEDNESDAY MAY 5 – 2,459 WORDS: Not much to report about today except my cat, Chewie, was particularly affectionate today. I did most of my writing while he was snoring on the couch next to me.
THURSDAY MAY 6 – 2,316 WORDS: Just barely managed to reach my goal before watching a panel at the Washington Writer’s Conference. Panelists were Fauzia Burke, Daniel de Viseé and Andrea Penrose. It was very interesting. They had a lot of great advice on how to promote one’s writing.
FRIDAY MAY 7 – 2,070 WORDS: Ridiculously busy day but I’m happy with what I’ve written. Most of what I’ve been focused on these past few days have been flashback and characters talking about their past. While this is definitely going to need to be redistributed through the rest of the novel in later drafts, I’m happy with what I’ve learned about the characters.
SATURDAY MAY 8 – 2,104 WORDS: Can’t believe I reached my goal today. Between work and driving to my folks’ house for Mother’s Day I managed to exceed 2K words just before midnight. I’ve gone from writing extended flashbacks to the central story. My gut tells me the narrative is on the right path.
Tips For Writing Your Novel In One Month
These are all tips that have worked for me, but obviously every writer is different.
- Only outline things you know will happen. If you know your characters are going to break into a house include that in your outline. The story very often grows while you outline and you discover new things about the plot/setting/characters. But once you reach a point where you don’t know what’s going to happen next STOP. Figure it out while writing.
- If you are working on two projects at once, edit in the morning and save the first draft for later in the day. Editing involves more brainpower and I often feel fresher in the morning. It’s easier for me to work on rough drafts in the evening when all I need to do is just let my imagination go without worrying so much about quality.
- It’s easier to focus on rough draft work in short stretches (like lunch breaks) than it is to get into editing. Find short periods of time in which to work is helpful when writing a novel in a month.
- FINISH PROJECTS: Don’t get so enamored with the new, shiny writing project that you forget about the ones you have been working on. Finish editing them and send them out.
- It is MUCH easier to get one’s butt in the chair and start writing when you give yourself a goal like a word count or a time when you are going to cut yourself off. The 2K words a day have been very effective this way.
That’s it for this week. See you next Sunday!
