The Great December Writer's Challenge Day 2

So... That is why I am avoiding the use of daily goals.

The moment I logged off, I got sucked into the black hole known as chores. By the time I got back, I dropped onto the bed and fell asleep. The town I live in has summer winds - which means that at night, all the windows rattle and wake me up.

Continually.

Anyway, my writing is a bit behind what I wanted to do. So today I want to get a lot of writing down. Will I be able to write enough? No idea, but I'll take a whack at it.

Then of course, I was reminded yesterday of the fact that the industry standard word count has been lowered. So... 80k words.

Not a chance.

There is really no way I can write this story in half the word-count I planned on when I started. This leaves me in a bit of a dilemma. I might finish and fail to sell the book.

On the other hand, as far as I know, the word count cut has to do with the number of pages the get printed on. In short: the Recession.

Good news? The recovery should come some time, bringing back my word count.

Bad news? I have no idea when that will happen.

I hate not knowing when something will happen.

On the up-side, my story doesn't exactly follow current trends found in the Fantasy genre. So I can pretty much take my time... The only thing that keeps me in a hurry is me. I really want to finish Doorways.

When I do, I'll leave it simmering for a month before starting the rewrite. In the mean time, I'll finish my other WiP (which is almost halfway) before getting stuck in with Guardian. Both of these is sure to fit nicely into the 80k word count, since the story lines aren't remotely as complex as those found in Doorways. 

If the rewrite on Doorways is done, I'll check the market and check the book. If it is still necessary by then, I'll see about splitting it in two. Still, I hardly find this option attractive, since Doorways is intended as part of a series of four books. I don't enjoy the idea of forcing a fifth book into the start. 

But then I think, I am getting waaaay ahead of myself.  After all. I need to get Doorways done first...

Any of you in the same boat? How do you deal with it?

The Great December Writer's Challenge Day 1

Thanks so much to everyone that commented on yesterday's post. They certainly got me to thinking about two things: Cooking and Writing.


Cooking-wise, I am now trying to figure out how I will whip up my masterpieces while getting someone else to do the clearing up. Yes. I am a) that lazy b) that evil.


Writing-wise, the comments got me to thinking. Yesterday, I forgot to mention that I technically have no idea how many words I need to finish the book. I'm currently approaching 40k words, while the word counts in Fantasy novels lie somewhere between 150k and 200k. So... I'm roughly a quarter of the way through. But how many words I need to finish the story?


I chose 4000 words per day arbitrarily since the goal sounds both challenging and nearly doable. If I successfully get that many words done, I'll hit 100k by the 31st. While that still lets me fall short on the word-count, it should be enough for me to finish the story. I'll make up the rest when I rewrite and write in the details.

But... As Nevets pointed out, daily goals puts a lot of pressure on the writer. He pointed out that it only worked for him for a month - technically all that I need - before it crushed him. I really don't need to be crushed. After all. I have another book to write. But heaven knows that I have been writing Doorways for two years now. It's time I finish it. Next year brings many changes to my lifestyle - which will only make finishing the story more challenging. So if I'm going to get the draft done, it will be in this month.

But then... I thought. Instead of making it feel like a job, I'm going to dress it up as something else. I'm calling it the Great December Writer's Challenge. My goal: finishing the beast by New Years Eve. Word-count: whatever it takes, but roughly 4000 words a day.

But then I thought... Surely I'm not alone here. Surely there are people who made New Years resolutions this year to finish that book - only they didn't. Or people who want to finish their edits in time to submit their work to agents in January. Anything.

If you have anything writing related that you want to finish by 23h59 on 31 December, please join me in the challenge. Set a goal, let me know and let's get it done together.  

That said... I think it's time for me to go kick some word count butt.