Introduction: First Week of January 2021
Well, I must really be a writer, because how did I choose to celebrate the holidays? I wrote stuff. Okay, I took three days off, but I actually made more progress on the first draft in the last couple of weeks than I have in the past, oh, twenty five years.
Putting aside my desire to wring my own neck for burning through 25 years without any progress, I’ll be candid: It feels good to be moving forward. In fact, it was a very, very emotional moment for me when I used Scrivener to compile the first eight chapters into a PDF for my daughter to read. It was almost 30 pages!
I’m beginning to wonder if I have too many POVs and plots…
How’d 2021 Week 01 Stack Up for my Accountability Post 2021 Week 01?
Here’re my word counts since I started writing the first draft on December 27, 2020:
| Date | Grand Total | Daily Total |
| 12/27/2020 | 2080 | 2080 |
| 12/28/2020 | 2020 | 4100 |
| 12/29/2020 | 0 | 4100 |
| 12/30/2020 | 1646 | 5746 |
| 12/31/2020 | 0 | 5746 |
| 01/01/2021 | 2021 | 7767 |
| 01/02/2021 | 0 | 7767 |
| 01/03/2021 | 2499 | 10266 |
I really thought I had finished all the major set designs. But what happened in three of the major plot lines? I had to design sets. Which? Well, I had to design Conrad’s workout room. I was pleasantly surprised when he had a statue of one of Inari’s messengers, red bib and all. Honestly, I hadn’t expected that. I had to design the scene of Martin’s “Save the cat” moment. I kinda feel guilty about what I did to Arequipa, Peru. Finally, I had to do a preliminary design of TDS-1’s Operations Center. Fortunately, it was in the high-gravity portion of the station. I find 1-G environments easier to design!
Here’s the proof that would be incredibly hard to fake:
Four more chapters since last week! I should be able to increase output by about 25-50% as I start using sets I’ve already designed.
Next Goals after This Accountability Post 2021 Week 01
I’m going to keep these accountability posts going. You know why? Because when I was writing on Sunday, I’d been writing an hour and a half, and I thought about quitting (because, you know, my brain want me to up and walk away from the novel; stupid brain…). And then I remembered a great quote from Bull Durham:
You know what the difference between hitting .250 and .300 is? It’s 25 hits. Twenty-five hits in 500 at-bats is 50 points, OK? There’s six months in a season. That’s about 25 weeks. That means if you get just one extra flare a week, just one, a gork, a ground ball — a ground ball with eyes! — you get a dying quail, just one more dying quail a week and you’re in Yankee Stadium.
Quote pulled from this SportingNews post.
Knowing I had to report my progress to you made me dive back in for about another thousand words. Because I knew this post loomed, I made it past 10,000 words.
I want to be in Yankee Stadium. Which is to say, I want an Amazon Best Seller’s badge.
Or 20.
If this progress keeps up, by summer, I’ll need to be thinking about a development editor. I’ll also need to think about tricking… I mean recruiting… beta readers. I’ll also have to start ramping up interest in this web site.
I think I’ll keep blogging about my experiences with those things. It might help others avoid my mistakes, and it might give someone some ideas.
Feedback Welcome!
Just think: If I get to be a best-selling writer, you can say you were there when it all began! And if I flame out, well, you’ll have a cautionary tale to tell!
Do you have any quotes that help you get out of your own way? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments!