If you don’t know what this Write-a-thon is, and want to know more, see here. (While I have a few generous sponsors already, I’d still love a few more, and if you’d like, it’s easy. More info on what’s in it for you at the link above.)
Sorry for the late update! It’s been a whirlwind of a day, with a trip to renew my visa and some other errands keeping me busy in the afternoon.
Well, there’s good news and there’s, er, the other kind.
The good news first: I completed my weekly goal, and exceeded it: I managed to draft about 13,000 13,400 words of manuscript, along with probably another 2,000 words of notes, outline, planning, and so on. The notes and planning are significant, as they represent the breakthrough that allowed me to get so much done: basically,I figured out what the book was missing, and sorted it out, and now the story’s flowing again like a lot river of flames.
The other kind of news, though, is that having figured out what the book is missing, it also looks like the book is going to require more than 100,000 words. There’s more to the story than I thought, so even if I beat my goals by a significant amount for the rest of the write-a-thon, the manuscript still may need more drafting–let alone editing and so on. We’ll see: I may be overestimating how much more is actually materializing… but I feel like the text may be veering towards 130,000 words or more. Hm.
Anyway, that said, things are proceeding nicely. I’m giving myself a break this evening, though I’ll be back to drafting–and, I think, finishing off one of my research texts–later tonight. The next few weeks will be a challenge, since I’m also job-hunting, but… well, I think I should be able to keep all the plates spinning.
I’ll also have some more posts related to Georgian England, brewing, cunning folk, and so on in the next week, if I can manage it.
Here’s the previous progress reports, for those keeping track:
2014 Clarion West Write-a-thon: