Well, I have to say I was terribly skeptical at the idea that I would get any writing done during this journey (in case you’re wondering, What journey, check out the post from two weeks ago).

There have been many things to sidetrack me and my writing before the start of this journey, and I feared those things would keep me from writing. I think, in the end, writing kept me from being too sidetracked. Good ol’ writing. Always looking out for me.

The goal of this journey is to write an 80,000-word novel between now and November 25th. This comes to about 520 words a day, every day, until then. Including today, I should be coming to the table with a minimum of 7,800 words. I come to the table with a whopping 10,347 words!

I am beyond excited and happy for myself. To cross that first 10k mark is an exhilarating feeling.

Right now, because I didn’t have a fully-fleshed out outline, like I normally do, I’ve been fearing the writing is crap. Now, I do profess–and often–that writers should come to the page with editor off and realizing that the first draft will probably have a crap factor attached to it. This is a bit different. When I come to a writing project with an outline, there is a confidence that exudes from me because I have visualized the story for months, have edited in my mind too many times to count, and have a paper representation of that visualization. I know the writing will need to be tightened up, but I know also that the story is there. This go round, without the outline, I feel like I’m flailing a bit, and I so don’t like that. Once I finish this chapter I just started on, I will probably go back, read, organize what I have, see where I need to go with the next chapters, and move on.

What I am learning about this different process is that sometimes, you might just have to switch up what always works for you, and when you do, that means you need to find ways to be comfortable in that new writing situation to get some good writing done. Without a full outline, my “being comfortable” is writing a few chapters, going back to read and make sure it makes sense to me before moving on.

Before I cross the 15k mark, however, I do foresee me sitting down and outlining the rest of the story. It’s just what I do.

For now, I will revel in crossing the 10k and be ready to write my 520 words tomorrow!

Oh, and just in case you didn’t know. This book is the second in a series I hope to write called the Double Inkwell Mysteries. The first book in that series is already out, Death at the Double Inkwell, and you can read/listen to excerpts, read commentaries about the book, and get the link to buy your own copy of the book here on my site through this [LINK].

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Tags: Death at the Double Inkwell, Goals, Lady Leo Publishing, News, Novel Writing, Shonell Bacon, Writing

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