Novel Progress Thread

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kaylim

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After failing to write a novel multiple times, I'm convinced that the battle is mainly psychological--at least for the first draft anyways. I thought this thread might be a good way to acknowledge my own accomplishments and get feedback.

Anyway I just broke 46, 000 words for the story I'm working on now. I'm trying to get in the area of 75,000 to 80,000. Not for any particular reason but because I read that this falls in the range of what a first time author is usually excepted to have written. For a couple of months prior, I was not writing at all. This was partly because I was discouraged, facing existential writer questions (why even bother? whose going to read this? etc), school, and other personal issues. It also could've been I was just bored with the novel, but since I refused to work on anything else, I just ended up not writing at all. Now that I broke that barrier, I'm starting to get writing back into my routine and I honestly feel a lot better about it now. Writing is my passion and its important to spend time on things you feel strongly about.

My strategy for when I hit creative walls (because I don't write outlines. I'm just not a very organized writer.) is to basically add something that makes everything change. I don't know if its actually going to work or not. I know for a fact that I'm going to have to edit and completely alter a lot when I hit the re-writing stage. But its more important for me right now to finish. I really try not to go back and edit anything.


I'll report back in at 55,000. /salute
 

HeavyAirship

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If it's your first novel then don't worry about what industry standards are. Just write a complete story and have fun! Worry about word count in revisions and only if you decide you want to try to sell the story. My first novel ended up being only 48k words but as I'm revising it I could see it hitting over 60k on the second draft. Some people write short (like me) and some write long. The important part of the first draft stage is just finishing it.

Best of luck:)
 

SaveTheKeys

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I'm no expert and I'm not published but I have written a novel. Editing however is my foil. My schedule drastically changed making revisions challenging, but I'm going chapter by chapter. What worked for me in getting the novel done was writing to get everything down in an almost stream of consciousness manner. It gave me a big ball of story to work with. The blank sheet isn't the paper you write the story on, it's the first draft. Then you cut, paste and add glitter to get your final work. (Which from the sounds of things is just your final first draft to be edited again once taken on by an agent/publisher.)

I'm sure if you've gotten this far you have the rest in you. :) Good luck & may the right keys always be at your fingertips.
 

Keithy

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I salute your efforts thus far.
 

kaylim

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Thanks for the comments! I'm pretty optimistic about the whole thing. I have a lot of different elements in the story and they're all kind of a mess but I really like the idea of being able to shake things up a bit when writing the next draft. I've heard others complain about that part of the process--and perhaps I'll change my tune in the future--but I haven't been this excited about a writing project in a long time. My story has just reached a turning point and I think its going to end soon. Even though I did say my end goal was around 75,000 words, it was more or less just something to work towards. I think, HeavyAirship, you are correct about beefing stories up a bit in the next draft. Like you, I tend to write short and edit long. Sometimes I would finish writing something and make a mental note to expand on it. I don't really think the story will end when this draft is finished but I think I am going to probably try to break it up into a sequel or something. Then again, I'm kinda stoned so I might just pass out and completely change my mind when I wake up. Oh well :)
 

CJMockingbird

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I can completely relate. I have the same goal, but I've only reached part 2 of 3 in my book and I'm around 26k. I'm a severe underwriter and I pretty much have to go back and add a lot of description and fix inconsistencies in my second draft. Third draft is probably akin to everyone's normal second draft.
 

HaHs

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I've just reached a point in my WIP where I've FINALLY introduced a mysterious new character who I'm very excited to start writing! I probably won't write their introduction scene until tomorrow as I have plans tonight, but boy I can't wait!
 

kaylim

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I ended up finishing the first draft at about 55,000 words. I took a month and a half off and am in the process of revising it. I think the ending may need to be rewritten or expanded on but I'm not sure so I'm going to seek feedback for it shortly. Thanks for all the help everyone!
 
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