Pterofan: Good job. Bum in chair, hands on keys (or hand on pen, in my case). Tis the only way it gets done!
Magnus: Some writing is DEFINITELY way better than no writing. I can’t afford a lot of cafe time, but it is nice occasionally.
Aw, Keithy, you’re having One Of Those Days. My advice would be not to make any big decisions and simply take a break. See how you feel after the weekend. The critical voice can be loud; sometimes we should listen, but sometimes we should ignore.
xenylic: Woohoo for 1.3k! Get some nice yoga in to relax those muscles
WGough: Oh, of course I’ve had that problem. My goodness, sometimes it’s taken me three, four drafts to finally find out who someone is.
K. I’m gonna give advice. Please remember it’s just my advice, and you should always be very careful about who you listen to (and ultimately, the person you must listen to is yourself. Your gut).
First off, do you prefer drafting or revising? Because that will dictate whether you start over, or fix what you have.
Second, how much of the other books have you written? What’s your plan for them? I’m asking because – and please please pleeaase don’t take this badly! It applies to everyone! – the chances are your very first novel isn’t going to be excellent. (Chances – not fact. It all depends on the individual!) Writing a novel is extremely difficult, and it takes years of practice. Now, I don’t know how long you’ve been writing and practising until now, nor do I know your base talent, which of course comes into play, BUT, if the thought of rewriting makes you want to bogwash yourself, then…I’d consider ditching, or at least pausing on this project, and writing something new.
Third, I’d recommend reading The Breakout Novel by Donald Maas, because he covers how to write characters who’ve had a hard time without making them dislikable or self-pitying.
Fourth, have more wine.
And fifth, I really hope my ‘advice’ doesn’t come across the wrong way. I’m simply wondering if this project is the right one for you. Here, have another glass. And a hug. Lots of hugs.
EDIT: Also, see above re my advice to Keithy. Take a breather and a step away.
Heatherless: Organisation is good. Sometimes the day don’t turn out as we planned.
Layla: It’s an idea…it might not be a good idea
Congrats on 1/2 page. I used to cut my own hair and nobody could tell. It is an easy way to save money.
Daniel: Good luck!
Taylor: Och, I’m sure it’s not boring. And if it is, you’ll catch it in edits!
Cindyt: Nice work.
I had to wait in all day today for delivery of my proofs, so it threw me out a wee bit. Only managed two pages, and now I’m going out for dinner and musical, so I’ll just need to catch up over the weekend. It’s all good though (she says confidently).
Day 13: Wee bit; 5 miles; mutters ‘I can do it’ over and over