NOVEL UPDATE

March 9. I’m almost at 25,000 words (only one page away). So…I’m less than a third of the way done on time, but about half done on word count. IF I was writing a 50,000 word novel, which apparently I’m not. I hope Chris Baty’s book gives suggestions on what to do when you reach the end of your month before you reach the end of your novel. Should you keep going at the same pace, or would that eventually become too exhausting? Actually, I don’t find the writing exhausting or troublesome at all. At least not yet.

The most revealing aspect of this experience is learning that you do not have to write it RIGHT, you just need to get it WRITTEN. In other words, don’t be afraid to write sentences that you know are semi-awful, because you can always fix them up later in the editing process. I’n trying to turn off my “inner-editor” and for the most part I am successful, but when I do a read-through I can’t help but make a few corrections here and there. But it’s not really interfering with the creative process.

Another revelation: you don’t have to make everything up, you don’t always need to “re-invent the wheel.” For instance, my main character needed a boss who just happens to be exactly like a boss I once had. So I made my old boss her boss, I even gave him the same name. There was no need to “create” a character, when I looked back into my own life and found that the exact character I needed already existed. Sometimes being creative is knowing when NOT to create (if that makes sense).

And last, but not least, I have been learning the full impact of Chris Baty’s words, which go along with the age-old idea that creativity is “10% inspiration, 90% perspiration” : “The biggest thing separating people from their artistic ambitions is not a lack of talent. It’s the lack of a DEADLINE.” Very very powerful tool, that deadline. Don’t leave home without it.