Tag: progress (Page 2 of 2)
My introductory scene for this week’s story is written, but as usual for me, I’ve written nearly 1000 words for a target of 500. There’s probably a little fat to be trimmed, but I’m not going to spend any time on it today. That’s something for the edit phase at some point in the future. Next up is the finale of the piece, where I try to wrap things up and emphasize the crux of the story. The parts in between are for the rest of the week.
Well, I’ve completed the short story I started last week. I would up with 5500+ words, a little over my target of 4000, but that’s okay. I’ve a bit verbose at the moment. I should be able to tighten it up eventually and bring it under 5K. But for now it’s in my “marinating” file for a few months. I’ll get back to it when I have more distance from it.
I’m behind where I want to be, but I’m not hugely concerned. I do have the write-a-thon kicking off next Monday, so I will be spending some time in the next few days laying as much groundwork as I can–story ideas, titles, interesting characters, maybe a few plot notes. I won’t have my usual amount of time to work this week as I’m attending PolyCon in San Luis Obispo this weekend.
Just a brief update today to celebrate the progress made on this week’s short story.
While my writing productivity wasn’t exceptional today, I did manage to add a solid 1500 words to the project, bringing the total to 3480. Although my initial goal was 4000 words, I anticipate reaching nearly twice that amount. However, when the time comes for editing, I’ll need to sacrifice some beloved darlings to adhere to my maximum target of 5000 words. Such is the life of a writer.
Fortunately, I will have some uninterrupted time over the weekend, allowing me to hopefully complete the first draft by Sunday evening.
One of the reasons for the slow pace of the writing lies in its subject matter. Unexpectedly, it has evolved into a neoNoir-ish procedural, which was not my original intention, but sometimes following the muse proves most fruitful. I find myself grappling with the challenge of getting the details right, particularly since the story my protagonist believes to be unfolding is revealed to be its complete opposite in the end. Striving to make both narratives plausible based on the provided clues, with a bias towards the ones misleading the hero, has proven to be quite demanding. I’m embracing a partially “seat of the pants” approach in my writing for this story, relying on the muse to guide the specifics while having an overarching plot already outlined.
Once this piece is completed, I plan to set it aside for a few months while I work on other short stories, particularly during the upcoming write-a-thon. I always relish returning to my stories once the details have faded from memory. Approaching them with a relatively fresh perspective allows me to identify areas in need of revision.
Overall, progress may be steady yet slow, but I’m thoroughly enjoying the process and honing my skills by making subtle adjustments to my process along the way to bolster my creative endeavors.
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