– PLOTTING (25 August): I got some much needed sleep after two nights of crappy sleep. When I woke up, I had a flash fiction piece running through my head (now posted in the Changeling Press Yahoo group) and the complete plot for the MM novella in the GUARDIAN’S TALES series I was thinking about writing. Obviously my muse wants this novella to be a reality. I don’t usually plot books like this but the whole thing came to me all at once, so I went with it. As soon as I clear out part of my writing queue I will tackle boy’s love.
– WRITING/FINISHED (27 August): The flash fiction I put up in the Changeling Press Yahoo loop (mentioned above), is now a 6189 word short story headed for Razor’s Edge Press. I started and finished it today. Got a writing hangover afterwards. But that’s what I get for going straight from sleep to writing with no food and barely any water in an almost seven hour period. I think this short story, currently titled OVERTIME, spawned a sequel. As soon as I get some sleep and I recoup from my binge writing, I’ll see what the muse says.
In later news, I clocked myself at 1000 words per hour. I figured this out after the writing stint I pulled in July. When I’m sitting down and actually have momentum (ie – the story is flowing), that’s how fast I’m writing. So for all those people who ever wanted to know how long it takes me to write a book, that’s how long. Give or take gaps when the book isn’t talking to me, but that’s a good rough estimate and/or starting point. Keep in mind, I can only do 5-7 hours on any given day.
It’s rare when I can pull eight hours. And this isn’t 5-8 hours with a break in between like someone working a day job. This is straight with 2-3 minute potty breaks every hour or so. When I’m writing and have a good pace going, there’s no such thing as food or stopping, not until I finish what I want to write. I regret it later, but at least the book is written.
– PLOTTING/NOTES (30 August): I’ve been doing a lot of plotting and scribbling in my notebook these last few days so I don’t have a word count. I haven’t utilized a paper and pen notebook in months (bordering on a year). But my phone takes too long (not to mention stupid auto-correct *grumble*) and the ideas will run away if I wait for my computer to boot up. Not to mention, I run the chance of being distracted by the evil, evil internet and its many wonders. So pen and paper it is. Sure I have to do a little transcribing to get it into my computer, I also have to interpret my own handwriting (which has gotten worse due to lack of use), but at least I got those notes written down so I can write faster when I sit down to it.