For Those About to Write – Day 363

My blogging pen has been fairly silent as of late, but that doesn’t mean my novel-writing pen has been too. Although I haven’t been getting as much done as I would like (what’s new there…), I have been writing more than these pages would let on.

What’s more, I’ve been liking what I’m writing. I think I’ve turned a bit of a corner in my novel-writing abilities — or at least in this story. Things seem to be clicking together better than ever before, and plot lines, once fuzzy and indistinct, are now coming into sharp focus like highway lines on a map. I seem to be getting the hang of writing novels. I’m not an “expert” yet by any means (and I still worry about whether or not this first effort will be publishable or just a good lesson in novel writing) but I am becoming more comfortable that what I’m putting down works from a storyline point of view.

Does that make sense?

This weekend, I’m also following the progress of those writing the Three-Day Novel Contest (hashtag #3DNC on Twitter), especially that of Laura Roberts, whom I sponsored. It’s interesting seeing everyone struggle through their individual struggles, and realizing that they are more alike than most people might have first thought. Setting word count goals, cursing their email/Internet time, refreshing the well after a long stint, fretting over missing said word counts… I wonder if we’d hear similar things from marathon runners tweeting during the race?

In any case, just a short post today to let you know that you can call off the hounds (if indeed you sent a search party out…) I’m alive and writing — and I even tweaked a few things in my website. GoodReads is gone (I love the idea, but I haven’t been keeping it up — I don’t expect that will change in the future…), and my Novel-o-Meter is now up to date too. I’m into Section 3 of the four-part novel, with a new goal of completing Draft 2 by Christmas. Seems realistic, and I’m confident I can reach that at my current pace.

For all those in the Three-Day Novel Contest — keep writing!

~Graham

Novel Writing Hours

Today: 1.25
To date: 172.25