The Journal, Thursday, 8/6

The Day
Rolled out at 2. Not really sure why. Still tired and unmotivated.

Anyway, after a few hours of doing basically nothing, I went for a walk. That was good to the tune of just under 6 miles, so at least I got my blood pumping again. Yay. I guess.

Got back, made breakfast for myself and ate. Sat here to waste a little more time and then start this journal entry. Now to the shower, and then to the writing computer. Even if I do nothing but open it and stare, I’ll do that for at least a few hours today. Ever get unmotivated? Not fun.

Anyway….

Topic of the Night: Pre-Partum Depression
Very short topic tonight. I’ve known since about a week before my trip (which started almost two weeks ago) that the current novel is going to end soon. I think that’s part of my problem. I think I don’t want it to end.

Yes, the story will continue in the next book, and yes, writing that one will be a great deal of fun. But I still hate seeing this one end. Ugh. Worst part of the writing process for me personally is coming to the end.

And I still don’t understand those who actually celebrate finishing a story or a novel. I mean, if writing is fun, as it should be, why celebrate being done with it?

For me that would be like celebrating the end of a session of wild lovemaking. “Woohoo! It’s over! Get the champagne!”

Uhhh, no. I just wanna grab a nap to sleep off the glow and then start the next one. And by “the next one,” you know, I mean the next story or book.

Today’s Writing
Not a lot, but some. I’m in the middle of the final big battle scene now, so when I finish that and then the ending (the climax and the ending are not the same thing) I will have finished this one. Ugh.

So anyway, moving again with my writing. Probably no more foot dragging starting tomorrow.

Fiction words: 1541

Writing of The Battle of Tres Caballos (Book 8)
Day 1…… 4125 words. Total words to date…… 4125
Day 2…… 2624 words. Total words to date…… 6749
Day 3…… 2766 words. Total words to date…… 9515
Day 4…… 1412 words. Total words to date…… 10927
Day 5…… 3441 words. Total words to date…… 14368
Day 6…… 1052 words. Total words to date…… 15420
Day 7…… 2486 words. Total words to date…… 17906
Day 8…… 3201 words. Total words to date…… 21107
Day 9…… 3186 words. Total words to date…… 24293
Day 10… 1585 words. Total words to date…… 25878
Day 11… 2178 words. Total words to date…… 28056
Day 12… 1730 words. Total words to date…… 29786
Day 13… 1083 words. Total words to date…… 30869
Day 14… 1784 words. Total words to date…… 32653
Day 15… 4018 words. Total words to date…… 36671
Day 16… 3116 words. Total words to date…… 39787
Day 17… 1678 words. Total words to date…… 41469
Day 18… 1805 words. Total words to date…… 43274
Day 19… 2713 words. Total words to date…… 45987
Day 20… 1541 words. Total words to date…… 47528

Total fiction words for the month…………… 1541
Total fiction words for the year……………… 443941

5 thoughts on “The Journal, Thursday, 8/6”

  1. So don’t finish it yet. Clearly there’s more, let your characters have at it. You don’t see Stephen King ever worrying about the length of a book. Cripes, a few of his are thicker than Webster’s! Or, let it simmer and move onto something else – equally as engaging, of course. 🙂
    Sunnyside up, Sir!

    • Hi Diedre,

      Thanks for commenting.

      I never worry about the length. What most writers currently think of as the “right” length for books was set by the traditional publishing industry to hit pricing points. Back in pulp days, a novel was 20,000 – 30,000 words. (In much of the world, it still is.) As a result, writers learned quickly how to pad books to reach word limits.

      BUT if I’d written this entire story in one book, it would currently be about 400,000 words, and that’s with probably another 200,000 words to go. I’d rather have 7 books out there selling while I’m writing number 8.

      This story is a saga, one story told over several books. Each book is self-contained but each is also a chronological part of the story. When S. King sells one book of 150,000 words, I sell three of 40,000 to 60,000 words each. Of course, I need to sell three books more than he does so….

      H

    • Diedre, I think I must have misunderstood. Or maybe you did. It isn’t that I’m having trouble finishing this book. It isn’t like I’m figuring it out or anything like that. I don’t do that. I’m just following the characters around and writing down what they say and do. So it isn’t that I have to “work” to finish it. It’s just that when one is finished, I miss it for awhile.

      I think you haven’t heard my Writing Off Into the Dark lecture. If you had, you would understand. It’s the most exciting way to write imagineable because it’s completely freeing. Instead of serving as the almighty writer=director on high, you’re down in the trenches with the characters, running through the story with them, living it with them. It’s a great deal of fun.

      And that’s the whole thing. For me, writing is fun. Writing is a good thing. Finishing, coming to the end, is sad for me. WRIITNG the ending, like writing the rest of the book, is fun. But BEING finished is not. Above, when I said I’ve known for awhile it’s going to end soon, it isn’t ending at a particular length or anything like that. I don’t plot, and I don’t outline. If I already knew how a story was going to go, writing it would be just pure boredom. Why would anyone do that? That’s why so many writers think writing is work. Anyway, I’ve known for awhile this one’s going to end because the characters have led me to the end, sometimes through some very unexpected experiences. That’s when it’s the most fun. 🙂

      Harvey

  2. My last book, Duchess Rising, was the first one I actually had to think about bringing it to a close. I learned a lot from writing it, realizing that I can’t just let my characters wander aimlessly around living life. That’s my favorite way to write, but unfortunately life goes on and on and on and could easily take up 150,000 pages if I let it. I’m learning more and more with each book, and loving my characters more and more as I write. Write On, Harvey!

    • I always let them do what they want to do. I strive in every moment not to “direct” anything they say or do. And more often than not, they surprise me. If I had to direct it all, I don’t think I’d write. It wouldn’t be fun for me. Even the climax and ending. Although I know generally how it’s going to end, the characters fill in all the details. 🙂

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