Ghost Novel: Day 10

Day 10: Entry 1

4:45 PM… Normal Sunday start today. Got up around 1:00 PM, managed some e-mail before heading off to the professional writer’s lunch at 2:00 PM. Got back around 3:45 PM and am now done with e-mail and comments for the moment.

So headed toward my writing computer to get a session done. Later tonight I need to do a few hours on the online workshop that I am teaching called Cliffhangers. I need to get  letters about assignments back to everyone and my in general response recorded. (Still openings in the May and June online workshops if anyone is interested. List under the Online Workshops tab above if you want basically private instruction from me.)

But even with that and the lunch today, I don’t see much worry about finishing tonight. I seem to be powering right along just fine and dandy. Ending is in sight and it seems to be coming in close enough to the 70,000 word number to make my editor happy in New York. We shall see when the day is over what the actual number will be.

I want to thank you all as well for the great comments and questions. If you haven’t read all the questions and comments on every day, you want to make sure you do that. You never know what tiny bit of information from somewhere will help you with your own writing.

Now off to write and finish this novel so I can get started on something of my own again, plus I have at least three short stories editors are waiting for.

Day 10: Entry 2

6:45 PM… Managed just over 2,000 words in the last two hours. Firing right along now toward the ending…

Now off to the standard nap. White cat is waiting for me at the top of the stairs pretending to be asleep. (grin)

Day 10: Entry 3

10:00 PM… I had a nap and dinner and then came back here to my office and worked on the homework assignments for the Cliffhanger workshop, then did the video here in my office as well for that workshop. Too lazy at the moment to go up to the WMG Publishing offices where I normally record the videos.

So now, with the homework done, e-mails mostly answered, I’m headed back to my writing computer. Make a run at the end of this thing so I can get all my chapter files combined into one file and the entire novel sent off to the New York editor. And then they will owe me money again, which, of course, knowing traditional publishers as well as I do, won’t arrive until August and then only after I scream for a time. Ahh, I hate that part of this business.

Back to the fun part, the writing.

Day 10: Entry 4

11:00 PM… Taking a break…powered out about 1200 words in an hour before needing to stop for five minutes. This much faster pace is normal for me near the end of a book. Not sure if I write more because I want the stupid thing over or I write more because I’m bored and need to go fast to get finished.

3,200 approximately done for the day so far, plus lunch with writers and all the homework done for the workshop I’m teaching. On schedule…

Not a clue how much more. Back to typing…

Day 10: Entry 5

12:15 AM… another 1,000 words done before another break.

Day 10: Entry 6

2:30 AM… Done.

I still have to spend fifteen minutes and combine it into one file and fire it off to the editor. But the writing is done.

The ending worked out fine and came quickly, as I expected. I’m slightly under the 70,000 words asked for in the contract, but not enough to worry about. (total below)

Ten days, pretty normal days for me, actually. I taught the online workshops, did a ton of business, read, watched television, and mostly got full nights sleep each night.

In other words, I did nothing different this week except do more blog posts than I normally would do and answer more comments than I normally answer in a week. But that was fun as well.

Remember, the total below is only original fiction words in the last ten days. It does not count hundreds of e-mails, all the workshop letters in the workshops I am teaching, or all the comments answered in these posts. I don’t count any of that, or these blogs either which were just over 1,000 words each for ten days. The only thing important to a fiction writer like me is new fiction words.

I hope this exercise was worth the time for those of you watching. It wasn’t much unusual for me except that this novel contract allowed me to do this.

Good luck everyone fighting the myths that stop you.

Writing really is fun. If you let it be fun.

—-

The Word Count for Writing a 70,000 Word Novel in Ten Days

Day #1… 7,625 words
Day #2… 7,734 words
Day #3… 7,059 words
Day #4… 5,070 words
Day #5… 7,786 words
Day #6… 7,116 words
Day #7… 3,005 words
Day #8… 7,473 words
Day #9… 9,373 words
Day #10… 6,719 words

Total… 68,950 words.