It’s hard to believe that I’m nearly three quarters of the way to my goal of 80,000 words. Some of the most emotional moments in the book are happening right now, and for the most part they’re right where I knew they’d be.

Because of that, the past 7,000 words have come out like nothing. It’s amazing how easily and quickly they come when you’re actually inspired and feeling the emotions your characters are feeling. When I go back and do my first rewrite, that’s hopefully something I can infuse into every chapter.

Otherwise, I have a feeling the whole thing could end up boring.

Official Week 14 Word Count - 58,008

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My characters are really feeling some pain now. All of my protagonists are going through the darkest times in their lives right now.

Now the hard part is - how do I bring them out of it? I don’t think everyone will turn the corner and realize that they need to do something painful to do what’s best. Somebody is going to stay mired in misery (sorry for that one) because they refuse to do what’s necessary.

Sometimes it’s too much fun to write about the tough times for your characters…I have a tendency to get as dark as I can and not let the light in. With this story I want to change that a bit, and have (most) characters end up happy.

I find it more challenging to write about my character’s good times than bad. What about you?

Official Week 13 Word Count - 52,644

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Now we’re really back on track. I’ve got the weekly updates going again, so the novel should move along briskly now. May was a busy month with selling the house, traveling and work, but June promises to be a lazy summer fiesta. Should be plenty of time for writing.

The thing I’m struggling with the most now that I’m past the halfway point is my characters. Are they different and interesting enough? Are they staying the same, or are they changing as the plot evolves. Why should someone care about these people.

Hopefully I can find all the answers to this and more!

Official Week 12 Word Count - 47,475

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So posting has been a little light. But work is so busy that it’s to the point where I choose between updating the blog, and writing my 1,000 words. Sorry, dear reader. The novel wins out.

This week I’ve really been trying to focus on finding a unique voice for each character. I’m organizing the characters by chapter, since the book is really about all their different perspectives on each other and the things happening to them. This makes it all the more important that each one sound and feel different, yet have a consistent voice throughout.

This week I also missed two days. Gasp! I know, I was driving from Chicago to Michigan with my one-year old son, as well as attending graduation ceremonies. I just couldn’t sneak away to get the time. So I’m going to write an extra couple-hundred words a day from now on until I catch up.

Official Word Count - 39,155

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This week has been exceedingly difficult, just because things are piling up at work. It’s my day job to write, and that’s an entirely different game than writing for yourself.

There’s the personal editing and struggle I go through just to get to something I want to share with the team.

Then, it gets ripped apart and analyzed by everyone on my team. Then, after that, it goes to the clients for further review and scrutiny. Hopefully at the end of it all the work is much better than it would have been, but it’s a slog trying to get it done.

Which made me think, I wonder how much of my fiction writing could improve if it was subject to the same level of critique.

I think it might, but at the same time, it’d be impossible to achieve. The reason writing for a client gets beaten around so much is because ultimately, it’s their words living somewhere. No one looks at my client’s website and thinks “Oh, that Jeff. He’s such a hack.” They see my client’s business, and no one really knows that I’m attached to it.

With my fiction writing, it is my name attached to it. The only one who can care enough to make it better or worse is myself.

Looks like I’m on my own.

Official Word Count - 35,083

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As I’m getting deeper into the story, I’m surprised by the character I identify with most.

My novel has four main characters. When I was outlining, there was definitely one black sheep I had trouble with.

I wasn’t sure about her story. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find a voice for her.

But now that I’ve had a chance to explore what’s going on in her world a little, I find I like her quite a bit. She’s actually been the easiest one to create a unique voice for, and right now I think her story arc has the most layers to it.

Odd also, because she’s the character that’s the least like me.

Onward and upward, the first draft is a fourth done.

Official Word Count - 27,357

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Are you excited about what you’re writing?

If it’s a novel, screenplay - whatever, and you find yourself just plunking down words to get to your daily word count, you’re in trouble.

You’ll know what you’re putting down on paper is workable and contains some scrap of emotion if you feel it while you’re writing it.

There’s really no way to force yourself to feel, it’s something that just kind of happens. The best thing you can do to inject more emotion into yourself while you’re writing is to really get into the heads of the characters.

Let’s say you’re writing about a first date. Go back to all your past experiences and friends experiences. What were you feeling in that moment? Can you distill it into a scene, conversation, or even better, a sentence?

String a few of these together, and now you’ll be writing with emotion. And once you’re in the heat of the moment, the words will probably just come out. Go with it. Get it out, and worry about making it polished later. It’s more important to capture the raw, essence of the emotion in the first draft.

Official Word Count - 20,980

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And we’re still going strong. Setting a nice steady pace has helped out a lot and has me in a nice rhythm.

Since mystory involves 4 main characters, my biggest challenge right now is giving them all a unique voice, as well as keeping their relationships and feelings about each other clear.

I’ve also tried to keep the beginning moving and keep exposition and backstory to a minimum. There will be plenty of room for that to come out as the story progresses.

Week 3 running word count - 13,596

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I feel like poop. I’m sick, my son is sick, my wife is sick and to top it all off I had two fillings at the dentist today.

A couple hours ago, writing 1,000 words was sounding as much fun as passing a stone the size of a bowling ball.

But I powered through it. Don’t think for a second that I had any fun. I was squinting at the screen so hard I’m pretty sure I made a bush spontaneously combust somewhere.

The 1,000 words I wrote were probably mostly crap. More than likely, it’ll need heavy rewriting. As I’m writing this, I’m turning on the car and snaking a hose through a rolled up window to the exhaust pipe.

But I got it out. I got it down. I’ll feel better about it tomorrow when I sit down to write 1,000 more words and I realize I’m further along in the story than if I had wimped out and not done my duty today.

I’d like to think Stephen King has off days too. But he got railroaded by a car and is still churning out bestsellers. No breaks for the rest of us mortals I guess. Jerk.

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The first attempt I made at writing a novel took me forever. From the beginning of my junior year in high school to the end of my junior year in college, I pecked away and rewrote parts over and over. That adds up to a long freaking time.

This opus was absolute crap by the time I got it done. If I knew it was going to be crap, would I do it all over again?

Absolutely. Writing that first novel, even though I hope to God it never sees any more light of day, proved to me that I could do finish a novel. The trick now is finishing one well.

At the end of the first week of writing my second novel, I’m happy to say that I’ve met all my goals and written 1,000 words every day.

Had I not written that first one, I wouldn’t have learned that I can’t just sit down and write without knowing where I’m going. I have to have the bones in place before I can flesh things out.

Some other things I’ve learned in this first week:

• If I write earlier in the day, it’s often better
• Earlier writing means I don’t dwell all day on the 1,000 words I still have to do
• Having my character sheets and outline out next to me helps keep my writing grounded and will help me keep track of my improvisations
• 1,000 words can fly by, and it can also be like pulling teeth
• I still need to carry a notebook with me everywhere so I don’t lose the lines I think of in my head

Official Word Count - 6516

I figure if I post the word count every week it’ll keep me honest. My goal? 90,000 words in 90 days. I think my story should take around that long to tell, but we’ll see where I’m at once I get there.

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