A BRIEF INTRODUCTION: Hello there! I’m Tess, and you’re about to read an experiment of mine. The experiment is to see how long I can keep a decent log of my writing life, and to see whether that log has any entertainment value. It’s sort of like a captain’s log, but almost definitely less exciting. Hope you enjoy!
6/9/2019
Word count: 1,839
Still didn’t get to the fight scene, but that’s okay. Other scenes are important, too.
Today was a bit of a later start. I knew I probably needed to revisit the outline, just so I could re-order some things to keep the pace up and smooth out some transitions. And I was starting to get a little sluggish after so many full days in a row. Thursday may not have yielded many writing results, but it was still an extremely long and busy day. And it was followed by two hard-hitting writing days, and way too much dim sum.
So, I took some time getting started. Let myself enjoy a slow coffee and breakfast while I consumed some youtube videos. Or, to be fancy, some “creator content” on youtube. I find myself pretty fascinated by the youtube landscape. Well, horrified by some of it, obviously. But, you know, once you figure out how to block out the fascist content, you can find yourself a nice little niche of anti-fascist content to enjoy. And some pop culture reviews, if brevity’s not your thing.
After that, I listened to some music and started to look at and think about the outline. I ended up re-arranging some things and fleshing out others. The same basic events will still occur, but now I think they’ll crescendo better, and now I have a better idea of the specifics.
Then I went ahead and worked on the next scene, and got a decent amount done.
Here’s hoping my next writing session brings me to that fight scene.
6/10/2019
Word count: none
Monday, so I had to go back to the dreaded Day Job. After 4 days off with nothing but writing to do, it was a pretty rough transition. Didn’t sleep well at all, came home exhausted. In short...I did not write. Alas.
6/11/2019
Word count: 1,041
BAM made up for the lost day. I always assume a super low count on Mondays (maybe 150 IF I assume any count at all,) and my goal for Tuesdays is just to pass 700. I had plans with a friend today, so I was a little worried I wouldn’t get very much done at all...but then I powered up right at the end of my work day and knocked out 1,000 words before slipping in a workout. Damn!
Tuesdays and Thursdays are work-from-home days for me, which is why I aim for a higher word count those days than the other weekdays. But usually I do my workout first, around 4 or 5pm, with the thought that I want to finish it before I eat and before I’m exhausted. But I think today suggests that it might be a better idea to try writing first, then workout.
Of course, the risk of this is that I’ll either end up dropping off my workouts entirely, or maybe just not giving them my all. THIS IS THE SACRIFICE I MAKE FOR MY ART. This, and all the sleep I don’t get!
6/12/2019
Word count: 253
This looks like a low word count, but since it’s a Wednesday (date night), my goal for the day is only 150. So this is actually a pretty ambitious success.
Also, it was my dad’s birthday. I got him a Thor FunkoPop, but created after the original Kirby design, not the movies. And a Hulk pop-up card. Dad loves Kirby stuff, but as an ardent collector, he’s already got most of it. But he didn’t have a FunkoPop! I feel like this was a pretty slick move on my part. Honestly it’s 50/50 whether he actually liked it. Thought that counts?
I’m digging the feeling of success that comes from repeatedly smashing my goals. I guess it really is less de-motivating to set achievable goals for yourself. Who knew?
6/13/2019
Word count: 1664
I think I’m blowing my track record out of the water, though even as I type that, I worry about jinxing myself. Also, this one counts as day 2 of the experiment “write before you work out” and so far it is working like GANGBUSTERS. (I am suddenly wondering if that phrase has a secret racist/problematic origin. Probably.)
I still haven’t actually written the fight scene yet but I HAVE written the lead-up to it now. Getting HYPED UP for it. Should probably draw out the choreography tomorrow, perhaps in lieu of a word count since it’s a social day.
Not counting the outline, I have 18,050 words written total for book 3. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
-Tess
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Alternately, if you’ve never heard of The Choronzon Chronicles before, but you think you might check it out, you can find the first book right here: Shadow Summoner.