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author, Fatal Forgery, plotting, Samuel Plank, The Man in the Canary Waistcoat, word count, writing
Hello all. A little while ago I shared with you my plan for writing “Plank 3” by completing 2,000 words a week. So how has it gone? In the first (gung-ho) week I managed just over 2,000 words – all written in one long session (a Saturday afternoon while my husband was hogging the telly for rugby, so the incentive to be out of the room was great). In the second week it was a bit more piecemeal, but over three writing sessions I managed about 1,600 words. And last week, over two weekend writing stints, I wrote 1,970 words – dang that final thirty!
It seems that for me – or perhaps for my type of writing, which requires me to go back in time and settle into a Regency mindset – I do best in longer stints of dedicated writing. I have said before how I long to be one of those writers who can jot down a perfect sentence or two on the back of a bus ticket (or Oyster card) while waiting in the queue, but I am am not good in busy, distracting places. Or maybe I am just using that as an excuse – better writers than me write better books than mine in the most extreme conditions, so perhaps I am being a bit precious.
But – to get back to my original point – given the sort of person I am (my family calls me the Deadline Queen) I like to feel that I have done what I set out to do. Having as a goal “write book” is just too large, too distant – it will be months before I can cross that off my list. So “write 2,000 words a week” seems a good compromise, and – with a bit more effort this weekend to make up the existing shortfall – I should be able to keep that going.
Dear Susan
Thank you for keeping us updated on progress. Your bite-sized “splinters” approach seems like a good one for me, even if it doesn’t always quite go to plan. I’m sure the creative process can be frustrating at times but, if these things were easy, you wouldn’t get anything like the same sense of achievement from them.
Keep up the good work.
Best Wishes
Graham
Dear Graham
Happy new year to you! Yes, it’s slowly but surely at the moment – although I daresay the panic will set in at some point. Thank you for your encouragement!
Best wishes from Susan
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