Progress Report
Saturday, April 02, 2005 by Mel
I survived Writing Day One, which transitioned into Writing Day Two since I managed to fall asleep at 4:30 this morning and awake around 12:30 p.m. I can only blame myself for the odd sleeping patterns, which I attribute to my extreme caffiene intake. Before the late night couch-fest which included Pope updates from all the major news networks, and viewing of Back to the Future Part II (thanks, JB) , I managed to rack up over 1750 words, putting me safely over my 1,667-word goal for Day One. Hooray!
Here's where I admit something I had forgotten in the last few years: writing is hard.
To clarify, the early stages of development of a new novel are particularly difficult when I'm quite foggy about the direction of the story. When I wrote for my creative writing classes in college, I had a 1,000-word requirement for each week, which I could usually turn out in a couple of hours after class. In those hours, all creative juices flowed fiercely and consistently from brain to fingertips. I miss those days.
I've come to realize that my novel-writing process is a lot like watching tv. I see the story unfold in my mind, watching the characters move around and exchange dialogue. My job is merely to record what I have seen and heard in a way that future readers can understand. So when I only get to see part of a scene, it's as if the program directors decided to stick in a commercial break or a breaking news bulletin. And when I'm struggling for a long period of time, it's as if the President has decided to give a speech and has taken over all of the channels for the evening. Arg. Of course, with a 30-day deadline, I can't afford to have any presidential addresses interrupt me, and even an extended commercial break frustrates me.
Random question of the day: What is the most magical color?
Current Day's Word Count: 598 (but I'm just getting warmed up).
Enjoy your weekend.
Here's where I admit something I had forgotten in the last few years: writing is hard.
To clarify, the early stages of development of a new novel are particularly difficult when I'm quite foggy about the direction of the story. When I wrote for my creative writing classes in college, I had a 1,000-word requirement for each week, which I could usually turn out in a couple of hours after class. In those hours, all creative juices flowed fiercely and consistently from brain to fingertips. I miss those days.
I've come to realize that my novel-writing process is a lot like watching tv. I see the story unfold in my mind, watching the characters move around and exchange dialogue. My job is merely to record what I have seen and heard in a way that future readers can understand. So when I only get to see part of a scene, it's as if the program directors decided to stick in a commercial break or a breaking news bulletin. And when I'm struggling for a long period of time, it's as if the President has decided to give a speech and has taken over all of the channels for the evening. Arg. Of course, with a 30-day deadline, I can't afford to have any presidential addresses interrupt me, and even an extended commercial break frustrates me.
Random question of the day: What is the most magical color?
Current Day's Word Count: 598 (but I'm just getting warmed up).
Enjoy your weekend.
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