Not Quite There

Well, I'm not finished with the rewrite but I'm much farther along than I would have been without the deadline I set for myself.



Having the deadline gave me the push I needed to keep writing a little longer each day and to write even on days when the words weren't flowing.



Since I last posted, I've written 8542 words. I'm at 89,791 and 308 pages.

I'm very pleased.



One of the things I didn't take into consideration when I set my deadline and goal is that rewriting is part of the editing process. It's not like Nanowrimo where you are turning off your internal editor so you can get the ideas down. I've done that part with this book. Now, I'm working on making it the best it can be. So I had to take the scenes I'd already written and look at them. What's that scene's purpose? What is the goal, motivation and conflict for the characters in this scene. Does it move the book along or is it just chatter?



Doing this slows the process. But that's okay because my goal is not just a word count. It's a good book.



I'm going to the NJRW conference the last weekend in October. This rewrite will be done then.



So reassessed deadline. Complete the rewrite by October 22nd. I might be able to get it done before but I'm trying to be realistic. This weekend will be spent with friends. I'm planning to get some writing done but it's a revitalization weekend not a writing retreat. There are also several appointments, dentist, kid's doctor, hair the following week and a conference that weekend.



So my goal for between now and this coming Sunday is 2500 words. Maybe I can do more and get this next chapter done.

Progress Report

7128 words this week. I hit a snag with a new scene I added and spent a couple of days working it out. I might not finish the book by the 30th but I'll be close. Having the deadline pushes me to write more than I would without it.

As my friends commented, making progress and doing more than I would have without the deadline and goals is what is important

More realistic goal for next week, 8,000 words.

Week One--Progress toward Deadline

I worked on the book 6 out of 7 days this week. Yesterday, I rewrote most of the chapter I'd written Thursday because I wasn't happy with it. If I add those words in I wrote 9,014 words this week but only 7653 toward my projected 95,000 words. Though this averages below my goal of 1500-2000 words, I'm pleased because I pushed myself.

This rewrite may make the book a bit shorter. We'll see. Using 95,000 words as my guide I have 22,290 words to go. Since life happens and writing 5 days a week is more realistic than 7, I really need to shoot for 2000 words a day.

I believe I'll go back and try to finish this chapter today.

Day 2

Didn't get quite as much done today but met my goal. 1520 words. When I'm doing rewrites like this, I print a copy that I work from as I edit. I didn't realize last night that I needed to print Part Three so that's what I had to do first. For some reason, this computer has to reinstall the printer every time I go to print. Grrr.

Good luck to everyone who has shared their deadlines. One small deadline at a time and we'll get there.

Deadlines

A friend and fellow writer wrote about setting deadlines for herself on her blog--writeiam@ blogspot.com. It made me think. I too set deadlines but too often don't keep them. So I'm setting this one publicly.

I'm going to finish my rewrite of Body Language by Sept. 30th. This year. Why that date? I have three conferences in Oct and Nov where I'm going to pitch the book. I'm also ready to finish with this and move on to the next book.

How am I going to make it? I'm going to explain to my family what I'm doing. I'm going to write first. If I have to go somewhere that day, I'll get up earlier to write. And I'll report on my progress.

This weekend two of my critique partners joined me for a writing retreat at the beach. I prepared for Hanna but we didn't let her stop us. I wrote 3094 words and organized the next scene.

That set me up for today. 2360 words and I finished the second part of the book. On to the third and final part of the book. Whoo Hoo.

My daily goal is 1500-2000 words and I need to write at least 5 days a week. If it continues to go like today, I might even finish early.

If you have a deadline you're trying to meet or want to set one, join me in keeping track of your progress. A little competition can spur you to even greater efforts. Having a cheering squad, is even better.