Anne Faye

It is hard to believe the end of June is here already. It has been a busy month for me. Unfortunately, that meant that my dreams of getting my 2nd novel even half-written went down the tubes. As they say, the best laid plans . . .  ah, well. The final total for the month was 14,564 - a little more than a quarter of my goal of 50,000 words. Honestly, I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to return to the story. But, it felt good to write while I had the chance. As for my editing project, I am almost done my second read-through. I hope the client will be happy with what I have done.

I'm continuing to work on my editing project. I finished my first read-through tonight. This time through I just focused on grammar. The next read-through, I will concentrate on content. I'm enjoying this project. This is something I wouldn't mind doing more of.

The past few days just haven't allowed me to get any writing done. I've been busy working on paid projects, and those need to come first. One of the projects I am working on is a new one for me - editing someone else's manuscript. I've been giving myself a crash course in copy-editing with my copy of The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by my side. I've also been making good use of the internet, looking up grammar questions I'm not 100% sure about. It is interesting working on someone else's work, instead of my own. I am hoping to give this young writer lots of positive feedback while correcting her grammatical errors and helping her make her writing better. I am thankful to have this opportunity to try something new.

Some days, I feel like the world is conspiring against this story. I seem to be flooded with work lately. This is a good thing. I'm not complaining. It just means I don't have as much time to write as I would like. I really want to get this story written this summer. I hope that it happens. Tonight, I had about 25 minutes to write. I am trying to do at least a little bit every day that I can. Today's count - 498 Total to date - 14,564

I hadn't written the past two days. I was busy recuperating from vacation. This evening I was back at it, however. I was having a bit of a sad day, so I put on my headphones, played some old school happy music, and got to work. I feel better now. Today's count - 902 words. Total to date - 14,066

I spent the past week on vacation, but that doesn't mean it wasn't productive. In fact, freed from the obligations of work, I was able to get quite a bit written. Admittedly, this was in the pitch black working in the same room my children were sleeping in with only the light from the laptop to see by (and people think writers lead glamorous lives!). It is good that I know how to touch-type! Here are the totals from the days. The story is coming along nicely. I'm about one-quarter of the way to 50,000. I honestly don't know if the story will take that many words to tell, but I'll write until it is done. Unfortunately, now that I am back to real life, this rate will once again drop off (sigh!). June 13 Total for day - 1369  Total to date - 8025 June 14 Total for day - 1347  Total to date - 9372 June 15 Total for day - 1081  Total to date - 10,453 June 16 Total for day - 1581  Total to date - 12,034 June 17 Total for day - 1130  Total to date - 13,164

It's hard to believe it is June 11th already. The month is flying by. Some writers are able to craft stories in their heads and then commit them to paper or computer file. I can't really do that. I might have some general idea of where I want a scene to go, but most of the time, I just work it out while I am typing. I really don't even think about the story I'm working on except when I have that time to type. Throughout the day, I give my attention to whatever I've doing at that moment. When I do sit down to type, what comes out is almost always a surprise. Today's total - 669 Total to date - 6656

I had exactly 15 minutes to write today once I was done everything else I needed to do! I did, however, finish Chapter Three. And yes, I tend to write short chapters. Today's count - 182. Total to date - 5987

Woo-hoo! Over 1000 words tonight in one hour! I was definitely on a roll. I am over a tenth of the way done. One writing tip a fellow writer gave to me a while back was to keep a separate sheet of paper indicating names of all characters, places, etc. That way, when you refer to someone a second, or third time in a story you don't have to go back through the story to find what you named that person. I can hear you laughing, but yes, I did change a couple character's names during the course of writing "Through the Open Window" and it wasn't intentional. I am loving having that sheet right next to me this time around. Today's count - 1060! Total to date: 5805

Tonight wasn't as productive as I had hoped, but my mother called me, and moms have to come 1st! I did write 635 words, although I have to admit some of those words were copied verbatim from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I spent some time looking around http://www.poetry-online.org to find the perfect love poem. I was looking for something a bit less well-known, but nothing came close to saying it better than this: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of everyday's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my l...

At least I am consistent! Yesterday's total was 733 words. Today's was 749. That seems to be about what I can reasonably accomplish in an hour if the words are coming easily. It's about half of what I would need to write if I was actually going to write 50,000 words in one month, but I am satisfied with the pace. I wrapped up Chapter 2 today. Today's total: 749. Total to date: 4110.

As I expected, I didn't get to write at all yesterday. Today, it was a struggle in the beginning but then the words started flowing a bit more easily. My characters have already started taking on a life of their own. It's strange. You start with a basic idea of a story and then the characters take over and take it where they want it to go. One would think, being the writer, that I would have more control over the process, but that doesn't really seem to be the case. They have lives of their own now. For example, it already seems like things are not going to turn out the way I might hope for my main character and her significant other. I would like them to have a happy ending. I am, unabashedly, in favor of happy endings. Yet, this work does not seemed destined for one. Who knows? I will have to wait and see where the road takes them. Today's count - 733. Total to date: 3361

Quick post tonight. Today's total - 757 Total to date - 2628

I have gone back to a habit developed when writing my first novel - always carrying scrap paper with me wherever I go, so that if I have the opportunity to jot down a few sentences, I can. My rule on these intensive writing projects is that it can't interfere with anything else in my life. My family, my work - all that still needs to have 1st priority. So, I squeeze in writing a few minutes at a time. Today, I wrote 222 words while sitting at Big Y, a local grocery store. Today's Count - 663. Total Word Count to Date: 1,841. Chapter One is done!

Day 2 of my novel writing sojourn. Today's tally - 985 words. Total to date: 1178. One of the hardest things in getting out a first draft is resisting the urge to edit. Here I am - barely 3 single spaced pages into the story and I already want to fix things - choose different words, alter the opening line. All that can be done later. Right now the priority is to get the story out. I have a busy few days coming up - not sure how much writing I will get done. Yet, I have made a start. I will try to do at least a little bit each day, even if it is only a few words to keep my momentum going. 

Well, against my better judgment, I started writing novel #2. My characters have names which is more than they had this morning. I wrote 162 words. Not much of a start, I know, but it is a start. In my defense, I was watching the second half of "Gone with the Wind" tonight.