This, depending on your sources, is the average length of a novel. 2,000 is apparently the number of words written per day by Stephen King. Yesterday, I wrote 3,000 words. That, by definition makes me a better novelist than Stephen King, does it not?
No? What do you mean, No? Oh, quality over quantity I hear you cry. Well, you’re absolutely correct. I started writing in earnest a couple of weeks ago and amassed just shy of 10,000 words across 5 chapters before deleting the lot. Who knew that writing a novel could be so brutal and that I could be the brute! Still, being on furlough, it’s not as if I haven’t got time to spare and, let’s be honest, it’s the main reason why I’m doing this.
Yes, I went back to the drawing board. Well, not all the way back as the main premise is unchanged. I have a thing about the apocalypse, you see.
So I’ve spent the last week or so trawling the internet for tips, tricks and good old fashioned inspiration. And aren’t we lucky to have all that information to hand at all times. 30 years ago, it would have taken many trips to the library for research. Good luck with that during a pandemic.
Anyway, I have now changed they way I’m working and have discovered a method that appears to work for me.
- Create your environment
- Create a plot
- Create and build your characters
So now I have my environment but, to be fair, it’s not far from what I had before. I have a much more robust plot and I have a set of characters whom I have gotten to know and now want to write about.
So where am I up to? 7,500 words, 4 chapters in and much happier for it……….until next time.
If anyone is interested, I’ll post some links to some of the material I came across. Thanks to my big sis for the Guardian article. And no, I won’t tell you how I got on with the 12 signs.
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