So here goes the first official week of this book and I’m tracking my exact progress every day. This was actually a tough week because of the holiday and that usually slows me down but not this time. So let’s see where I got.
I’m just going to do breakdowns by day and I’ll give some thoughts at the end. Again, if anyone has any questions, post them below and I’ll see what I can do.
Monday, 11/22 – 6082 words, stopped just shy of the end of chapter 4, only because I had to figure out the twist at the end. That puts me at over 16k for the book and 59 pages in.
Tuesday. 11/23 – 6702 words. I’m in chapter 6 when something major is about to happen. That puts me at just over 85 pages into the manuscript and close to 23k so far.
Wednesday, 11/24 – 7364 words. I got into chapter 8 and forced myself to stop before a long, influential part. That will be something I’ll get to on Friday. The totals for the day get me to over 30k into the book and 113 pages.
Thursday, 11/25 – Thanksgiving and I’m taking the day off. I don’t work weekends or holidays. That doesn’t mean I take it easy on word counts. I have the 5k I was expecting to do on Thursday to make up. I need to hit a minimum of 25k a week, period.
Friday, 11/26 – Right back to work. I’m off and raring to get started. My totals for the day are 7665 words and 28 pages. I’ve decided that I want to hit 50k by the end of the month and that means I have 2 days of writing to get from 37,818 to 50k. That means I need to average 6409 words Monday and Tuesday. That shouldn’t be a problem.
I’ve had a arbitrary number in my head for the last book of the year because usually, it spans December and January. So long as I hit 50k in the book, no matter how long it ultimately gets to be, it counts toward this year and if not, it counts toward next year. I will have this entire book done in 2021, but it’s still a goal that I want to pass. Coming up with new and challenging goals is something I try to do every day.
My week shook out at 27,813 words over all and 111 pages. That’s pretty healthy, especially for a first week. I’ve been pushing really hard to exceed my goals and so far, so good. I’m into the second act in just the first week. I can’t ask anything more than that.
This has been flowing very well and I’ve had to tear myself away a couple of times this week. I am writing better than I usually do, although part of that, I’m sure, is the holiday and the knowledge that I have to make up that automatic deficit. Usually, the first week of a project, I’ll hit my 5k a day every day and maybe get over to 6k once. By the second week, I’m writing nearly 6k a day and maybe 7k here and there if I’m lucky. Third week always brings me into consistent 6k and 7k territory and by the last week, I’m doing 7k nearly all the time with occasional forays into 8, 9, and even 10k days.
I do that, not because I’m necessarily excited to finish this book, although that’s certainly part of it, but I am really looking forward to getting on to the next project. That’s especially true in this case because I want to get back to the third trilogy out of a four-trilogy series and I’ve been thinking about it a lot since I started this book. By the beginning of January, I want to be fully into it.
I guess that wraps up the first week of the book and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s hard work but I really think that anyone who is committed can do it if they really push themselves. It might not be this fast, this has taken many years of hard work to achieve, but over time, I don’t see why anyone who wants it badly enough can’t reach this level.
Go ahead, give it a shot, prove to yourself that you can achieve your dreams. Ultimately, it’s all up to you.
See you next week.
