I Persisted

It's been difficult writing over the last few days thanks to Trump. It has been breaking my heart. We should not be offering any apologies for Nazis, for white supremacists, for bigots. I try to celebrate diversity in my writing. It's literally nauseating to hear "Seig Heil," to see the swastika being flourished on our streets, to hear the hate spewing out of these people's mouths and their belief that they now have the tacit approval of the President of the United States. 

Maybe, at some time when my book is finished, somebody will take offense at what I just wrote. In that case, don't read my book. It will not break my heart if you don't. I'd rather be right than rich. 

'Nuff said about politics today. On to writing. 

As I said, it's been hard to focus, but I still surpassed 42,000K and 14 Chapters. I will keep on writing. 

Figured it out Ho

Yesterday, I discovered an error in my time frames. Overnight, I worked it out. I still have a plot hurdle to get over without sounding too Gothic because it's not that kind of story at all. 

I wish I could have written more, but I went to the eye doctor, got about 3 different kinds of drops put in, had three weird tests, and ended up with two silicone plugs in my tear ducts to keep the tears from drying up too fast. 

TMI, right.? Okay. No more about that. However, it does explain my sluggish word count. Which is ... 

39,416K

Hoping for more writing time tomorrow. 

Error or Fortunate Fail

You recall yesterday I wrote about being in a plot quandary. The good news is I figured out where to go with the story. The bad news is i wrote two great pages and when I was done, I realized it was totally out of sync time-wise with what I wrote yesterday -- which I might be able to fix fairly easily. 

The lesson today is not everything goes smoothly, but don't get discouraged. A mistake can be useful. It can make you think. 

Not a big word count today:

39,165K 

Hopefully tomorrow will be more productive. 

In a Quandry

I'm facing a plotting crisis in the next chapter. I might kill a minor character, or I might not. In order to move the plot forward, it's important that something dire happens. So, how dire should it be? 

Possibilities:
1. Kill the character
2. Give a protagonist a shock
3. Introduce a major player in the story

All are possible. All would work. Which is why I'm stuck. My advice to myself? Take some time, do some research, and then move on to what feels right. 

I have crossed the 37,664K Mark and have completed Chapter 13. That seems to be progress. 

No Words of Wisdom

No words of wisdom today, just the daily word count. 

36,264K Where did all those words come from? 

A Pause to Refresh ...

I've read many writers say that you should write every day, even if you feel like you're wading through molasses in January. It's true, writing something every day does keep keep me focused, but some days (Like today) I need to step back and take a breather, let my brain work on plot points, and not push myself to create something new.

I was busy today with mundane things around the house, felt a little worn out physically and creatively after my burst of wonderful productivity yesterday, and knew that whatever I wrote today wouldn't take the story where I need it to go.

That doesn't mean I didn't write anything. I did some editing on what I wrote yesterday,and added a bit to clean up the end of the chapter, which gave me I a clearer idea of where to go next. 

Today's lesson is, if I need a break, I should take a break and not feel guilty that I didn't produce 1500 words per day. However, using some of my time to read over what I wrote yesterday, clean it up and decide if my stroke of creative genius survived the endorphins produced by writing it. 

I'm not a professional, yet. But maybe I'm learning to think like the writer I want to be. 

Writing Away From Home

Today I had two choices: I could stay home and write or I could go out and write. It was one of those days when I knew if I stayed home, I would get distracted by a million things - housework, nap-taking (never a good option) Twitter, TV (I'm a Food Network and HGTV addict) and my cat, who is cute but occasionally needy and whiny. 

After running errands, including a stop at a local Farmers Market where I brought a jar of local honey, tomatoes and fresh ears of corn, I had lunch and headed out to find a place to write. Starbucks, right? 

Not so fast. I couldn't get my laptop to connect to the internet, so off I went to the local library instead, where I cranked out about 1,000 words before the chair got too uncomfortable. You know they make library chairs deliberately uncomfortable so you don't sit there too long! Get up! Browse those books! Glare enviously at the oeuvres of published authors ... 

I've discovered why writers hang out in coffee shops, aside from awesome caffeinated drinks. There's soft music in the background, the murmur of other customers, theI presence of other people on laptops. It's much easier to lose yourself in your story than it is at home.

So, where do you like to write? 

Tomorrow, a bit about my book and research. Meanwhile, here's a hint:

Word count: 34,046

For the last month I have been writing an original mystery novel. But first, a bit about me. I am a librarian, so I am surrounded by books; some good, some mediocre, and frankly, some awful. I've read extensively in all genres, but the one I'm most drawn to are mysteries and thrillers. I am not a "cozy" kind of writer, though I have attempted to write cozy mysteries and found myself bored to tears with my own writing! That's okay. It's not my style any more than humor is, or chic lit, or historical mysteries.

My favorite authors are Lee Child, Robert Crais, John Sandford, and Meg Gardiner. So, dark, urban and gritty are more my style that cats and teapots.

I've devoted most of my writing time in the past to Fan Fiction, and I'm damn proud of what I've written over the years. Some of  the stories are "Gen", others are most definitely not.

I've decided to write this blog because Twitter is too short to allow me to express my feelings about what I'm writing, or even try to explain what the darn book is about.

My latest word count, which I update daily is standing at 32,551 plus a few I added today. Here's hoping I don't run out of words before if finish the book More about that tomorrow!

So, welcome, readers and friends.

Joan (aka DresdenRose)