Since the last two posts didn’t go through right, figured condensing them into one rather than reposting late.

Done introducing new characters for now. Little ancillary ones, of course, but no new mains for another 12 chapters or so. Got a good read from my alpha reader with excellent feedback. Changes a few things in context, reinforces a few other things, helps with formatting, and above all great idea on keeping people straight for the readers.

Word count updated. At present rate, should finish the goal of 50k words on Christmas Eve. Not acceptable. Need to find another gear now that I’m finally shaking this cold.

Writing this one with an eye towards Kindle/iBook release only. Why waste time on an agent for a “throwaway” book, right?  Right? 

Home with the kids while the wife is off bringing home the real bacon. Side note: would love to bring home enough writing bacon that we could trade places 🙂

Picking at the keyboard between cleaning tasks and breaking up fights is interesting. It gives me a chance to think through what these characters will do and why in a different way. The disjointed nature of walking away after a paragraph really gives me a chance to express the disjointed nature of a character’s thoughts.

Short word count so far this morning for obvious reasons. Looking to crank out some this afternoon and evening. 2-3k would put me close to weekly goal. Maybe some additions tomorrow will get me on track.

Still sick but slightly better off than yesterday. Bah, who cares, on to the writing!

Wondering if I’m introducing too many characters at once but plowing through the fear. The brevity of the chapters is offset (I hope) by the method of time actually flowing as opposed to giving a snapshot of all new characters at the same moment in time. Hopefully this will act as a kind of secondary character. Time, I mean. By having time move along at a steady pace while introducing new characters, I hope to make things flow in a steadier, more understandable pace.  Will have to rely on my alpha reader for some feedback there. Good luck, Kevin.

Am reaching the end of the book’s first day, which is actually set two days before something big happens.   Everyone knows it, is no surprise, but it’s still tense. In this manner, I hope to bring the reader in without blowing all the action upfront. Again, go go gadget alpha reader! 

Word count increased to just under 6k. Need to get it up to 10 k to get on track for 50k end. A 50k word book – that’ll officially be my shortest one ever.

Sick. Ugh. Up at 2 last night/ this morning when my brain switched on. Wife and I passed like zombie ships in the night as she tended to sick kids (while sick) and I retreated to the office to let her sleep. Traded places at 5 when I woke up on the office floor and stumbled to bed; she went to my office futon because I was snoring. Sorry babe.

Writing while sick is an exercise all to itself. I get inside my head and start to wonder if I’m over the top on some things or ignoring others. It’s like writing in bullet-time (think The Matrix) only reversed; instead of time slowing and letting me dodge bullets, it shoots past me while I peck at two or three keys. I don’t recommend it as an experience worth repeating or even doing.

Word count increased as the Sudafed kicked in. Hopefully it fits the rhythm of everything before it. Will learn tomorrow. Tonight is for some serious rest and relaxation. Ugh.

Going into this challenge, I was relatively blind. I knew the general backstory to my fictional land and a few of the cities that would be important to the story, but that’s about it. What I didn’t know was how to differentiate the book, how to make it unique in the fantasy realm.  Would there be magic?  Gods?  Wizards?  Dragons?  I wasn’t sure, so instead of letting myself get bogged down in the fear, I just let it ride. Go get it, brain! 

It did. I think I have a workable framework for moving things forward both in the sprint and the marathon stages. Super excited to see if it works and if I can pull it off. Should be fun.

Oh, and word count increased yet again.