Write-a-thon day

It’s been far too long since I write-a-thonned, but progress MUST be made on Book #2 of the Threats of Sky and Sea series.

My goal is simply for 3,000 words. I’ve found that 5,000 is a bit unrealistic for me. I’ve done it before, but by the time I reach word 5,000 I feel more frustrated than accomplished. But Aleta and Bree need their story told, so ON I GO!

I’m joined today by Lindsey Allyson, Angel of Mermaid Vision Books, Christa of More Than Just Magic, and Candice of The Grown-up YA. I love write-a-thons with friends because they’re so helpful to keep me accountable and make sure that I get my shit done! Plus, we all get to cheer for each other’s accomplishments!

10:46 AM: The draft currently stands at 6,144 words, and I’ve just switched into a difficult POV. It’s not a character that I’m as used to writing, but I love her, and I think that it’s time she got more to say. I’ve got my glasses, PJs, and oversized robe on and Game of Thrones on in the background to remind me to write ruthlessly. Things get a bit more serious in this book. AND ON WE GO!

Draft: 6,144. | Today’s progress: 0

11:50 AM: Slow and steady wins the race, right? Within this hour, my laptop died, and I had to go on a hunt for my power cord. I also had a random scene pop into my head, so I jumped very far ahead in the story to “sketch” that out roughly.

Draft: 6,634 | Today’s progress: 490

1:00 PM: AHHHH, the Red Wedding episode of Game of Thrones may have been a tactical error to have on in the background while I write, especially since I’m in EARLY scenes, not action. But it does make me want to keep that ruthlessness in mind for later… BUT NOT TO THE EXTENT OF A MASSCARE. That distracted me a bit, and now I’m breaking for lunch. But I feel good about my 3K goal!

Draft: 7,192 | Today’s progress: 1,048

4:40 PM: WELL, lunch was consumed, and then I felt a little less than human sitting around in my PJs and robe still, so I showered and got dressed. I’m actually battling pretty terrible caffeine withdrawal as well at the moment, with no soda in my house. Pounding head, sensitivity to light, all contributing to my nausea.

But I’ve finally gotten back to work! I’m rediscovering how first drafting works for me. Right now, I’m writing a bunch of small sketched in random scenes, and THANK GOODNESS for Scrivener– makes it much easier to go back in scene by scene and reorganize later.

Draft: 7,619 | Today’s progress: 1,475

Sunday 9:56 AM: WELL, yesterday was a bit of a fail. The headache got worse, not better, and took me down. But I refuse to go back to Day Job on Monday without meeting my goal of 3K!

Draft: 7,619 | Write-a-thon progress: 1,475

Monday 9:53 AM: I completely forgot to update this log, but I rewarded myself for roughly every 500 words with an episode of The West Wing, which I was binge-watching a bit this weekend, and I finally met my goal! I had to switch out of this difficult POV for the moment. It’s difficult enough to find the story, and it seemed to be working against me to be struggling to find her POV as well.

Draft: 9,172 | Write-a-thon progress: 3,028

Here’s my favorite bit of non-spoilery dialogue what I wrote this weekend:

“Two silvers.”

Bree chokes and laughs. “What, do you stuff your chickens with emeralds?” She leans forward, hand on the table. “You’re not stupid. Look at us. You think we’ve got two silvers to spend on a chicken?”

“You can have the stew for one.”

She purses her lips and raises her eyebrows at me, looking impressed. “Quite the place we’ve stumbled on here. Emeralds in the chicken and a sapphire in the stew.”