I’m not entirely sure what the best way to keep track of this is. It worked really well for me to post word count publicly in November. I’d like to keep doing that, but I don’t feel the need to plaster it all over social media. So I’ll try it here, and just update this post as I go?…
Word Count 1st Draft
Started Nov 2, 2020. WC 0, but well planned.
Finished Nov 18, 2020: WC 65k.
Word Count 2nd Draft
Started Writing Nov 24, 2020
Started tracking Dec 1, 2020: WC 16001
Dec 2, 2020: WC 18806
Dec 3, 2020: WC 21750
Dec 4, 2020: Ugh. Taken down by a headache. Hope to feel better tomorrow.
Dec 7, 2020: No writing. Still recovering. But feeling a lot better. If not writing tomorrow, then reading an MG novel — for study, right?
2021
Jan 1: WC 25915 Figured out headaches (thanks felting), figured out Christmas and New Years. Figured out that I don’t multitask well, so over Christmas break I sketched up some pics to post on social media while I focus on writing. When I run out of art to post, I’ll draw for a bit and then get back to writing. Trying to do it all meant I got nothing much done.
Jan 2: WC 28410. Slept in. Canned pineapples (so pretty!). Typed. Played a board game with the family and then typed some more.
Jan 4: WC 30242. Back to school, back to teaching. Shopping. Win of the day was getting supper ready in the morning, so that I could type right to 5pm instead of having to stop what I’m doing at 4 to make supper.
Jan 5: WC 33537. Steady as she goes.
Jan 6: WC 35911. Even sneaking in a date night. Reading Shakespeare. Absolutely hilarious. I recommend it.
Jan 7: WC 38665. Well good. I felt like I hardly got any time in today, but it looks like I made progress. Little by little.
Jan 8: WC 42742. Pushed through a big, tangled scene today. Need chocolate. On a candy break. Phooey.
Jan 9: WC 46404. Left it on a good cliffhanger so I’m excited to start up again on Monday.
Jan 11: WC 48958. Enjoying the fun middle bits 🙂 . Had to force myself to stop writing.
Jan 12: WC 51422.
Jan 15: WC 56107. Just a few more scenes on the main story to go! Then the secondary story needs some work.
Jan 16: WC 62084. Yeah baby. A great morning and a great afternoon writing.
Jan 18: WC 64285. Oh, there were so many other things calling me today. But I sat down and wrote anyway. Not a ton, but it was something. High Five.
Jan 19: WC 66484.
Jan 20: WC 68441. Need to sit down tomorrow and do some untangling, but had a lot of fun writing today!
Jan 30: WC 71844. Spent some time over the last few days working on an art challenge and dealing with some vertigo. Finally got back to writing today. Untangled my tangle, and wrote a good chunk.
Feb 2: WC 74625 Groundhogs day! Early spring has been predicted. Better get my tiller oiled ;). Ears are still iffy, but feeling better and vertigo is pretty much gone.
Feb 5: WC 81607. I MADE IT!!! My original wc goal was 80k. I got 65k for my first draft in NanoWrimo. I just hit 80k in my 2nd draft, finished the main story, and still have a little side story to go over. Pretty cool!!!
Feb 8: WC 88311. Working on the side story. Really want to get the whole 2nd draft done by Thursday!
Feb 9: WC 90294. Glad I snuck in a little writing this morning, as I had a meeting go extra long into my usual writing time this afternoon. Good meeting. Good writing. One last bit left!
Feb 10: WC 93525. FINISHED!!!! Dang, I love this story. The 2nd draft is still a mess, and I need to change my whole McGuffin, but otherwise I’m pretty excited. Can’t wait for the third draft to be done. It might actually be shareable at that point, lol.
Feb 28: Debating next steps. I decided to step away from my novel for a couple of weeks to give myself some head space and be able to attack it again with clarity. In the meantime, I finished the linework for my friend’s book and started colouring. Now I’m torn. Do I finish colouring and be done? Or do my third draft and come back later. Multi-tasking didn’t work so well in December, so I think I need to pick one and go gung-ho on it. At the moment, I’m leaning towards the picture book illustrations, but my novel definitely calls STRONGLY. All the things!!!
March 15: I finished colouring! She loves it! Now it’s going to percolate while I get my third draft of my MG (young YA?) done. I started, just organizing my mind-space. I want to keep notes of all the beings and flora and fauna and places, as well as chapter goals to make sure I stay on top of it all. And I have to get over the ‘I’m not a writer’ block again. But I did start!
March 20: It’s going REALLY well! My goal is a chapter a day. I finished ch 4 last night. My 2 older boys are reading through them and telling me where they’re getting confused or what they wished I had included. Then I go back and make those changes. I think, after those changes, it’s ready for some beta readers!
Apr 4: 3rd Draft 40k, 15 chapters. Writing is a journey, isn’t it? I was reading back over my notes and realizing how far I’ve come and how far there is to go! But every time I’ve wanted to quit, I’ve kept going instead. That might just be the secret to everything right there. I think I’m on track for my daily writing goals. However, I wrote down that I’d love to my novel polished and ready to submissions by June — I’m starting to have my doubts. The third draft is definitely readable, but not polished. I’m guessing 2 more drafts will be needed.
Apr 7: 50k (3rd draft). Just passed the halfway mark. I’m in the middle of all the “fun and games” stuff and loving it!
Apr 9: WC – 60572. Beautiful.
Apr 23: WC – 91362. Just keep writing! Almost there!
Apr 28: 100 000. Done. Time for a little brain break!
May 5: Oi. I’ve been having a hard time getting back to my draft. Even for the simple revisions. I think my problem is wanting to do too many things all at once. I want to check for spelling and grammar. I want to add changes. I want to get my ‘pre-beta’ readers (my kids’) thoughts. AND I can’t do this stuff on my little alpha typer, which means that climbing my mountain of work involves strapping on a world of distraction from my laptop. I miss my alpha typer. Current plan: only do one type of revision — simple. And turn off my internet, possibly giving the password to my hubby. I’ve got this!
May 24: I finished my 3rd draft revisions last week! My first wave Beta readers (my boys) have been hard at work. I have some more awesome beta readers lined up for when I finish the revisions my boys give me. Also, my hubby is extremely cool and used his book binding skills to make my draft look like an official book. So cool! Will I make my end of May goal??? Maybe not, but I’m pretty dang close!
July 30: Apparently it should have been an end of July goal, lol. It is hard to hurry up and wait for beta readers, but incredibly worth it too. In the meantime, I’ve been gathering a list of agents to submit to (thank you manuscript wishlist) and chipping away at my Holes (not the actual title) picture book story. One and a half spreads left! My main goal for this story was to illustrate a full book that I wrote myself. Now that it’s nearly finished, I’m not sure what my next steps are. If I were to submit it, apparently I’m not supposed to have a fully finished book, since publishers will want to be able to give some feedback on the illustration process. But, what if I don’t mind changing the pictures? If I self-publish, will all my time be spent marketing? Do I simply pop it up here on my website and use the pictures for portfolio work? So, you see, at the moment I’m undecided about my future steps. Short term though, I’m going to keep colouring and plotting 😉 .