I’ve been thinking about the reasons this book is going slower for me than the last.
There is a significant difference of words per day: Book B – 2,000 vs Book 1 – 3,500. That’s almost half!
Reason #1 – I had a much longer outline for Book 1. So I didn’t have to be AS creative when I sat down to write since it was basically there and I just had to fill in the details. For this one I have a very sketchy outline (like a sentence per chapter), so when I write I have to figure things out more as I go. That’s hard in perfect conditions, but when you’re tired… ouch.
Reason #2 – I find dialogue much easier to write than action. Maybe it’s because I’m a girl and we’re supposed to be more conversation oriented or maybe dialogue is just easier to write for everyone. If you have thoughts on this, let me know. There certainly must be a proper balance between the two, but I’m not sure which of my stories is nearer to that balance. My first book had more talk than action, while this one has a LOT of action. So it’s harder and slower.
So with that in mind my daily word goals are different. I aimed for a chapter a night with Book 1, but with Book B I shoot for 2K and make it if I’m lucky. Do any of you find a significant difference in your goals between your different stories? What are the factors that affect that difference?
Anyway, my brain is tired and I didn’t meet my word goal last night, so I’m off to sleep. *sigh*
1 comment:
Anette-
Good questions. Let's see if I can answer them. And, hey, good job on hitting over 18k!!!
#1 Outlines -
Outlining makes a HUGE difference. I outlined The Breakaway using the Snowflake Method. Made things go much faster. Monarch, however, is suffering from a quick, sketchy outline that fits on 3 pages and isn't finished. (Breakaway's total outline is 50 pages!)
So . . . that could very well be the reason you are slowed down.
#2 Dialogue -
Dialogue is fantasmagoric. I love that non-word.
It's easy to write because yes, you're female, and because it's reactionary. Somebody says something, somebody else says something. Easy as pie. No description, no action.
I like to slip action into my dialogue scenes. Not huge action, just have the characters DO something while they're talking. Or it's super-boring. Like two statues just staring at each other. So does that count as action?
Keep in mind that every story will be different for you. Important thing is to make it to the end and don't get distracted. :)
Post a Comment