I spent the morning writing in the garage attic. Right now that’s the best place for me to be—no telephone, no distractions—just a desk and a window and an electrical outlet. I got five thousand words written this morning—I need to head out there again and see if I can get another five thousand done. Some of this is rewritten material that I’m going over a second time around, but about half is new. I got stuck in the middle of the novel (Michael and Keeli, my main characters, were spending way too much time apart, and the story was dragging), so I decided to start from the beginning. I’ve rewritten about 43,000 words in the past five days, and if I keep up this pace, the book will be done by the end of next week. That’s my goal, anyway. Then I’ll have another two weeks for a fast revision. My deadline is on December 1st.
Believe it or not, I actually like having a deadline. I mean, this is my first one, so maybe I’ll change my tune down the road, but it’s good knowing you have a set date to get something done, especially when the task is novel-sized. Probably those of you who are doing the NaNo Write-A-Novel-In-A-Month thing feel the same way. There’s a sense of urgency that might be lacking without that date on the horizon.
So anyway, just had lunch—my break is over. Wah! I can tell you guys one thing: I would never be this disciplined about anything else. If I was still practicing law, I would be dragging my feet with the schedule I’m keeping. Instead, getting up each morning is a breeze. Joy in what you do for a living is a wonderful thing.