Ron Toland
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  • Keeping Score: May 24, 2019

    So I messed up.

    I’ve been hitting my 1,500 word goal each week, like clockwork. But it’s not enough.

    Based on where I am now, I’d need to write (or edit) something like 8,000 words a week in order to hit my self-imposed deadline of the end of June.

    That kind of pace is…unlikely, to say the least. Possible, sure, but unlikely, given my schedule.

    Earlier this week, I thought about going for it. Staying up later, getting up earlier, pushing to finish on time.

    But the more I thought about it, the more stressed I became. It was harder to get started writing in the morning, because I knew I’d need to write four times my usual word count just to keep up.

    I actually thought about quitting the novel altogether. Just dropping it and going back to working on some short story ideas. I’ve got plenty of them; I could keep busy with shorter fiction for the rest of the year.

    Instead, I’ve decided to get rid of the source of my stress and doubts: I’m scrapping the deadline.

    I’m definitely going to up my weekly word count, though, starting next week. 1,500 words is just not cutting it, in terms of finishing in a timely fashion. I don’t want to be still working on this draft next year. And I do have short stories I want to work on, stories that will take time to get right. Time I’ll have to earn by finishing this novel draft.

    Wish me luck.

    → 8:00 AM, May 24
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