Thanks for checking back in! BRATS IN HELL is progressing nicely. As of this post I am over 15,000 words in. It feels like the right time for an update on my progress. Although I am only one third of the way in, it's been an experience very different from my short story writing experiences. Despite all my preparation, I was not prepared for all the forks I've encountered already.
The first three things I wrote down in my initial outline were: Beginning, Middle and End. From there I kept breaking down each part into more and more detail to get the skeleton of the book. I can safely say I'm now into 'The Middle'. There was no magic delineation point, no particular chapter that says 'ok, this is the middle.' It's just a feel based on what's going in in the story. The same way NASA can say Voyager is now in interstellar space. There was no defined line, it was just based on a feel of where the craft was based on its surroundings.
I didn't set out with any specific sub plots. There are three that have developed naturally through the story telling. I'm really happy where the story is going and when I read back what's been done, I think it's pretty dang good. Though there will not be a story reveal any longer, I can say that before this blog series is over I will have a more thorough synopsis of BRAT IS HELL before it is done.
I've also been hitting my 1k/day word count with no problem. Surprisingly I've been doing this with no set routine getting it done. Everyday I seem to get there a bit differently than the last day. Typically I'll sneak in a couple hundred words in at work then come home and polish off the count. However, some days I'm so busy running kids around to this, that and the other thing that I have to find every precious moment to tap in a few words where I can. Then when I finally get home, make dinner and eat, I have to pray I have enough umph left in the tank to shoot out the last few words.
I have to admit, one day my count only came in at 989. I was outta gas and any more words would have been frivolous. I called it a night knowing that the night before I finished with close to 1400 words and generally I'm about 1100 a day.
So I'm not letting the little things bug me. I keep reminding myself 'you're not going to finish in one week or two' and that I just have to keep plugging away and tell the story. There's still a long way to go but when I look at that word counter sitting over 15,000 I feel accomplished coming this far.
FJE
