Number Three, here we come
Well, I've spent a bit of time in the last fortnight humming and hawing and chewing me nails and generally getting in a bit of a tizzy over what Novel III will be about.
Blimey though, it's not an easy job. I feel like an old hand, but despite having been a novelist for eight years I've only written two books so far, and the subject / style / genre / plot / characters (oh 'eck, getting palpitations already) of the next one are a BIG IMPORTANT DECISION.
It matters. Eek.
I can't guarantee I'll get much writing time after Baby II is born, so I've decided to try and complete a first draft before Due Drop Day, which means I need to get a wriggle on (those Aussies do have some lovely phrases, great galaahs that they are), which means No Arsing About.
I am a champion arser-abouter. I spent a full 18 months faffing around the edges of Novel II before I finally got proper stuck in, and I'm determined not to do the same with this one. I'm going to dive straight in, no excuses. And write 7,500 words a week for fourteen weeks, starting next week. 7,500 words a week, that is, on the subject of... umm...
I don't even have any Lovely Signed Two-Book Deals (yet) with friendly editors whose brains I can pick about what the next book should be like, and I don't have the time to wait for them, but if Novel II does well then it might have an impact on Novel III, and what if people like Novel II but don't like Novel III, and and and...
Well, that's what my brain looked like today and yesterday, until I took a long hot bath and finally made a decision. And I'm NOT CHANGING MY MIND. So there.
So, from next week I'll be holding myself to a weekly word-count deadline. Hopefully the fact that I'll be following Stephen King's advice, and (in a nutshell) just getting on with it will help. I'm not allowed to stop halfway through, change my mind about everything and rewrite it. I'm not allowed to obsess over the quality of what I'm writing. I have to just put my head down and write a book, then put it aside for a few weeks, and then read it back and weep and wail and rewrite the whole damn thing.
Wish me luck.
Oh, and it's currently called P******.
___
Blimey though, it's not an easy job. I feel like an old hand, but despite having been a novelist for eight years I've only written two books so far, and the subject / style / genre / plot / characters (oh 'eck, getting palpitations already) of the next one are a BIG IMPORTANT DECISION.
It matters. Eek.
I can't guarantee I'll get much writing time after Baby II is born, so I've decided to try and complete a first draft before Due Drop Day, which means I need to get a wriggle on (those Aussies do have some lovely phrases, great galaahs that they are), which means No Arsing About.
I am a champion arser-abouter. I spent a full 18 months faffing around the edges of Novel II before I finally got proper stuck in, and I'm determined not to do the same with this one. I'm going to dive straight in, no excuses. And write 7,500 words a week for fourteen weeks, starting next week. 7,500 words a week, that is, on the subject of... umm...
I don't even have any Lovely Signed Two-Book Deals (yet) with friendly editors whose brains I can pick about what the next book should be like, and I don't have the time to wait for them, but if Novel II does well then it might have an impact on Novel III, and what if people like Novel II but don't like Novel III, and and and...
Well, that's what my brain looked like today and yesterday, until I took a long hot bath and finally made a decision. And I'm NOT CHANGING MY MIND. So there.
So, from next week I'll be holding myself to a weekly word-count deadline. Hopefully the fact that I'll be following Stephen King's advice, and (in a nutshell) just getting on with it will help. I'm not allowed to stop halfway through, change my mind about everything and rewrite it. I'm not allowed to obsess over the quality of what I'm writing. I have to just put my head down and write a book, then put it aside for a few weeks, and then read it back and weep and wail and rewrite the whole damn thing.
Wish me luck.
Oh, and it's currently called P******.
___
Labels: Writing About Writing
2 Comments:
If the title is 'Pillock' I bet it'll sell like hot cakes.
Great idea! I'm changing it.
Might have problems in countries other than UK though...
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