Day Fifty-four - 102,728 words and counting

I'm writing a novel. All my progress can be found on my private blog. The commentary for each day's work can be found below.

There's one thing that I've noticed about my 1,689 word a day commitment--it never relaxes. Sure, I managed to cross the one hundred thousand word mark yesterday, but so what? Today, I still have another solid, workmanlike 1,689 to go. I guess they're called milestones for a reason. If you got to stop there, you'd call it a destination instead.

Keeping that steady pace every day definitely makes me move, but it also makes me worry. To continue the driving metaphor, I feel like in writing this story, I'm driving through fog. Sometimes it clears and I can see quite a way ahead. Sometimes the fog closes in, and I'm almost driving blind. But I keep up the same pace either way, and I'm afraid of going faster than my metaphorical headlights at times.

Because of that, I've made a decision. I'm quickly approach the end of my November goal, and I'm on pace to meet it a few days early again. Once I have finished out November, it will be time to set a December goal.

My original plan was to do another 52,347 words, since that worked so well in October. But I'm starting to think that I need to take a longer break. I've got lots of bits and pieces of story that I've left behind, and I need to start picking those up. But to do that, I need to get a much better handle on the story I've already told, and that means several days, perhaps even a couple of weeks, of work on things that aren't new composition.

So here's my plan. My goal for December will be to do a half month. Some days I will post new material, some days I won't. My goal will be 26,180 words, or just over half a month's worth. I think it's important that I continue to move forward with the writing, even as I go back and regroup. Unfortunately, work and other commitments won't allow me to effectively do both on the same day.

I'm going to make another commitment now, and since I have kept all my other commitments in writing since I started this, I feel confident that I will stick with it. Starting January 1st, I'm going to write all the way through to the end without a break except for a one day break between books 2 and 3. I should be completely finished in March.

That feels like a long way away, and it is. No matter how far I feel like I've come, I still haven't exceeded the halfway mark in the entire story, and that is a sobering though to consider about a project you've been working on literally every day for almost eight weeks.

Enough of that, on to the writing for today. I left off yesterday with our new friend Captain Gideon, as he is informed that the attackers have been captured. Is your plot twist alarm going off? It should be. You can never believe it when the bad guys are captured in Chapter 4.

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The astute reader will recognize the reference to Carver, the alter ego of Lord Tynofast. Did he frame Jorgen and the others? That is certainly what we are being led to believe. We know that Tynofast has magic powers, although we do not know the extent of them. Spoiler alert! Tynofast wanted to give the official searchers a scapegoat so they would stop looking, thereby giving him free reign to continue the investigation without the real culprits thinking they were suspected. It doesn't work perfectly--Gideon will continue his investigations quietly too, and at some point, the two of them will encounter each other. That ought to be fun.

I'm not entirely sure where this subplot is going, just like I wasn't sure at first where I was going with Merona and the poisonous plant. That is a setup that will still payoff later on, but the part that I did in the first book established Merona's character and also brought her deeper into Gessica's confidence.

I had said before that Chapter Five would pick up with Bryony, but I don't think it will. Instead, I think it's time that Devan had his POV. Let's see what happens with that.

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Oh, poor Devan. Is Mistress Gessica trying to drive a wedge between him and Bryony? Yeah, probably. Gessica would consider friends a weakness. They're people you tell secrets to, and she believes that to tell a secret is to give up power, and she hates giving up power. It's why she's powerful, and also why she's alone.

I look forward to developing Devan's relationship with Tristan. The question now becomes, how will I continue this chapter? I seem to have wrapped up Devan pretty well. Back to Bryony, or forge on ahead with Devan? Maybe the latter. He could go check on the others... yes, I like that. Tomorrow, he could sneak out of his room and check on Yancy, to see if she had heard from Bryony.

Okay, I have a plan, and I'll put it into place as Chapter 5 continues tomorrow.

Today's Total: 1,821 / 1,689 words (107.8%)
Nov. Progress to Date: 43,501 / 38,847 words (112.0%, 2.8 days ahead)
Nov. Total Progress: 43,501 / 50,670 (85.9%)
Book 2 Est. Completion 18,859 / 84,450 words (22.3%, 39 days to go)
Est. Completion: 102,728 / 250,000 words (41.1%, 87 days to go)