Oh, man. The last month has felt like a lifetime.
As I predicted, I started a new job shortly after posting my last progress update. I’m working nights, which leaves my days open for writing endeavors. However, work keeps me on my feet, so I come home with lots of energy. So I stay up later, and consequently, I sleep in. In order to increase my monthly writing output, I’ll need to reconcile this.
I find that I write best in the morning, especially after visiting the gym. I’m averaging 3-4 gym visits a week. This number is satisfactory to me, and I’d love to keep it consistent. Between the gym, my job, and exploring Austin, this is the most active my life has been, maybe ever. Which is cool.
Speaking of exploring, boy do I love this city. There’s so much nature, so much culture, and so much to do! I’ve been quite fortunate in making a ton of connections here already, so I’ve had no shortage of plans.
As for my reading, I’m about halfway through A Clash of Kings. Yeah, I’m late on ASoIaF by a long shot, but I’m hooked. I love Martin’s prose. When I finish this book, I think I’ll set aside a few days to spend in the downtown Austin library. There, I’ll tear through some more middle grade novels for inspiration and research.
Which brings me to A BOY FROM NORRU. I’ve written 18k more words of the manuscript, which is stellar progress. Hopefully, now that I’m getting more settled into a routine and figuring out what works for me, I can bump that number up even more in the next month. Ideally, I’d love to have a first draft by the end of November. We’ll find out soon if that’s realistic.
The last book I wrote, MIRI MEDERA, INTERPLANAR POTION-MAKER, was the first that I revised to the point of “completion.” By which I mean I edited the manuscript to the point where I felt comfortable querying literary agents with it. Now, as a result, I find myself taking more risks in my current project. I feel better about putting my characters in uncomfortable situations without knowing how they’ll get out. I have the experience to know I can go back to make additions, deletions, or even to reorganize the whole dang thing.
In short, my experience in revision has made me more confident in discovery writing.
Wrapping Up
In the next month, I hope to reach an even better level of flow between my writing, my job, and my social life. This goal will remain a primary focus of mine for the foreseeable future. I have many friends who plan on coming to visit ATX this month, so I certainly won’t be bored.
And I’m going to try something. This month, I’m setting a 24k-word goal for A BOY FROM NORRU. That writing is in addition to my weekly blog posts and my personal journaling. That’s 6k words of progress on the manuscript every week for the next four weeks. This seems reasonably ambitious. Check back on November 6th to find out if I reach my arbitrary benchmark or no.
Onward!
– AJG
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