Step 6: How to write 10000 words and some reflections

(this is all part of the One Novel Three-Month challenge. Click here for more info)

I passed the 10,000-word mark! And finished Chapter 2, making the first two chapters (or possibly the prologue and first chapter) inordinately long. But that is a problem for Vish a month from now.

I don't stop to edit while I'm writing; it’s the only way to keep up the momentum. That said, I've learned some things from speed writing the other novel drafts six years ago. I learned that the worse the first draft, the longer the first edit. And it can be very, very long indeed if you write a lot of contradictory, nonsensical trash. So, I'm not going to completely vomit draft on this one. There is an element of making sure everything flows, and that I don't go off on spur of the moment tangents because I've suddenly had an idea.

Maybe it’s a genre thing, but for fantasy, where there is worldbuilding, I have lore notes and I'm planning the general story beats in advance of each chapter. Because otherwise you just get lost and have so much to fix and reconcile in the edit. Ideally, I want to be editing for language, characterisation and tone, not massive amounts of content, plot holes and story.

I've also noticed, and this is nice, that I have actually become a better writer in the last six years. In fact, I'll even settle for being able to do the same amount, but faster. I remember the three novels being much harder to write, just on a moment by moment basis. I was less sure of myself and got hung up on smaller elements and scenes. My descriptions feel like they come more easily to me now, and my characters speak more naturally.

But I'm not sure if I'm a better storyteller.

And I always say I would rather be a good storyteller than a good writer. I suspect I have because that was the number one issue with my earlier novels. One person outright said there was no story in an earlier draft of my first fantasy novel. Coming to my defense was another person in my critique group, and they said, "What's wrong with just having a world where people go about their lives?" Which just reinforced the original critics’ point and made me go, 'shit, I need to up my game.'

So now I better understand stakes, tension, motivation, overarching plots, and all that jazz. I'm far from excellent at it, but I'll take passable on just the right day. This is a lifelong craft, and the masters are on another plane, so this isn't humility; it's just a raw admittance that I'm not all that.

Well, 10k is a nice, very nice round number that feels meaningful. It's something, and I might even be feeling pride.

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