This blog started off has a way to document my daily adventures abroad in university, but it was also very much a place where I wrote about writing. It was such a part of this blog in fact that I didn’t even have a category for all the posts about my book and instead I eventually created a whole other blog for all that stuff: precariousreader.wordpress.com. But I still post about it here, and now is as important as ever because I’ve reached a special…horrible…milestone.
As I worked on the pitch for my web series, I realized that even though I’d put my novel writing on hold, I didn’t want to give up the story entirely. It wasn’t going to be as easy to pick my novel back up as it was to put down. A story has peaks and valleys; I’d stopped in a valley and it was difficult to find the momentum to reach the next peak from there. So I turned to research, where I always turn when I want to get my head into the story without actually writing. However, on this occasion, Google wasn’t enough.
I needed the mountains.
I didn’t really consider it my resolution, but around January 1st, I got fed up with how long SC, my big bad book, was taking to finish. My—well, my resolution, to this issue was to write 500 words before bed every day so I’d finish it faster. And for the first week, with the help of late nights and coffee shops, I did it.
TW: Discussion around rape.
There was some controversy this year in Canada when a radio station/broadcasting company “banned” the song “Baby It’s Cold Outside”.
When I approached the counter of the Starbucks I’m currently writing this from, the barista, Michelle, greeted me by name. This Starbucks is across the city from where I live, so this was slightly concerning. However, it’s five minutes from Heritage Park where I’ve been going to rehearsal five times a week for the last two months.
After I plotted two books beginning to end, I thought I’d write them a lot faster. Instead, I seem to be writing at the same pace as I’ve always written, and due to my limited time, my word count has grown at an even slower pace than it did when I wrote the first draft with no plan at all.
I was supposed to be editing after I got home from some meetings last night, but instead I looked up a few articles about plotting—and, more specifically, about plotting an ending—and then the end of SC (my big bad book) popped into my head.
I never really considered myself an honest person.
I’ve been thinking about the traits I was proud of when I was younger. The ability to lie convincingly and without shame was one of them. Obviously, it isn’t exactly something someone should be proud of, but I was a good liar and it protected me. So yes, I was proud.
I’ve spent the last few days posting on my Bookstagram and plotting out my novel, SC. If I’m going to start over again, I’ll make sure it’s the last time I do so, at least to this extent.
January is dangerous. It can make you think about what you’ve done and what you’re going to do, and whether it is enough.
