Just finished writing out a 5,000 word chapter. It was never supposed to be that long, honest. I had a pretty strict schedule starting out – 3000 words or bust. I got to around 1500 words and found the whole thing was a dismal, boring mess, not worth reading, writing, finishing or printing and burning. I took another crack at it, got to 2250 words. A few more tries and I was just under 3,000 but the boredom remained.
This weekend I started and finished Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis. Wonderful novel, and short, and light. It’s Wodehouse at college and less stuffy. I took to it quite well.
Since finishing that I’ve been at turning my wreck into something a bit less dismal. I started at the beginning and paragraph by paragraph rewrote nearly the entire damn thing except with words that were more enjoyable to read. A positive improvement all in all, but at final tally I was some 2000 words overdue. Next time I get some inspiration I’ll go in for the haircut, but in my cursory read over, I’m much happier with how its come out. I dare say it may be worth working on further, which makes all the needless waste a bit easier to swallow; the last time I had to toss away 3000 words I was a gloomy mess for a week.
The whole thing makes for a pleasant coda to a generally excellent week. School hasn’t made itself a nuisance, work has been especially complimentary now that year end appreciation has come into vogue, and my outside endeavors have all ended with various shades of success. I really should like to graph the ups and downs so I can predict with the peaks and troughs are due, but for now I’ll take it in stride that I’ve had a very excellent week and look forward to keeping up the streak.
Also the Seahawks won today. Huzzah!
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