As we discussed on Tuesday night, March was another new record word count for me. I managed to write a total of 56,486 words during the month, an average of 1,822 per day. This is still a long way off from a prolific professional author like Dean Wesley Smith, but it's the most I've written outside a NaNoWriMo month. It beats my previous record set in February.
Wednesday I didn't feel well and spent much of it sleeping or reading. The reading was P.G. Wodehouse's Psmith in the City which seems to be more of a single story than My Man Jeeves and follows two bank employees in England. I've grown to appreciate what Douglas Adams saw in Wodehouse's work, and have read several lines that remind me of something Adams would write. I consider this research for my own writing, as I'd love to be able to deliver humorous lines the way Adams and Wodehouse did. All I managed was a journal entry (478 words).
Thursday I added to my Ark story on the ASL Series site (676 words), wrote a post about Douglas Adams and Wodehouse's humor style on How to Write Fiction (1244), and did a journal entry (623 words).
Friday I wrote a journal entry that included an exploratory draft of a possible short story or novel around technology problems a person experiences (1165 words).
Saturday I wrote only a short journal entry (254 words). I'd slept in, the day was a busy one around the house, and we went out with friends in the evening. That left me with little writing energy.
Sunday I also slept in, then had breakfast with my wife. After that, there were things to do to get ready for the family to come over for Easter dinner. Since Thursday, I've continued to read a biography of Douglas Adams, so the time not spent writing hasn't been wasted. I've learned a number of useful things from the book and I think I'm beginning to understand how Adams was able to write such funny material. I also see that he and I have had much in common. I've also seen a number of interesting coincidences. For instance, in the radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it's said that Ford Prefect "picked up his crucial towel at Marks & Spencer (the Salisbury branch, according to the series)" (This quote is from The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.) Out of all the Marks & Spencer branches that could have been chosen for that line, it happened to be the one with (a more-common spelling of) my last name...
I did some brainstorming for a story (106 words) and a journal entry (541 words). That's it.
Here are my notes from this week:
- Meaningful Quotes:
- "There is nothing better than a few constraints you can comfortably kick against." - Douglas Adams
- "All of my life I've been attracted by the idea of being a writer, but like all writers I don't so much like writing as having written." - Douglas Adams
- "You may not set out to make a point, but points probably come across because they tend to be the things that preoccupy you, and therefore find a way into your writing." - Douglas Adams
- What Didn't Happen and What I Can Improve for Next Week:
- Pretty much all my wanted outcomes. I need to set aside writing time and not allow other activities to intrude on it.
- Biggest Outcomes I Wanted for This 5-day Period:
- Plot outline for The Ark - NOT DONE
- Continue worldbuilding in the Immortality universe - NOT DONE
- 20 opening lines, 2 paragraphs, 1 page - NOT DONE
- Finish the Mimas Object story - WORKED ON, NOT FINISHED
- Biggest Outcomes I Want for the Next 7 Days:
- Flesh out the "straight" part of the "Technology" story
- Finish wordbuilding the "Immortality" universe
- Finish The Mimas Object story on the ASL Series Blog
- 20 opening lines, 2 paragraphs, 1 page
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THIS PERIOD'S WORD COUNTS
- ASL Series Blog: 676 words
- How To Write Fiction Blog: 1,244 words
- Technology Story: 106 words
- Journal: 3,061 words
- This Blog: 466 words
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APRIL 2015 WORD COUNTS
Novels:
- Fully Invested: 0 words (notes and backstory)
- The Alliance (series): 0 words
- ASL - The Ark: 0 words
- Alien Love Story: 0 words
- Driven To Kill: 0 words
- Local Gods: 0 words
- The Black Eagles: 0 words
- The Old Hotel: 0 words
- Thief of Police: 0 words
- Immortality Story: 0 words
- Technology Story: 106 words
Short Stories:
- The Mimas Object (a story in the Alliance universe): 0 words
Non-Fiction:
- Introduction to Application Repackaging: 0 words
- Troubleshooting Windows Applications: 0 words
- Amazon Product Reviews: 0 words
Blogging and Journaling:
- Alliance for Sentient Lifeforms (ASL): 676 words
- Begin Brewing: 0 words
- Columbus Beer Scene: 0 words
- How to Write Fiction: 1,244 words
- Introduction to Application Repackaging: 0 words
- Windows Desktop Administration: 0 words
- This Blog: 466 words
- Guest Posts for Other Blogs: 0 words
- Comments on Other Blogs: 0 words
- Journaling: 3,061 words
Opening Lines, Paragraphs, Pages:
- Opening Lines Written: 0 lines (0 words)
- Opening Paragraphs Written: 0
- Opening Pages Written: 0
APRIL 2015 - TOTAL WORDS: 5,553 (avg. 1,110.6 per day)
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CHALLENGE - YEAR TO DATE RESULTS:
Record Word Counts:
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CHALLENGE - YEAR TO DATE RESULTS:
Record Word Counts:
- Day: 8693 (March 29, 2015)
- Week: 12,650 (March 23-29, 2015)
- Month: 56,486 (March 2015)
| Month of Challenge |
Words Written
|
Days
|
Words/Day
|
| December 2014 | 20,754 | 31 | 669.5 |
| January 2015 | 16,018 | 31 | 516.7 |
| February 2015 | 47,660 | 28 | 1702.1 |
| March 2015 | 56,486 | 31 | 1822.1 |
| April 2015 | 5,553 | 5 | 1,110.6 |
| TOTAL WORDS | 146,471 | 126 | |
| Avg. Words per Day | 1162.5 |
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