This will be just a short note today. Despite my procrastinating, there was fantasy novel writing at my house last night. I wrote last night for a little more than an hour. I got kind of a late start, so I didn’t write for as long as I would like, and I fell short of the goal. I wrote a little more than 800 words.

But I wrapped up Chapter 7, at least in rough-draft form. That’s definitely progress. As for not meeting my word-count goal, I’m not all that concerned. I will make it up somewhere else.

Besides, word count doesn’t really matter to me. It’s just a way to help me keep track of my progress, to give myself a way to say whether I’ve had a productive writing day. I imagine I might spend some days just revising and editing.

On account of my late start, I didn’t do any revising last night. I wanted to focus on getting some new stuff on paper. Finishing Chapter 7 was more important. But tonight, I’ll probably spend a good deal of time editing and revising. I’ll review all of Chapter 7 and strengthen whatever I can. I also think I need to take a good look at my notes and make sure the next few chapters are on solid ground. I’d also like to take a look at the order of the chapters. I have several groups of characters heading in different directions, and I don’t want to be switching back and forth too often. But I also need to keep the story moving along without backtracking.

Fantasy Writer’s Progress Report:

• Consecutive days of productive writing: 3
• Chapters complete: 7
• Word Count: 25,128

I wrote for about two hours last night. That’s two productive days in a row. 

I spent about half of my time revising what I wrote yesterday, and the remaining time adding a new scene–about 1,000 words. I’m about two-thirds of the way through Chapter 7, with one major scene left to go.

Usually, I start by revising the previous day’s work–improving word choices, smoothing out the flow and double-checking to make sure everything makes sense in the grand scheme of the story. Occasionally, I’ll go back a chapter or two to check facts or see how I ended a previous scene.

I also keep a running set of notes, including an outline of the major plot points and significant character developments in each chapter. I revise these notes after each chapter.

A thousand words doesn’t seem like much, but if I could write that much every night, I’d finish this novel in months rather than years.

I kind of like the sound of that.

So that’s my first goal: 1,000 words a day. My chapters average around 3,500 words each, so if I can keep to the goal of 1,000 words a day, that’s about two chapters a week.

With 138 days before the end of the year–a little more than 19 weeks–that should be more than enough time to get it done, even if I take a day off here and there. According to my notes, this novel should take about 35 chapters. I can do that.

So there’s my second goal: finish my book by the end of the year. Next year’s goal can be to get it published.

Fantasy Novelist’s Progress Report:

• Chapters complete: 6
• Word count: 24,000
• Consecutive productive writing days: 2

I’ve been writing my first novel, off-again and on-again (mostly off-again), for several years now. I say mostly off-again, because, unfortunately, all I have to show for that time are six and a half chapters and a file full of notes.

They’re really good chapters, though. At least I think so. I’ve developed interesting characters: heroes, villains and a few whose final roles have yet to be revealed. I’m especially proud of the way I’ve built suspense, tension and drama leading up to the action sequences.

I’m also proud of my writing style. Strong verbs, strong nouns, solid word choice. A distinct point of view for each character.

But 25,000 words doesn’t make a fantasy novel, does it? 

So I’m back at it again. Hopefully for good, this time. I wrote for a couple of hours last night, and it felt pretty good. Whenever I pick it up again, I wonder why I ever stopped working on it in the first place.

This time, I’m going to stick to it.

I’m writing this blog to give myself a place to track my own progress. I hope that if I spend 10 minutes a day thinking about my efforts, I’ll stay more focused, and seven chapters will turn into eight, then nine, and so on.

I’ll be a novelist yet.