In my most recent post - here - I mentioned that I will do writing updates as I begin the draft of my novel, which I began on March 1st.
1200 words in, I began experiencing a range of feelings.
Immediate Fight with Perfectionism
1200 words in and all I want to do is change everything. My inner critic went haywire, pretending to be the ultimate expert in everything to do with story and writing techniques, which Perfectionism Kendra is not.
Perfectionism Kendra needs to shut the hell up.
That’s all I'm gonna say about that. She has had enough attention, already.
Writing Advice In General
There is writing advice that works just fine being generalized, and then there is writing advice that could use some specification. In writing the first few pages of my novel, the very generalized writing advice of CAPTURE THE READER’S ATTENTION and THE INCITING INCIDENT MUST HAPPEN IN THE FIRST FEW PAGES and THE HOOK HAS TO GRAB THE READER IN THE FIRST FEW PARAGRAPHS were screaming in my head.
I want to be clear: I am not making the hot take that this is bad advice. But it’s actually not always helpful. The pressure . . . Not only is this the first few pages of my novel, but also the first few pages starting a series.
I go more into that in a video I posted on TikTok, if you want to watch me (2x speed optional) awkwardly express myself verbally here.
The Excitement of It All
Now that I've complained, let me just say that I am stoked to be starting on this project “officially”. Project Haddie was my thesis project in my MFA program, and this will be the draft that I hope to revise and edit (and revise and edit again) for publication.
When I say publication, I mean self-publishing. I have decided to go that route, especially for this series, and this diary will also - eventually - be me describing my journey with how that goes, so stay tuned!
And Now For the Official Talley
I keep using “1200” but my official word count for the week of March 1st is . . .
2,656 totalling, you guessed it, 2,656!
My goal is to write 2500-3000 words a week at least. Crushed it.
Now on to more words - and the end of the first diary of Project Haddie. See you next week.
Haha, thank you. Wait until you see the next update post. It's a doozy. Not in the way you think.
INCREDIBLE! you got this homie!
Honestly I wouldn't worry about pacing at all or anything in the first draft. Just tell yourself the story and don't think about anything other than getting to the end! Don't stop yourself enough to doubt! Have fun, try things, stick the middle finger up at conventions!