Daily Archives: November 28, 2006

Week-Long Writing Roundup

I really do post these things for my own future benefit, you know. I use my own archives as reference all the time when working through subsequent books.

ESTC: Many more carrots, although it remains to be seen if these carrots are baby carrots or full carrots, and if they will stay carrots or be removed and held for future use somewhere else.

Total word count, Il Maestro e le Figlie di Coro: 46,903
The final MS target length remains roughly 60,000, although I will certainly go over that before it is declared done as I intend to write both endings and then choose which one feels the best fit.

Nov 22: 3,013
Nov 23: 2,408
Nov 24: 5,352
Nov 25: 0
Nov 26: 2,231
Nov 27: 5,283

This is flowing well and relatively easily, although I will have to rearrange things once the first draft is complete in order for the timeline to make more sense. I’m leaving little marks in the text indicating where I’ll have to rejig things.

Books And Brooms (Or, Is It Child Labour If The Child Does It Voluntarily?)

You haven’t heard from me because I’ve been working up a storm. Things are going very well, but I’m drained; writing is work, no matter how enjoyable it is, and at the end of a day I often feel as tired as I used to feel after a day of retail. I’m still uncertain about the new things I’m adding/old things I’m changing in the-book-that-will-probably-not-be-known-as-ESTC, but second-guessing the improvements is always a given at this point in the game. And the novella is charging along. As it has evolved I’m beginning to see that it could end in two very different ways, instead of the way I had planned, and I think I will write both endings to see which works best. I expect the novella to be done by the end of the year.

Today Liam and I dropped HRH off at work and went to the bookstore to buy holiday gifts for others, and ended up walking out with gifts for ourselves instead, the gifts we went in for not being in stock. I now have the final two books in the Temeraire series, and Liam has a book on musical instruments as well as some letters for the fridge door. We also went to the toy store and bought a broom for him, because he is obsessed with using the big corn broom we use to sweep the kitchen.

We will never have to sweep again, because once I got it out of the wrapping he proceeded to enthusiastically yet carefully sweep the entire house, including under his crib. I got him a tea set too, and as soon as that was out of the package he picked up the teapot and poured me a pretend cup of tea. I was very touched.

Also, Liam has finally figured out that shoes and socks come off, and this is what he does to entertain himself in the car. He only removes the right set, for some reason.

Both upper canine teeth are out, thank goodness. Now the lower ones can quit dallying and break the surface any time, thank you.