WABWM: Rounding Into the Home Stretch

7:20 AM

So…last night I gave myself an impressive headache, but at the same time had a breakthrough on the plot issue I mentioned.

Today I think I know where I’m going (though I can always surprise myself).

STARTING COUNT: 68,591
Goal: 1500+
STARTING SCENE: In the Dark (but not for long—will switch to Last Call in a few paragraphs).

Good luck with your words. I’m cheering for you.

Holly


11: 58 AM

I finished up with 1537 words, and am still on In the Dark (which is now a ridiculous 3649 words long.

But I’m building nicely toward the final confrontation, and in spite of crashing halfway through my writing and sleeping on the couch for two hours, I did hit my goal.

70,127 words total. ๐Ÿ˜€ Out of 80,000.

I’m excited.

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12 responses to “WABWM: Rounding Into the Home Stretch”

  1. Julian Adorney Avatar
    Julian Adorney

    350 words tonight, first time writing in awhile. Exhausted now. Going to bed.

  2. Walter Spence Avatar

    I look forward to reading it, Holly. Your immense productivity and tireless work ethic never has never failed to impress the living hell out of me.

    If you could use another beta reader when it’s done, just let me know.

  3. Saiyaness Avatar
    Saiyaness

    That’s awesome! I can’t believe how quickly you’ve reached 70k! I have a bad habit of creating scenes I never wrote plot cards for, thus creating more work for myself. I’m in the danger zone at the moment where I’m worried I’ve digressed from the Path completely, and I need to reign the bloody thing in and steer it in the right direction. Even though spontaneity does often bring its own surprises…

    I have a bad habit of going back each day and “piddling” in Holly’s words, and rewriting and editing sections constantly. It makes me feel better but it’s not good for progress. ๐Ÿ˜€

  4. SharonW Avatar

    Oh. Kay. Clawing my way back out of a big ol’ bout of allergies that left my sinuses and brain equally clogged; 261 words today, setting up a nasty crisis.

    Holly, it’s good to hear you’re doing better than you were a few days ago, and making progress!

  5. Roisin Avatar
    Roisin

    Posting for yesterday.

    So I’ve decided to do WABWM. I bumbled into a problem though – I haven’t a book to write yet!

    So I decided that as long as I get 250 words per day – whether that be worksheets from Mugging the Muse, which I did today, or 250 words of freewriting for ideas or 250 words of plotting or whatever – I don’t mind. and when I have a book plotted, I’ll join in the fun properly.

  6. Walter Spence Avatar

    Ok Holly, I read the rules (quite kind and friendly ones too). I’ll be going with ‘Advanced’, since it works best with my work schedule.

    A bit of background. For anyone who doesn’t know me, my name is Walter Spence. Holly and I collaborated on The Devil & Dan Cooley. This past June I self-published my first solo novel, House of Shadows, available on Amazon. It is the first in a projected twelve volume series called ‘The Breed Wars’, and has garnered seven five-star reviews thus far.

    I have begun work on book two, The Secret Room, and am just about 250 words into it. Here is the beginning:

    “The first coffee of the day sits like hot mercury in my stomach long after I leave The Warming Hut, my head down, my shoulders hunched. It’s cold. Or perhaps I should say colder than usual for San Francisco during this time of year.

    A stiff wind blows my way from the nearby shoreline as I navigate the length of the Promenade. It whips my skirt against my bare thighs, a familiar sting. I keep walking.

    In the distance I spy the length of the Golden Gate Bridge, rising from a sea of fog as it leaps across the bay. Its orange vermillion struts stand out in sharp contrast against the cloud it appears to rest on, as though the sky has fallen to earth. I neither stop nor pause.

    Shortly thereafter I make my way past the parking lot on my way to the east walkway. As I do, I look up into the face of Joseph Strauss’s statue, posed atop its white circular pedestal as though the somber gentleman has been waiting for me.

    Then, suddenly, I hear them again. Footsteps. Still some distance behind me, but just a bit louder, just a little closer.

    My name is Marie Abigail St. Claire, and I have fifteen minutes to live.”

    1. Kirsten Avatar

      Wow, that excerpt is breathtaking! Just from reading it, I am sure your five star reviews are well-deserved.
      Thanks for sharing it. I’m hooked. ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. Walter Spence Avatar

        Thank you, Kirsten. That is the kind of feedback that leaves one feeling very humble.

        I wasn’t able to come up with a good first line ‘hook’ for The Secret Room’s beginning, I had to build up to and end with it. I think I managed a halfway decent one for House of Shadows, though:

        “I lay in darkness on cold dank stone and remembered the day I died.”

    2. SharonW Avatar

      Wow! I loved The Devil and Dan Cooley, and this sounds very promising. (I’ll have to hunt up House of Shadows now.) Good luck with it!

      1. Walter Spence Avatar

        Thank you for the good wishes, Sharon. ๐Ÿ™‚

        If you’d like to take it out for a test drive, my web site has a link to the first 20+ pages, ending on what one person told me was ‘a bitch of a teaser’. Just go to http://www.sff.net/people/walter.spence, then scroll to the bottom of the page for the link.

  7. Felicia Avatar
    Felicia

    You are so close to the finish line!

    1. Holly Avatar
      Holly

      ๐Ÿ˜€ I know. I LOVE this part.

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