A pretty good week to finish/start the year – 5943 words – although it’s somewhat misleading because about 1,400 of those were part of an outline which are generally stream of consciousness ramblings and notes, rather than actual writing. Because that feels a bit like cheating I’ve been making sure I write some actual words of fiction as well as the outlines.

Writing last week was a mix of Glitch, The Ghost Smuggler and a new, as yet untitled, story. The problem with the new story is that it’s now sitting at 3,339 words and I’ve barely started it. Which means, it’s either novella or maybe even a novel. That wouldn’t be a problem but I’m not sure the idea warrants that much space. I like what I’ve written so far so I’m going to poke around at the outline a bit and see if I think there’s enough ideas there.

I also began outlining a new novel yesterday. I’m not satisfied enough to start writing it yet, but it’s good to start getting my thoughts down.

I’ve got a decision to make regarding the next few weeks. The original plan was to work on the second draft of The Ghost Smuggler but it’s going to be difficult to find much time to write over the next couple of weeks. What I’d really like to do is block out some time so that I can make a concerted effort to get that second draft written. I think that would help me maintain consistency and create a really solid draft. Unfortunately, that’s not going to be possible for a month or two but if I postpone the revisions I need another project to keep up my writing streak and I don’t have one in a place where I can start. Right now I’m leaning towards starting the revisions, rather than rushing into a new story but I’m not 100% sure.

Decisions…decisions…

[Metrics Monday – 6th January 2014 by Philip Harris first appeared on Solitary Mindset on 6th January 2014]