I’m participating in my first Friday Five today because, well, I’ve been thinking about The End a lot lately. My WIP is technically in the revision stage, but in actuality I’m completely rewriting the last 20,000 words—trying to get to The End for the second time with this book. Here’s what I absolutely need to hit it.
- Word goals. 2,000 words a day. Every day. I make myself hit it. It keeps the urgency in my story and gives me a real sense of accomplishment.
- An alarm clock. I wake up early each morning to write. I’m at my most productive first thing, when the house is still and quiet, before the madness of the day starts. I generally bang out half of my daily word goal in that first morning hour.
- An outline. Once upon a time, I styled myself a pantser. It took me over a year to write my first book (a very, very early draft of FOUR STONES)—a meandering, wordy, bloated epic that had no point at all. The end product was capital AWFUL, and I’ve been a plotter ever since. Having a good outline is so essential to seeing that word count tick up each day. There’s a lot less getting stuck on plot points and a lot more time for writing.
- My husband. He’s always willing to take my daughter out for the day on the weekend so I can have the house to myself to write. He puzzles through plot issues. He listens to all the crazy ideas I come up with. He gets me excited about my story when I’m not feeling it. And that pushes me closer to The End.
- You. Yep, you. Fellow writers. Your books and WIPs inspire me. You teach me new writing methods. If you go on Twitter and announce you’re doing #1K1H, chances are I’ll do it too (assuming I have a free hour). You listen to me whine when things aren’t going exactly as I pictured them, and you help me keep going. So thank you. I couldn’t do it without you.
What about you? What are your absolute musts for getting to THE END?
Follow
17 Responses