Okay, so that’s a little self-congratulatory. I think it’s called for. The last four days I’ve posted word counts as follows: 1,100; 600; 700; and 1,500. That’s 3,900 words — closer than I’ve come to my 4,000-per-week goal in a long time! I’m getting into the meat of this story and what drives my POV character, and having fun with her voice, her life, her issues. Even when it does flow it isn’t coming out as clean as I’d like, so I do believe revisions on this puppy are going to take me a while. I’m trying not to focus on that, because it makes it feel like too much work. One step at a time, baby… focus on digging those toes deep into the sand. It is this step that matters, this moment, not the road stretching ahead and behind. Right? Editing — not as far along as I’d like, but still on track to finish my edit of the novella Vessel by the end of Round 3. I have four chapters left. I’m definitely coming back for Round 4 of ROW80. This round I’ve engaged in a lot of self-forgiveness; I set my goals high, and haven’t beat myself up when I don’t make them. I figure I make more progress if I always feel like I’m not measuring up. That’s pretty sick, but I’m sure lots of other writers use such tools to force productivity, too. My darling husband pointed out to me yesterday that I still plan to publish my second novella before our youngest daughter turns one in November, and I began my all out sprint toward publication when she was three months old. That is a ton of progress. Somehow I’ve come full circle and I’m back to the self-congratulation. Hope everyone has a productive final ten days! Good luck!!
About J.R. Pearse Nelson
J.R. Pearse Nelson is a fantasy and romance writer from Oregon, USA. She lives with her husband and two daughters among the plentiful trees and clouds of the beautiful Willamette Valley. J.R. is always searching for the magic in our world. She weaves tales rooted in mythology, bringing legend to life in modern-day and fantasy settings. J.R. is the author of the Of the Blood fantasy romance series, the Foulweather Twins fantasy series, and the Water Rites fantasy series. You can connect with J.R. and learn more about her fiction at her website. Visit jrpearsenelson.com.7 comments on “Hard Won Progress”
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You should congratulate yourself on those word counts! I too try to get the story down and am going to worry about the editing afterwards!
Hope the words flow this week too!
Yay for high goals and self forgiveness. I am just starting ROW80 now… so I feel sort of stupid and could be hitting myself over the head with an encyclopedia but instead, I said… set goals, reach them, be prepared for round 4.
Grateful to meet you!
It *is* a ton of progress. Good going!
Julie, nice to meet you! Don’t feel stupid, everyone is learning. I just joined ROW80 for Round 3, so I’m still a newbie, too. You’re brave to join up with just a couple of weeks remaining.
Good luck to all of you — everyone’s making such awesome progress!
Congrats! I’ve been trying to crank out a higher word count, too. I never worry about editing during the first draft. Just get the story out, and worry about the rest later 🙂
I’m going to try to carve out some time to read your novella soon. Can’t wait!
Woo hoo! Way to go, J.R.! Nice progress.
Congrats on the word counts! And that’s the whole point of ROW80…not beating yourself up if you don’t meet your goals. I plan on doing round 4 too. Even if I don’t meet my goals, it still forces me to try!