word count confession

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Sunday means only one thing to me. It’s word count confession day; this week's words: 3107.
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Word count day

Whirrrkiiiiplunkkkkeeee.

That’s the sound of my relief after four days of being offline at home and trying to negotiate with a Thai internet provider. It was quickly followed up by a surge in serotonin and a ‘wheeeeee’ sound. It really is a bit pathetic and I think I may need help.

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Okay, so Sunday is:
• Word count confession day.
• The day Daughter goes off on school residential.
• The eve of Son’s GCSE mock exams.

I can’t DO any more about any of those things. Words are written; bags and brains are packed with clothes and facts respectively. (I do hope Daughter's gone up north with the clothes and not the facts... What would Son do tomorrow in the exam hall to find his brain containing nothing but frivolous outfits?) Still, apart from checking who has packed what, I’ve done what I can.

This week's word count confession: 3814 words. Now I’m off to catch up with some blogs…

On being uncool

So it’s Sunday…

But I can’t concentrate because I’m swinging and bobbing up and down a bit in my chair, listening to Johnny Horton’s The Battle of New Orleans. I love that song.

I watched Midnight Cowboy last night and have been tormenting myself all day, trying to work out how I knew the ‘Everybody Talks’ theme tune… not from the original: I’d have been two to three when that movie came out and I’ve not seen it before. (Apparently it was featured in Forrest Gump but I haven't seen either!) It's no doubt something terribly uncool ... like the Julio Iglesias cover and I'll wish I never mentioned it.

Anyway, Sunday means a word count confession.

I haven’t done any illicit Sunday writing today which is a bit disappointing… but I’ve started my second book review and I’m hoping with a fresh brain first thing in the morning it will come together in that magic way that it (sometimes) does.

Right so here goes, words this week: 3,101

So Sheepish, what have you done this week?

Sunday catch up

Today is Sunday. I expect you know that… and instead of staying in London until Thursday, I am leaving to go home to Kent because my mother has also (in addition to my Dad who broke his pelvis a few weeks ago) had a funny turn and a fall. She is fine; her confidence is shaken but she’s not broken physically.

What else?

Oh yes. I had my industry day yesterday with the Literary Consultancy. I think this deserves a full post so I will do that tomorrow.

It only remains to say that words this week were only 1498. I am rather pleased with any words at all. But once settled at my parents, I think I shall be able to get on again. I look forward to hearing Sheepish's words... there'll be no threats about putting her in the hot wash from me today... just a feeble arm raised to toast her wordcount win and thank her for keeping my nose to the grindstone.

Oh buggerty bottoms

I wasn’t trying to lull Sheepish into a false sense of security… I had a dire week. Really, horribly busy and more shopping for those damn costumes! I even picked up some extra tasks on the way.

In order not to hand in a pitiful word count, I’ve been indulging in some illicit Sunday writing. It’s only illicit according to the Woolly One, but Saturday and Sunday writing has always been part of my routine. The rest of the family are out during the week at work and school and so come the weekend, they want to stay home and play with their toys.

This week’s word count is 3265 words. (Oh bugger, I’ve just seen Sheepish’s word count…and she’s beaten me again. I am trying to remember that getting my words written makes me a winner too, but bah, pah, and other annoyed noises.)

*Sigh* And I’ve another bad week coming up with my flying to London, corresponding jetlag and my TLC Industry Day – for which I haven’t yet got an elevator speech prepared.

Word count day, juicy scenes and big feet

After failing to find some trekking shoes gargantuan enough for Son, I went off to Starbucks yesterday. That’s where I’m writing best at the moment. It’s got something to do with the piles of non writing related work on my desk. If I’m sitting at my desk, I see it and worry. I don’t do it but I do worry. I end up not writing and not doing any of the other jobs either.

So it’s off to Starbucks. On Friday I went to my usual branch. (You know you’re going too frequently when your teabags (yes two bags for a grande) are in his hands before you’ve even arrived at the counter.) Yesterday for a bit of variety (get me, how exciting is my life?) I went to a different branch of Starbucks. I went to the one in Siam Centre. It overlooks Siam Square. They don’t know me there so I had to order my tea and then I went and found a seat.

I was very excited about the juicy scene that I knew was next. I’d been thinking I was about to write this scene for a couple of days, but other bits of business always got in the way. I first wrote up the germs of this scene in my notebook a year ago when I was on my own in Koh Chang. It just appeared in my head and all I had to do was write it down.

This was my view from my chair. And I did smile whenever I looked up and saw it.

So Sheepish, are you here looking for my words? Well I shall be along later in the day to update them… Update: After NO Sunday writing (I've been to the cinema) words this week are 4121. (And the rule about no Sunday writing is nonsense because I've whipped her woolly bum this week!)

Stampy footed fool thinks about maths

THANK YOU to everyone who left me lovely messages about my measly 500 words.

‘Tis true I was disappointed, BUT I also wrote my article (nearly finished) and my website report for meeting today.

I think it was more to do with maths:

disappointment + arguing children = opportunity to beat oneself up

Husband said I was a fool to publicise that yesterday was about writing. But I think he is wrong (I may be a fool, that’s true) but had I not said publically that I was writing today I would have managed 5 words. I persevered because I had to report back which meant that I managed to write 495 more words.

I do worry that my posting yesterday has precipitated many visits to opticians all over the UK. Sorry.

I am off to my meeting now. I will sit on my hands and I will tape up my mouth with elephant tape so I do not volunteer for anything…

Today is for writing

I am going public to say that today is for writing and that's what I'm going to do. I will come back and report what has been done.

Please harangue me if I don't.

Update:

Oh bollox, bollox. bollox.

I wrote my article for this month, I wrote my website report, and then I wrote a total of about 500 words of novel. Pathetic.

Am I telling the right story? Am I the wrong storyteller?

Not feeling good; feeling distinctly wibbly wobbly. Hopefully no-one will notice this since I have written it very small.

Webbery Admin

I’ve typed 4,500 words today.

Unfortunately 3,500 words were for daughter’s homework project which is to write a novel (she’s nearly written hers and I have a long way to go) so only the remaining 1,000 were for my novel. I am waiting for daughter to ask me what is taking me so long with my book.

Husband had a great day at work today (really) but grumbled at me for publicizing my theory about all men being autistic, and then he grumbled about the fact that my word count has been stuck for too long.

So I came in here to do some admin: find pin thing to pin to ‘Bangkok’ so I can search for Adam; update wordcount, since exciting discovery of old notes; see if I can cash in on clever Stray’s extensive knowledge of webbery stuff. (Anyone? Feeds? How do I choose? Do they all do the same thing? Why can’t I understand what Blogger Help is talking about? Why do they use different words to those that I understand? What does it mean?)

I am writing. I am very pleased that I am writing. I am letting go of some of the stupid stuff from the space in my head. I’m not sure if it’s the novel though, or just writing. BUT, since words on pages was all I was ever concerned about, I think this is progress.

Cheat?

I’m feeling a bit fraudulent.

Does it say anywhere in the Novel Racer rules that you can’t fish a bit of crap out of the bin and decide it’s not so bad any more?

I’ve explained before that I’ve started writing many, many times but I always stop. I started this story about 8 months ago, and made notes and wrote some scenes but then I abandoned it because I allowed my demon to stop me. I had quite forgotten it was there (or I had blanked it out because I believed it was dreadful). Anyway, I looked at it earlier this week and while it’s not brilliant, it isn’t worth binning. What is also interesting is that I started in a different place with this draft (about a third into the story) and the stuff I’ve done recently is the first quarter, so there’s also no overlap. I wonder if my brain wanted me to find the first draft.

It’s also interesting to note that I chose to deal with the passing of time differently in each of the two drafts. In the first one, the chapters are the months of the year and in the second I didn’t do that. I’m not sure which to use but I’m not going to stop and worry about that now - hark at me! However, other methods might get confusing. The book is set in Thailand where there are three seasons: hot, really hot and really hot and wet (these aren’t the technical terms, you understand?) but it might get confusing for anyone not familiar with those seasons so having a reminder, while still using the reference of the weather might be better. But I haven’t quite worked out if that structure will work for chapters, which may be why I abandoned it.

Anyway, I feel a terrible cheat because there are 9000 words of rediscovered draft. This would put me at around 20k words: omg.

Writing

Oh goodness, I'm writing.

If I write more and word count less, I might even make 10,000 today!

Everytime my brain comes up with something to stop me like 'all your tenses are confused' I decide it doesn't matter and can all be sorted out later. Is this okay? Or will I then have a gargantuan job of sorting on my hands? Well, at least I'll have words to sort...

Won't stop for longer - I have words to count.