Last report wordcount + chapter count/scene count: 1. 23,897 words and 10 chapters in NEVER VEIL 3
2. 85,221 words and 26 chapters in NOBODY’S GODDESS (NEVER VEIL 1)–I hadn’t touched it in months and was waiting on the next round of revisions, which I got back in early November… When I got it back, my stellar editor helped me cut down some wordiness, so it was 82,854 words and 26 chapters before I began work on the next round (wow, a good editor can really help you streamline things!).
Current report WC + CC/ SC: 1. 88,426 words and 36 chapters in NEVER VEIL 3–first draft done! Woot! It took me 45 days (not bad at all) and I started the month of NaNoWriMo with 33,000-ish words–and managed to add 50,000 to “win” the month’s challenge by November 20th.
2. 82,790 words and 26 chapters in NOBODY’S GODDESS (NEVER VEIL 1), in the process of revising
WIP Issues This Month: Not many again! Writing has gone well for me the past couple of months. I need to watch for repetitive phrases. (I tend to have people cross their arms and I write about people’s eyes a lot.)
Four things I learned this month in writing: 1. When I can write a draft relatively quickly, I feel much happier about the writing process. (It took me 5 months to write NEVER VEIL 2, even though it was 20k shorter and I started with 10k already written! 0_O)
2. Watch for “I saw X do this” or “I felt X happen” type of sentences in first person POV because they just add lots of extra words. My editor cut them all down (to like “X did this” and “X happened”) and the sentences read smoother.
3. Taking time to write something you really want to write, even though you know it won’t help you reach your new writing goals (I can’t get a new agent with NEVER VEIL 3, but I wanted to write it more than I wanted to write something new), can help you get your writing mojo back. (So I won’t have a new agent this year… Perhaps not even next year. It’s okay. It doesn’t mean it’ll never happen again or even if it doesn’t… *shrugs* What can I do?)
4. Finishing a trilogy is very satisfying! (Although there are years of revisions ahead.)
What distracted me this month while writing: I didn’t do much this month besides fiction write (even my client work has decreased, boo), so that might explain why I did so well. (If only I could make that my full-time job and not feel guilty about not business writing as much. *sigh*) I saw Mockingjay Part 1 twice because I love the Hunger Games books and films with every fiber of my being. 🙂 (Reading the trilogy inspired me to get serious about fiction writing after almost a decade of floundering.) I saw a couple of other good movies, too. (Big Hero 6, Interstellar, Birdman and Nightcrawler.) I’m not big on Thanksgiving, but we had a couple of nice, small gatherings.
Goal for next month: Wrap up this round of revisions for NOBODY’S GODDESS (due December 7th). Start revisions for NEVER VEIL 3–maybe even finish the first round and get it ready for my beta reader, but with the holidays and plenty of time before my due date (June 1st! I’m hoping I can turn it in a few months early, though), I’m in no rush. I just want to work on it, you know? And I don’t feel up to diving into a new (or on-hiatus) WIP just yet.
Amy McNulty 
Exciting! ^_^
Yay for NaNo! Double Yay for the Trilogy!!
Hunger Games helped me out my writing slump, too! It was just everything I’ve ever wanted for my writing and so much. I could go on and on, I’m sure you understand. ^_^ And I also saw Mockingjay and Big Hero 6 and loved them both to pieces!
Best wishes with all the revisions! You gotta go where your heart is leading you. The other will come. 🙂
Thank you! 🙂 There’s a lot of editing work to be done on the trilogy yet, but it does feel weird to have finished the drafts. (And all 3 before the first is even out, ha.)
Yeah, I know it seems dumb to say my fave books are two of the most popular series ever (HP & HG), but they’re popular for a reason. They’re really good!
You, too!
A full draft in 45 days is awesome! Go you! 🙂
I totally understand what you mean about needing to write the project you most want to. There’s no rush to get an agent, and it means you’re ahead on your goals for your trilogy! Best of luck with finishing your revisions.
I can’t wait to see Mockingjay Part 1! ^^
Thank you! :O
Yeah, I know what you mean. I get so caught up in the idea that I need an agent and after a ho-hum query year, I just needed to do something different.
Hope you can see it soon!
Whew! had to re-read your wordcount on NOBODY’S GODDESS to make sure I was reading right. Congrats, lady! You broke Nano 😀
You would definitely get an agent, if that is your dream! Never say never 😉 But I agree with what you said about writing because you love your WIP. It helps relieve the pressure. I guess part of the problem I have is always thinking of where I want to get with my WIP. And it makes me keep taking three steps back for every one step forward. As my mom would say, “when you stop needing something, that’s when you get it.”
Hope you rock December! Happy writing! xx
Thank you! 🙂 I seem to do well in writing spurts. Months of doing almost nothing followed by months of writing really hard!
Well, I gave up on getting an agent for the one ms I used to try to get an agent this year, and I have nothing else to query. Knowing it’ll take me 6 months to a year (or more!) to have something else to even TRY getting an agent with makes me sad, but what can I do? Like you said, it’s best to write what you want to write and focus on having fun, not on what you don’t have!
You too!