Only around 400 words written today, between 8am and 8:30am, but I’ve got today’s Future Jeff cartoon to draw before heading to my normal/real life job. The good news is, as you can see from the photo, I’ve hit the 30,000 words mark. Go me! Until next time… keeeeeep writing or reading or both.
Something just occurred to me. A great first draft of a novel is like a really poorly played game of chess. I’ve never been any good at chess. I never plan ahead, and I always just hope for the best when placing my pieces (I’m mostly hoping the person opposite me is as clueless as yours truly). This makes for a disastrous game of chess, but a brilliant and spontaneous first draft. You place all the characters where you think they might like to go (I often plan the first few chapters, but no more than that) and then see where they go from there. Let rip with your pen or keyboard, and enjoy the ride. You’re the first reader of your story, after all, so this time will never come again. Until next time, keeeeeeep writing (or reading, or both. Whatever you’re into, I won’t judge).
Just a quick update. I’m getting on pretty well with the first draft of ‘No Way Back’, my relationship breakup/time travel novel. Thanks to my accountability buddy, Caroline Herbert, all the way over in Canada, my work rate is better than ever. I’m up to just over 10,000 words now, after only a few weeks. I think I’ve finally found the best method for me, which is a little bit of writing every day (with time off for good behaviour on a Sunday). ‘Infectious enthusiasm’ is an overused term, but in this case, it most certainly is not. Caroline’s passion for her writing and novel (‘The Things We Find in the Apocalypse’) has spurred me on to get back into my own writing, so I just wanted to acknowledge that in this post. Thanks for listening, and keeeeeeep writing ✍️
Had a great writing day yesterday. I went down to the local coffee shop (I say local; it was a Costa) and typed for around two hours. It’s amazing how a change of scene can inspire you and help you concentrate on the job at hand. I got around one thousand two hundred words down of my WIP, so I intend to smash that figure today. On a side note, I was sent an amazing audioplay by a very talented writer, Jessica Gilbert, last night. Definitely a name to look out for in the future, and I’m continually impressed by the resilience of my Canadian writer friend, Caroline Herbert. She’s writing her debut novel “The Things We Find in the Apocalypse” and it’s a corker. That’s all for now. And remember, keeeeeeep writing! Or reading, or both 😄
I’m really enjoying my Live Action Writing Show. I’ve completed 11 of them now (on instagram live). The concept is that I spend 10 minutes typing a piece of flash fiction (in this case, 100 words) and then read it out live on air. Obviously, this has a high possibility of personal embarrassment, but it’s gone surprisingly well. I’ll publish a select few on here over the coming months.
JOHN D. PAYNE IS WRITING 