June 18th, 2023 - Now we're getting somewhere

I've made some good progress on my current story today. I achieved it by going backwards.

I've been working on a new draft of my current story but had been struggling to fill in a lot of the gaps. I looked through some older drafts (I keep everything for each story contained in a separate physical folder) and found a much shorter version, in a first person perspective that felt like a much better read. On going back over that version I fond that a lot of what I'd written since could provide material for the gaps in that earlier draft.

So I've gone back to that earlier draft, gone back to a first person perspective, and I think I now have everything I need to make this story work.

Hopefully I should have a new draft finished this week then it's time to re-write, re-write, re-write.

June 12, 2023 - first draft struggles

Today I've added about 200 words to my current work in progress as a result of around 2 hours at my desk. Not a great day for that story.

I always struggle getting first drafts to completion and the struggle is repeating on this one. I've had a firm idea in my head for a while that I want to write a transformation story. I know what the transformation is going to be, and how that part is going to be written. The struggle comes with the story that causes the transformation. I knew it was going to be rooted in anxiety, with the transformation coming in as an escape from the anxieties this particular individual is facing. The challenge I'm finding is the story that leads up to the transformation so that it feels like an inevitable conclusion, instead of a tacked on fix it all gimmick. I'm trying to build in causality that makes it feel part of the whole.

I have around 3000 words drafted so far and probably another 6000 or so in previous drafts. I started this idea in September 2022 and it has gone through several iterations. The draft I'm in at present feels the closest to the form its meant to take, but its that elusive middle which is escaping me in this first draft. Persistence is all I can throw at it for now.

June 1st, 2023 - A new routine

So yesterday I plotted out my "ideal week" on a new Google calendar. A suggestion from this video by Ali Abdaal. The reason for doing this is because recently I've felt like I'm not pushing myself enough to dedicate more time to the things I want to be working on. Chief among them, writing more.

Too often I find myself not knowing what to do with my time and so filling it with useless activity that accomplishes nothing. Following a calendar is something I've tried before and really not enjoyed as it always felt too restrictive but I'm going to give this another go.

This morning I've clocked in just under 2 hours of writing time thanks to the new routine. Sticking to that means I'll get 14 hours of writing a week done... which sounds insane compared to what I'm currently on. It's a big jump up. I'm hoping practice will make it easier. But right now I feel much better for having done those 2 hours of writing and still having the bulk of the day ahead of me for whatever else needs doing.