My, oh, my. Day two of the contest has come and gone. My word count right now stands at about seventeen thousand, well short of my goal. It would be untrue, however, to say that the day was not productive. I have gotten a ton of work done, though not necessarily in ways that lend themselves directly to the word count.
One thing that slowed me down today was not knowing where the story was going. I had myriad possibilities, but I didn’t know what was in the briefcase, or who wanted it, or who had it, or how, or why. I reached a point today where I couldn’t go further without figuring that out, and the good news is that I did. It took some time, but I got it worked out. I now know what is in the briefcase, who took it, who has it, who wants it and why, and what will become of it. That was the primary thing that slowed me down today, and I have it resolved.
Unfortunately, the work has become much bigger than I intended. It is chock-full of jokes, references to celebrities, references to real places and bits of history, plugs for Magnatunes and Magnatune bands and some of my favorite authors, slams against the evil record companies, and some sex scenes (and sometimes all at once). And the characters are out of control. There are too many main characters, and the minor characters have roles that are too big, and on top of that I constantly have to invent quirky fares for the taxi drivers, and aaagh.
On the bright side, last night I was worried that the book was quite possibly not a very good book. Today that doubt has gone away. It may not be a great book, or an important book, but I think it has become a good book. I think the story and the characters are quirky, offbeat, and interesting enough to keep people’s attention. I’m having a good time writing it, and making myself laugh, even, so hopefully that will translate into a good read.
So, in truth, I am still a long way from the end. I am not, however, out of it quite yet. I have made a pot of coffee, and I am going to write on through the night. After some number of hours, I will get a little sleep, then get back at it. I will not quit on this until I have given it my all to the very end. There is still a chance.
Now, back to work.
