A little over a year ago I began
a writing log, because I felt I wasn’t giving enough time to my craft and that
Book 2 in my Wolf Spear Saga series would never be written. I had decided to
shelve complete drafts of the two novels I had written after ‘WULFSUNA’, as I
wanted to remain with the characters from the first book a while longer. I felt
the reader would also want to, and that the other novels could become later stories.
This of course meant starting entirely from scratch – blank page syndrome. We
all have commitments and it is a lucky few who find their writing successful
enough to allow them to do it full-time. Work, family and life in general
seemed to be taking over all my spare time. I felt I had let myself down and so
the ‘log’ commenced.
Looking back on pages of
handwritten columns of notes, word counts and hours revealed I had not forsaken
my craft or Book 2 at all and I was writing ‘something’ every week. Exceptions
to this were clearly delineated by family holidays (where I prefer to spend
time with my tribe and leave the online world behind) or periods of illness.
All my spare time had not been consumed by extraneous activities as the weeks
and months of wide-ranging word count proved in black and white (or blue, or
purple, or green – hey, I’m a writer; I love pens!). There had been words to
count!
Admittedly the time spent
actually writing averaged only an hour a day, including weekends, but I noticed
also that length of time did not necessarily equate to the amount of words
produced on the page/screen. I had spent several hours redrafting chapters
where word count added had been minimal for the time allotted. In contrast, I
had spent many a ten-minute slot scribbling a few hundred words off the bat.
Patterns also emerged, providing
me with an insight into routines I had not consciously noticed, such as pockets
of marketing and promotion in one-week blocks or periods where I read research
material extensively and made copious notes. This was all time spent working
towards my writing and the completion of my novel and so it was counted. Other
patterns were more intriguing. Whether you believe in planetary energies or
simply equate the full moon with lighter evenings and hence a sense of being
more ‘awake’ for longer on those nights, my writing did peak in a week waxing
up to a full moon. Word count was often triple or quadruple my usual levels.
Certainly, whatever these figures
prove, the single outstanding factor is that I am writing regularly.
Maintaining the log has merely revealed this fact to me, at a time when I
imagined other areas of my life had taken over. It has given me impetus to
continue and increased confidence that I have been managing my writing time
effectively while, as they say in France, juggling the ‘train-train du jour’.
And after a year, I have an ‘almost’ book that this week surpassed 91,000
words.
The Wolf Spear legend
will return!
Writing as ‘E S Moxon’,
Elaine's debut historical fiction adventure ‘WULFSUNA’ was published January 21st,
2015 and is the first in her Wolf Spear Saga series. She is currently
writing her second novel, set once again in the Dark Ages of 5th Century
Britain, where the legendary Saga ensures a Seer and one named 'Wolf Spear' are
destined to meet. You can find out more about Elaine’s novels on her
website or follow her on Twitter or Facebook.
Elaine lives in the Midlands with
her family and their chocolate Labrador.
~ ~ ~
Blood,
betrayal and brotherhood.
An ancient
saga is weaving their destiny.
A
treacherous rival threatens their fate.
A Seer's
magic may be all that can save them.
