One of the reasons I like posting updates on my Secret New Novel progress is that it keeps me accountable for my own promises. If I make a promise to myself on this blog where people can see it, it makes me take that promise more seriously, so I’m more likely to follow through with it.
That’s what happened last month when I promised to finish my second draft revisions by New Years (or preferably Christmas!) so I can start 2023 off with a fresh mindset on the third draft.
Despite my best efforts, the past few weeks have been really busy, but I’ve been maintaining a steady pace of working on my Secret New Novel draft four mornings a week, with ZERO days missed in December. That’s a new personal monthly best, and I think having the firm end-of-the-year deadline has really helped me get there.
Two other things have also really helped my writing progress this month. One is of course that for me, revising is about fifty times easier than writing a rough draft, and the second is that since Daylight Savings Time ended and the clocks moved back, I’ve been waking up 30 minutes to an hour earlier every morning, thus giving me more time to revise before lunch and get a better start to my day.
Since I’ve been writing consistently since May, I can also feel my writing habits strengthening, which means it’s becoming more and more natural for me to wake up at the same time and start the day with writing. That translates to fewer bad days, or days when I just don’t feel like writing.
Daily and Weekly Page Goals Help a LOT
Last month I wrote about setting daily and weekly goals for my novel revisions, which is a tactic I picked up from Antony Johnston’s excellent book The Organised Writer (he’s British, hence the S). At the end of last month I did some quick math and determined that I’d have to revise one chapter every two days to make my Christmas deadline. Though my chapters vary in length, this translates to about 8 pages per day, four days per week.
Having this number in mind has been INCREDIBLY helpful, since it allows me to pace myself and stay on track. Some days I’ll continue revising a little longer than usual so I can make my quota, and other days I’ll put my pen away at eleven a.m. and move on to other things because I know I’m over my quota. Overall, though, the 8 pages per day isn’t a hard minimum, more of a guideline to keep me on track.
Thinking about my revisions in this way has really helped me stay confident about the novel and gain more focus when I sit down to write, because under this system I’m taking my writing seriously, like I would any other deadline. I also feel more positive at the end of every writing day knowing that I’ve made my quota and am well on my way to making my Christmas deadline.
As of this writing I have two and a quarter more chapters to revise, which is actually less than my 8 pages a day quota (one of the chapters is kind of short). That means I’m well on my way to finishing by Christmas, which feels all kinds of good.
Moving Forward
Assuming everything goes well this week, I’ll be in a solid position to take two weeks off for the end of the year and pick up the Third Draft revisions the week of January 9th. I’m not exactly sure how long a more polished Third Draft will take to revise, but it’ll be quicker than the Second Draft for sure. A ballpark of 4-6 weeks seems safe, especially if I can upgrade to working on the novel five days a week instead of four (which is still up in the air depending on my schedule).
This is HUGE for my ability to move forward with this novel that’s been on my plate for nearly two years now (!), and puts a finished, final draft well within my reach (!!!!).
As such, I’ve been on the lookout for beta readers: people outside my writer’s groups who’d be willing to read the finished third draft and tell me what they think about it, including things they like and things they find weak or confusing. This feedback could come in the form of us sitting down to talk about the book, or an email about what you thought was working or not working. In either case, the feedback is incredibly helpful, so if you’re interested in beta reading, drop me a line!!!
I’m also nearing a point where I FINALLY feel ready to reveal what this Secret New Novel is actually about—stay tuned for more on that soon! (By the way, you are signed up for my email list, aren’t you??)
Lastly, since it’s the end of the year, I’ll be taking a few weeks away from blogging to both rest and focus on some cleanup projects for the end of the year. I’ll be back on January 16th with more updates, so I’ll see you then :-)
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a restful end of the year. Traditionally in Japan, the end of the year is a time for unwinding, reflection, and taking a well-earned break, so I hope you’re able to do the same!