Time goes by so fast. I can’t believe it’s already July, already Tuesday again. It’s just another reminder that calendars are hard. Fortunately, that’s our topic today so at least my head is in the right place.
Personally, I may not have a blog next week. It’s going to be a long holiday week here in the States so I don’t want to promise something that may not happen. Beyond that, college prep for my daughter is gearing up. It’s an exciting time. I hope you have exciting plans with friends and family this weekend. Now, let’s get into it.
Drawing from the Well
I made some progress on this last additional chapter, but I didn’t finish it yet. I don’t know if I will have any time in the next week, but I should by the next blog in two weeks. I’m anxious to get past this, as you know. Soon, my friends…
Pages 328 (+1)
186,188 (+870) Words
Filling the Well
I made it through four books this week…and I’m still three behind. We’re midway through the year and I’m still struggling to keep up. Hopefully, this weekend I’ll get some reading in. Still, I made it through all the Curran side novellas in the Kate Daniels series, Magic Bleeds in the same series, and Magic Dreams, a side novel in the same universe. I’m working through more in a collection of novellas as well as inching through Fantasticland, though it is definitely living up to its name.
47/100 for #ProjectBookworm2024
Well Chat
Calendars are hard. For the sake of this blog, we’re going to talk about two different kinds of calendars: real-world and novel-based.
Time in the real world is hard because its slippery and relentless. As I look back at my writing tracking spreadsheet, I find that I’ve been writing, JUST WRITING, this book for close to three years. I’ve talked ad nauseam about how this book is a monster. The other part is that my schedule changed dramatically last October and it has never been the same. As the Steve Miller Band sings, time keeps on slipping into the future. Every day is the same length. You don’t get any extra time. And it just keeps marching on. The calendar doesn’t care that you’re busy or tired or unmotivated. It just keeps going. It’s hard to write on a schedule, move forward, and publish on a schedule. I don’t care who you are. Look at George R.R. Martin. He’s been struggling for close to a decade to get his next Song of Ice and Fire book out. Real-world calendars are hard.
Those based in your novel aren’t any easier. I’m writing a fantasy novel with five different storylines taking place in five different locations all over the planet. And some of the characters connect and separate throughout the story! Now, most people won’t care. Most readers aren’t going to sit down and try to line up the dates. If you do, have fun; it gets messy. However, I want to make sure it makes sense and works. There are certain dates that are pinned throughout the novel that have to make sense. The other issue is that certain characters spend long periods of time in cross-country travel. Accounting for that is easy with a simple “after four days” type of fragment at the beginning of a chapter, but it all has to make sense. If events are happening simultaneously, the characters can’t exist or experience them days apart. That was part of the reason I had to add chapters into one of the arcs (that I’m STILL working on) was because there weren’t enough days between a few things happening. Now it makes sense AND it gives the story time to breathe. Novel-based calendars are hard.
Whatever you’re writing, keep at it. It may be arduous and frustrating, but you’re going to make it great. It’s your art. Don’t relent. Don’t give up.
Have a great week and happy American Independence Day!
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG