The chronicles word counter!

[Jo Zebedee]

I rather like the title, too.

It's incredibly subjective how much we write. I don't count, exactly, but if I'm writing and not editing and have a couple of hours at it, I usually knock out about 2-3k. Other days it can take me an hour to edit 500 words.

Fwiw my update:

Abendau Falling - briefly stalled while I consider character responses to circumstances.

Waters - readthrough and edit 100 pages to go, but I've climbed to the heady heights of 68,413. 70 is in sight! Hooray!

Waters is having a siesta while it gets beta'ed.

Abendau Falling -- 29938. Just to write a fun scene where the mc finally goes a bit alpha and gives what for to an odious creep. Only took three books....

This is by far the hardest thing I've ever worked on. It's probably not helped by the fact that WAters and Inish keep taking me away from it, but it's hard to keep the story intact in my mind, and I'm constrained by the backplot being lain down. Hats off to anyone who completes a trilogy and as for the GRRMs and Jordans of this world; I don't know how they do it.

 

[Abernovo]

I don't often post in this thread. However...

Circumbinary was taken out the back and shot. I called it a day. There was a lot of it (and I mean a lot), but it just didn't work. So, I decided to start something from scratch. I kept three names and a single, minor, idea for a basis -- nothing else. A whole new story. That was in July.

After a few stops and starts, and 'stuff', Binary Orbits (working title) is on 72,525 words. I'm on the last seven chapters, so it should come out around 87-90K.

By the end of this month, hopefully within the next fortnight, it should be finished. I'll still need to go back over a couple of chapters, including expanding the first chapter a little, but that's nothing. Once that's done, it can be filed away, and forgotten.

 

[Juliana]

Dream has crossed the 30,000 mark and is headed for lots of battle scenes as I move in to the final stretch.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

Circumbinary was taken out the back and shot. I called it a day. There was a
lot of it (and I mean a lot), but it just didn't work. So, I decided to start
something from scratch. I kept three names and a single, minor, idea for a basis
-- nothing else. A whole new story. That was in July.

After a few stops and starts, and 'stuff', Binary Orbits (working title) is on 72,525 words. I'm
on the last seven chapters, so it should come out around 87-90K.

By the end of this month, hopefully within the next fortnight, it should be finished.
I'll still need to go back over a couple of chapters, including expanding the
first chapter a little, but that's nothing. Once that's done, it can be filed
away, and forgotten.

I think it's good you posted. I think that will be inspiring to a lot of struggling writers.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Waters is having a siesta while it gets beta'ed.

Abendau Falling -- 29938. Just to write a fun scene where the mc finally goes a bit alpha and gives what for to an odious creep. Only took three books....

This is by far the hardest thing I've ever worked on. It's probably not helped by the fact that WAters and Inish keep taking me away from it, but it's hard to keep the story intact in my mind, and I'm constrained by the backplot being lain down. Hats off to anyone who completes a trilogy and as for the GRRMs and Jordans of this world; I don't know how they do it.

Abendau Falling is literally falling into place. Yey! Productive morning with no interruptions (other than here and a couple of emails and what not) and up to 37715. I don't think I've managed so much splurging out of anything since i started writing. That's 5,777 words in a morning. They're mostly all dreck, but I'm still going, whoa, where did that come from?

But that's me for today; I have other, sadder, matters to attend to this afternoon.

PS Aber, yey to being back in the saddle! Boo to filing away and forgetting. it'll be much too good for such a fate.

 

[Mouse]

Yeah, Aber, definitely don't file away and forget! I've not even seen it yet!

 

[Juliana]

Nice work, Aber! Don't just go and file it all away when you're done...

Good day for me, 3,000 more words. Now will have to stop and do a little bit of thinking as I have the final battle coming up, soon.

Hopefully will be at a first beta-reader stage in a while, so if anyone wants to do a swap?? Its middle grade, so not too taxing a read, I hope.

 

[Mouse]

I don't mind doing a swapsy, Juliana. I'm beta-ing at the mo but reading it quite quickly because it's so good!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I don't mind doing a swapsy, Juliana. I'm beta-ing at the mo but reading it quite quickly because it's so good!

Likewise, Juliana - on both counts, Mouse.

 

[Mouse]

You flatterer, springs.

 

[Juliana]

Yay! Thank you springs and Mouse! I think I'll have the first draft done in a week or two, and could really do with some fresh eyes just to tell me if it's all basically crap or if its readable (and if I'm too mean to my poor MC).

I'm free for reading, though (as soon as I finish Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart, in a day or two ), so happy to be sent things. Springs already has my email; I'll message it to you, Mouse.

 

[Mouse]

Right o!

 

[LittleStar]

Title - In Gold
Genre - Romance(attempted) with a little but of 'beyond normality' thrown in
Word count - 58,366
Start date - 5th June 2013
Status - First draft is complete, and perfectly intime with my plan The bones are set, and ready for the tissues to be added. Notes have been taken for scenes that need specifics included in them, and will be hit in the re-draft. As with all of my projects the enthusiasm tapered off towards the end, as I began my new excitment for my next projects. Re-draft will be fairly soon I think, depending on if I enter the Richard and Judy comp with it... If not, I have a writing module to focus on and several projects to choose from that have been left aside for a year or more. Let the editing proccess begin.

No work has been done editing this piece yet, but still keen to try polish the first part at least and potentially submit to that competition.Who knows what will happen.

So i think it's been long enough for me to go back and work on editing another piece.
Back in pole position is

Novel - Untitled (brilliant start!)
Genre - YA Fantasy
Current word count - 111,130
Start date - 19th March 2012
Status - After thinking about it for a day or two now, I have decided that I need to make it a multiple viewpoint piece, rather than just the single one it is now. I have begun to actually plot my characters developments and arcs, instead of just seeing what happens as I write (assuming I'm doing the plotting well enough now, it seems that a lot of the flesh was already on their bones, with just a few tweaks needed... and a few surprises thrown in that I didn't see coming). I've decided for a prologue of some kind, intro for the antagonist or main plot... The two new viewpoint characters are showing completely Seperate scenes, not related for the most part, so essentially I still have two stories to write... I feel like I will finally be joining the ranks of those who chop 10% of their work, unless 250k is a reasonable YA?

I've finally come to realise exactly what the editing process is, up until now my second drafts have been polishes rather than edits, cleanings sentences or adding description etc, never anything so drastic... That's a good thing right? Assuming it works and makes the piece stronger

 

[Juliana]

Dream is up to 38,000 words now. I reckon I have another 3 or 4 chapters to go before I finish the first draft. Next chapter is the big showdown between my MC and the chief villain. This is when I get to see if the stuff I planned works out!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I have struggled with a rewrite of Waters (well a change of one plot line, really) and now have a mess that's partly the old version and partly the new. I need some distance from this one, I think. I'll chuck it on the ipad and do a readthrough and some notes, let Mouse finish teethying it, and then the Hex-men can do their worse. On the plus side, I'm happy with 2/3 of it now, on the downside the 1/3 I'm not happy with is terrible. A break needed.

 

[Juliana]

Added 4000 words to Dream today, am half a chapter from the end. Ending is partially written out in notes, though, so will take a break and type it up tomorrow.

Total will be about 43k, a bit short of what I planned but not massively so. And first draft, so may well be expanded (or chopped!) as I edit.

I'm at that point where the story is pretty much finished and I start to wonder if its just a load of rubbish. Ah well, if it turns out to be rubbish, will just have to rethink things.

 

[Bowler1]

The Many" - 24.5k

Untitled, 2k

Not great progress for me but life is still a little busy right now. I always do a little editing most nights, even if I don't get many new words down.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Waters is having a siesta while it gets beta'ed.

Abendau Falling -- 29938. Just to write a fun scene where the mc finally goes a bit alpha and gives what for to an odious creep. Only took three books....

This is by far the hardest thing I've ever worked on. It's probably not helped by the fact that WAters and Inish keep taking me away from it, but it's hard to keep the story intact in my mind, and I'm constrained by the backplot being lain down. Hats off to anyone who completes a trilogy and as for the GRRMs and Jordans of this world; I don't know how they do it.

UP to 36,199. Crucially, now fully planned. It's taken a while to get to this stage, but the first part is looking in reasonably good shape with the the second part drafty and the third barely there. Back to the start now and whip it towards some sort of decent first draft.

Waters still on ice, being pondered over.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

UP to 36,199. Crucially, now fully planned. It's taken a while to get to this stage, but the first part is looking in reasonably good shape with the the second part drafty and the third barely there. Back to the start now and whip it towards some sort of decent first draft.

Waters still on ice, being pondered over.

So, three days with no distractions... On 39326 and have edited, whizzy wigged and completed a good, solid draft of part one! Wheeee. Onwards.

 

[Juliana]

So, three days with no distractions... On 39326 and have edited, whizzy wigged and completed a good, solid draft of part one! Wheeee. Onwards.

Now imagine if twitter had been down, too!