500 days of 1K. Over 700,000 words of content by a conservative estimation, and four and a half novels, both handwritten and typed. It’s weird being at this milestone because we’re halfway through WHT. When I hit 200 I finished VOL at as near as makes no difference the same time. 100 was more shrouded in the tough start to 2019 so I don’t have much to show for it. This feels somehow between those two. I’ve had a rough couple months, but I’ve also never been so efficient at turning out content. That’s good, and I am proud of where I am, even though I recognise I have a lot of improvements to make.
The 22nd of June, 2021 is the big one I have my eyes on. That is what I’ve started thinking of as ‘1K-1K’, the 1,000th day of the project. I’ll also be halfway through typing up a book at that point if my schedule holds. That book is The Whispering Rail, and in an odd parallel like WHT, this is a story told a lot of the time in flashback. Two stories about reflecting on the past, at two milestones where, in one case I am, and the other assuredly will be. The 2nd to the 8th of this month has felt in its own way like a kind of celebratory period for me because of all this, and I think in future that week-long stretch is one I’ll celebrate again. It has a nice feel to it.
WHT is now around a hundred words short of 44,000 words, and we’re still not at the halfway point. That means a 90K book minimum unless I make cuts to the earlier sections. I think I probably will do that if only because there’s the fluff I have included to pad out weaker sections in the early chapters. I treat fluff like that as scaffolding. It’s vital to write it so the story holds together, but you take it down when you’re done. The story can and has to stand without it. But that’s a ways off yet. For now, I need a nice restful day after what has been a long grinding week. Catch you later.
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