I've just crossed the threshold of the 7,000 word mark on the novel. I've come this far before on other works, and even had the same number of words on another iteration of this work, but it still feels monumental.
Normally I try to keep myself writing, no matter what, just trying to keep writing and keep the idea moving forward. I've tried a few different things this time around. Predominantly, I'm trying very hard to keep all of my ideas related to this piece in on notebook, even if I'm transferring to that book later. Some of the ideas are just musings and others end up in the actual story, but if it's a little more organized, maybe I won't run the risk of losing something really good.
I also worked on the opening chapter a lot, refining. There was a whole section that I discarded in favor of something else, and I've gone back and added more description or edited out what I thought was unimportant. It's far from perfect, but as far as a first draft goes, it's pretty solid (she says now).
In the first two chapters, I've introduced the two primary characters whose stories will eventually cross paths. I've hinted at some of the social/political tensions, fussed over names for multiple secondary and tertiary characters, and (I think) established an interesting premise that would inspire readers to continue through the end of the novel (once that has been accomplished).
In the long run, 7,000 words is not an extraordinary feat. It's only two chapters worth of a first draft. But writing takes time, and writing that I don't send the way of [CTRL A + DEL] takes longer. One of the greatest pieces of advice any writer can receive (and truly take to heart) is the idea that we ought to murder our darlings. There's some debate over who originally coined the phrase, but the meaning is still the same, regardless of who first spoke the words, be if William Faulkner or Arthur Quiller-Couch.
It's very easy to become enamored of one's own words. After spending so much time and effort slogging through the prose, it's too easy to look at what we've done through rose-colored glasses. Our dearest supporters don't always help. Friends who mean well will always smile and encourage you to keep going. Friends who really mean well will tell you if they care whether or not your main character dies in a fire (though a lot nicer than that) (usually).
Murdering your darlings means knowing when it's time to highlight whole sentences, paragraphs or even pages, and get them out of the way. I highly recommend storing them in another word file, just in case, but the daring writers may feel emboldened to dispose of them right out.
Time is the best re-focuser, I've discovered. It's what helped me with the first chapter of the current work. I wanted to create a very specific feeling during the first several paragraphs, and with the emotion and the idea too firmly in my brain, it was all too easy to read those emotions in the prose. Stepping away for a while allowed me to evaluate how the events were coming together and to see how the first direction wasn't fitting my overall theme objective.
Some writing is easier to edit than others. After re-reading, you just know it's got to go.
Time also helps a writer appreciate what they have accomplished. There's a chapter in an unfinished story of mine that gave me chills when I re-read it, years ago. When I feel I'm too harsh on myself, I try to think of that chapter. Because I'd forgotten about that moment, about the character. I'd caught myself by surprise. It gave me a new appreciation.
So, here's to 7,000 words, the darlings "murdered", and to the next 7,000 and the next, and the next, and the next...
We all live and schmooze, as we choose
The effort's always in the details
I've put in my time
I bump and grind and rise and shine
I whine and whine and pine and ache like everybody else
Just For Me, Blues Traveler
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