Hi there, guys and dolls!  Today, let’s talk about writing — words, goals and numbers.  Like most writers we know, we start off a good day of writing with the idea of a number of words to strive for — be it 2,000, 3,000 or 5,000.  Then we pour ourselves a libation (given on how happy we would like the hours to be!), put on some swinging tunes and dig in.

And sit.  One of us drums our fingers on the keys, types, backspaces, retypes, while the other babbles away, and one or both of us gets struck by creative lightning.  We type it out, re-read it and slouch down as we delete it.  Repeat process.  Again.  There are however times it just flows, faster than we can keep up typing or verbalizing, the ideas are just coming, and it is so exciting.  Dialogues are snappy, action is imaged in the words and the number of words soars.  Other times, we hit a vein or storyline that demands research and/or detail of a place, such as private schools, fashions (of course), 50’s etiquette and, for our new Poppy Cove work in progress, jewelry and horse racing.  We delve in, enjoying the process as we get absorbed in the research and details.  The day goes by and our knowledge has grown, but the word count has not.  Then there is the re-write, where whole sections or chapters may be added or deleted, whatever is needed to make your novel work.

The biggest thing that we newbies are finding, it’s not about the number of words it takes to tell the story, but actually telling the story in the amount of words that says what you want to say.  The progress fluctuates, but time, patience and perseverance gets the work done.   If anything, at the end of the day regardless of what the numbers say, if you have told your tale in the way the muse has spoken it to you, it is precisely what it needs to be.

Warm regards,

Andrea and Heather

Taking over for Barbara Jean once again