Overtime at the Word Mine

Unlike yesterday, life gave me a break today. I rolled out of bed early and because of my prior planning had 1500 words in place before breakfast. By midmorning I’d finished that first chapter. By half past noon I had a second one down. The third finished itself right before 4 PM. Total output for the novel for today is a tidy 7686 words.

How is it possible to write that much in just one day?

Part of it is experience. I have done this before, and when I get into a rhythm, things come a little bit more easily. It’s like any task, the more you do it, the better you get at it, and generally faster. Studies in neuroplasticity indicate this is because your brain does the same thing muscles do when you exercise them. The area of your brain you use most often grows more neurons and makes more connections. They allow you to process information more quickly. This is one of the reasons why experience is so important—your body is trained to work well and efficiently at your practiced task.

Another bit is that I’m deep in the story right now. Subjects I need to address are lining themselves up and I’m knocking them down. I’m right now working my way to a climax toward the middle of the novel, and I’m anxious to get there. I want to see how it turns out as much as anyone else. In fact, were this book going to be the standard 100,000 word long novel, we would be hitting the climax, and you’d be waiting a year to see where the story went from there.

One minor part is that the temperature finally broke in Phoenix. At this time yesterday it was 94 degrees F. Now it’s 80. Computers, in case you hadn’t noticed, kick out a lot of heat. I don’t think I could fry an egg on one, but tucked away on my desk I imagine I could hard-boil one after a time.

Cranking out this number of words is a chore, no doubt about it. After the second chapter I would have been happy to knock off for the day, sit back with a nice glass of Scotch and relax. (By the way, at Costco yesterday they had a 4 bottle gift pack of Glenmorangie. I sampled one of the quartet last night, a 12 year old Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban. It’s aged for two years in port casks and is simply delicious. The box would be a great holiday gift for anyone who likes Scotch. And in keeping with Federal Law, I must note that neither Costco nor Glenmorangie nor any company associated with either has paid me a promotional consideration for this mention. (Darn it, I’d take product in trade.))

So, I’m done for the day. Almost. I have to go off and give a talk. First a shower and a cold drink. Hopefully my brains will return from their currently mushy state to something that allows coherence tonight.

November Word Count: Hard: 20166 Soft: 4563