Resolution — June Update

    This month, I made some steady progress on several fronts. First, progress on the novella project, including sending the first four chapters off to my critique partner for her initial impressions. Second, progress on the novel. And third, progress toward my New Years resolution to write regularly and to complete one of these damn works-in-progress.
    By the numbers, June was a pretty good month. I wrote 12,664 words. That’s more than last month (9,794) and about what I wrote in June 2011 (12,297). I wrote 5,410 on the novella. On the novel, I wrote 4,574 words. I also feel like I broke through a wall that has been keeping me from moving forward on that project. I wrote 2,680 words on a miscellaneous story that was haunting me, which I finally put down on paper just to get it out of my mind. So creatively, as well as just by the numbers, June was a good month for writing.
    I wrote 13 days this month, which considering my work schedule, wasn’t too bad. It’s one day more than last month’s tally. My best day was 2,899 words, which was followed by a 2,680-word day. That was also my most productive week.   
    This brings my total word count for 2012 to 73,902. Last year at this point, I was at 38,995 words, so I’m definitely writing more this year.
    It was a huge step for me to send to my critique partner the four chapters of the novella (which is already at 40,000 words, so is probably not going to be a novella after all). I really wanted to finish a draft before getting feedback, but I’m at a stage where I need some advice about the big picture issues. I have some ideas sketched out for the last act, but there are gaping plot holes to figure out yet.
    In July, I have some work events that are going to keep me from writing for about a week, and I have a vacation at the end of the month. Still, I think I can top both the word-count and the number of days in which I write. It helps to vacation with working writers who inspire me to keep at it.
    Since we’re now halfway through 2012 (uh, yikes!), I think I may also do an update on the books I’ve read this year. Yes, I have a spreadsheet for that, too. My inner accountant is fighting her way out, one statistical tracking device at a time.