My pit: I hit a wall with one scene, wrote only 200 words one day and 400 the next, and felt so bored by my story that I wanted to give up.
My peak: I kept showing up, decided to skip that scene for now, then wrote 2000 words that took my story in a weird new direction that I wasn't expecting. Now it's fun to write again.
Peak: hitting target 30k words and understanding for the first time where I’m getting it wrong in terms of balance between dialogue, narrator’s description and plot. Hallelujah!
Pit: kind of the same as the peak, realising this thing lurches like a liner taking on water in heavy seas and I will have to revise/rewrite the whole plan in much greater detail for next draft - this isn’t the story I thought it was.
It’s worth saying that I have only been able to expose this deep-seated lurching/imbalance problem by writing 2k per day on this brutal schedule without edits or rewrites - amazing what I can see straightaway when I’m reading my stuff raw and in bulk. Loving it, hard work, a revelation!
The peak was when one of my characters showed up in the story and tied it all together for me. Their personality the motivation clicked it was brilliant!
The pit was fully realizing I had so much going on and it felt good but was such a daunting moment. I suddenly felt like my story was real and it was intimidating and solid and ominous! Haha
Feeling sudden responsibility for this was an interesting outcome, especially when I thought I’d already had that!
I can’t wait to read about everyone else’s week! Celebrate yourselves! It’s Saturday!!!
Peak: turning up to the office early to write, then staying late to act on all the ideas I had throughout the day! Additionally, the evolving layers and twists in my plot, which are surprising even me.
I also finished reading a 500-page book this week, and loved it!
Pit: I am so so behind! I won’t be able to catch up by the end of the month, so my new goal is the end of the year.
So amazing that you are showing up early and staying late to do this! And isn't it wonderful when your story catches you by surprise? Keep at it! I know you can do it.
My work took another sudden turn this past week, thanks to the prompts. I can write poetry, but I lack skills in storytelling. I need prompts. My protagonist doesn't speak to me, and I think I know why.
Because the protagonist is my mother, the narcissist, the woman who was competitive with her own daughter, even when she was dying. I think I need to switch voices for a bit to bait her into talking again.
My peak: realizing I really can show up to write every day and when I read back over it, I don’t hate it.
My pit: I still feel like I’m in set up… and it’s a lot of set up… and I think I have some pieces out of order… and I haven’t written anything for my weekly Substack column… and Mondays are brutal for me so I need to get it done this weekend… but the daily word count is relentless
My pit was my strong body rejection of convential plot and not knowing (yet) how i'll be able to write a cool, mesmerising novel without those structures (lasted all week).
My peak was today, when I did not put a lot of words on the pages but I had a genius epiphany about how to introduce unusual dynamics in my story telling.
Trust your instincts! If the rules don't feel right, go rogue!
A cool mesmerizing novel is a high bar, and one I find myself often imposing on my work, and then I freak out😊. I love that you are going with an unconventional structure!
You know what they say, shoot for the stars and you might end up on the moon? (I know, I reshuffled the original for accuracy. The moon is still closer than the stars last time I checked.)
1856 words. A new--and necessary--voice. Deeper in to whatever this is. Thanks! Oh, wow, "peaks and pits" I can't even do that: they happen sentence to sentence, word to word, and I'M NOT REREADING ANYTHING yet. Or, I could say each day's a "peak," because I did the work.
My peak was that I was finally able to figure out (at least for now) the order of a couple of key events and feel like I can move forward with a bit of flow.
Pit is that I’m still not hitting word counts (some days this week were very low) but I still did it so trying not to worry too much
Peak: hitting 10K and having the catalyst character come onto the scene. The beats are flowing & I am super grateful. Having this story rattling around in my brain, percolating for a couple years gave me a good launch.
Put: Wondering if some of the plot points I am improvising will stand up, when doing some light research. Felt blocked when I started to worry, and just had to take a leap of faith to believe it all can get fixed in editing. Later!
My peak: holy shit I've written 20,929 words so far this month. I hope this brings me closer to my pipe dream of eventually publishing a novel.
My pit: holy shit what if someone I know actually reads this one day?
But in all seriousness, it's been freeing coming to the page with the expectation of creating mess and trudging forward.
In: messy first drafts.
Out: polished *ideas* of first drafts that never get written because of our (my) fear of failure.
20k words is a truly amazing accomplishment! <3
Thank you!
My pit: I hit a wall with one scene, wrote only 200 words one day and 400 the next, and felt so bored by my story that I wanted to give up.
My peak: I kept showing up, decided to skip that scene for now, then wrote 2000 words that took my story in a weird new direction that I wasn't expecting. Now it's fun to write again.
Sharon, I love this! I'm so glad you skipped that scene and kept going. It's the best feeling when it's fun again!
Hey, if you're struggling to write it, maybe the readers won't find it engaging either.
A lot of times, If it's plot or motivation you couldn't figure out, by the time the rest is fleshed out, you'll have the answers you need to go back!
Peak: hitting target 30k words and understanding for the first time where I’m getting it wrong in terms of balance between dialogue, narrator’s description and plot. Hallelujah!
Pit: kind of the same as the peak, realising this thing lurches like a liner taking on water in heavy seas and I will have to revise/rewrite the whole plan in much greater detail for next draft - this isn’t the story I thought it was.
It’s worth saying that I have only been able to expose this deep-seated lurching/imbalance problem by writing 2k per day on this brutal schedule without edits or rewrites - amazing what I can see straightaway when I’m reading my stuff raw and in bulk. Loving it, hard work, a revelation!
You are doing the good work, Dom!
I love these! Obviously!
The peak was when one of my characters showed up in the story and tied it all together for me. Their personality the motivation clicked it was brilliant!
The pit was fully realizing I had so much going on and it felt good but was such a daunting moment. I suddenly felt like my story was real and it was intimidating and solid and ominous! Haha
Feeling sudden responsibility for this was an interesting outcome, especially when I thought I’d already had that!
I can’t wait to read about everyone else’s week! Celebrate yourselves! It’s Saturday!!!
I can feel your enthusiasm through this comment, and I love it lol
my peak: going to the coffee shop down the street from my flat, ordering a matcha, and writing until it got dark <3
my pit: trying to write on an exhausting travel day... but i still got 600 words down on the flight so maybe it's secretly a peak
Honestly, 600 words on a flight is amazing haha for sure a peak
Peak: turning up to the office early to write, then staying late to act on all the ideas I had throughout the day! Additionally, the evolving layers and twists in my plot, which are surprising even me.
I also finished reading a 500-page book this week, and loved it!
Pit: I am so so behind! I won’t be able to catch up by the end of the month, so my new goal is the end of the year.
So amazing that you are showing up early and staying late to do this! And isn't it wonderful when your story catches you by surprise? Keep at it! I know you can do it.
Your commitment is so inspiring! Going to the office early and staying late, wow! — you are doing the good work, Elliot. Keep it up!
Great pivot! It's all about the momentum & inspiration.
My work took another sudden turn this past week, thanks to the prompts. I can write poetry, but I lack skills in storytelling. I need prompts. My protagonist doesn't speak to me, and I think I know why.
Great insights! Why isn't your protag talking?
Because the protagonist is my mother, the narcissist, the woman who was competitive with her own daughter, even when she was dying. I think I need to switch voices for a bit to bait her into talking again.
Interested in this also!
Me as well!
My peak: realizing I really can show up to write every day and when I read back over it, I don’t hate it.
My pit: I still feel like I’m in set up… and it’s a lot of set up… and I think I have some pieces out of order… and I haven’t written anything for my weekly Substack column… and Mondays are brutal for me so I need to get it done this weekend… but the daily word count is relentless
Mondays are always brutal! I know this word count can start to really feel like a slog but keep your eye on the end of the month!
Yay for not hating it. 👍Hang in there. I set myself a lower daily goal and that helped a lot.
I've also let myself have a lower word count and focus on the daily, habit-building aspect of it, and that's definitely helped
My pit was my strong body rejection of convential plot and not knowing (yet) how i'll be able to write a cool, mesmerising novel without those structures (lasted all week).
My peak was today, when I did not put a lot of words on the pages but I had a genius epiphany about how to introduce unusual dynamics in my story telling.
Trust your instincts! If the rules don't feel right, go rogue!
A cool mesmerizing novel is a high bar, and one I find myself often imposing on my work, and then I freak out😊. I love that you are going with an unconventional structure!
You know what they say, shoot for the stars and you might end up on the moon? (I know, I reshuffled the original for accuracy. The moon is still closer than the stars last time I checked.)
Peak: realizing I can literally write anywhere for any amount of time (don't have to set aside an ENTIRE DAY like I thought I did)
Pit: not keeping up with my word count as I would like; sidelined by family visiting and health issues
Realizing that at the end of the day this is YOUR process is so empowring :)
My peak: I’ve written 19,000 words!! This is the most I’ve ever written on one project
My pit: I’ve been so busy this week that I’m way behind on getting to 23k by the end of the week but I’m still pushing through
Congrats on hitting 19k!!!
Peak: finally getting down on paper a part of the story that's been kicking around in my mind for a while.
Pit: struggling to get words down on paper after my first two novels seemed to flow much easier.
Starting to write the story that's been living in your mind for so long is a huge moment! I'm so glad you started!
1856 words. A new--and necessary--voice. Deeper in to whatever this is. Thanks! Oh, wow, "peaks and pits" I can't even do that: they happen sentence to sentence, word to word, and I'M NOT REREADING ANYTHING yet. Or, I could say each day's a "peak," because I did the work.
Each day definitely counts as a peak :)
My peak was that I was finally able to figure out (at least for now) the order of a couple of key events and feel like I can move forward with a bit of flow.
Pit is that I’m still not hitting word counts (some days this week were very low) but I still did it so trying not to worry too much
Oooo, I love that feeling of starting to understand the flow. Makes the process feel a little more organized? (even though its still a mess haha)
Definitely! It was a huge relief, and it feels kind of like getting out of my own way
Peak: hitting 10K and having the catalyst character come onto the scene. The beats are flowing & I am super grateful. Having this story rattling around in my brain, percolating for a couple years gave me a good launch.
Put: Wondering if some of the plot points I am improvising will stand up, when doing some light research. Felt blocked when I started to worry, and just had to take a leap of faith to believe it all can get fixed in editing. Later!
I'm glad you are taking that leap of faith, Emily! That will definitely carry you through all the unknowns of this project. You are doing great!
Pit not Put!
My peak was continuing to write every day, and reaching 24,000 words
My pit was realizing I have no clue what the point of this story is lol but we continue on!
Congrats on 24k!!
Thank you!!