Bureau of Meet Cute10,000 words written so far (about 26% complete)
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WRITING MOMENTUM

Posted on March 28, 2012

My writing schedule has typically run in fits and starts. I teach at a year-round school and have nine weeks in the classroom and then three weeks off. I get a lot of writing done in the three weeks off. Probably 30,000 words each of the four track outs. The problem was when I was in school I'd barely manage 5,000 words during those nine weeks. Well, not anymore. This past track-in, I was 12,000 words into GRAHAM 2 and itching to make progress. I didn't want to wait until the next track out to finish the book. If I only wrote 5,000 words, the story would stall and I'd lose all momentum. Instead, I set a goal of writing 3,000 words each week while I taught. How did I do? I managed to go from 12,000 words in January to 33,000 words by the time I left school for my spring break. 21,000 words in nine weeks. I was so pleased. I kept up with all my family and teacher responsibilities and still pulled it off. Truthfully, I took two weeks off toward the end so I managed to do pretty well with my goal. I didn't lose one bit of the story momentum and now I find myself in the thick of a novel that is promising to deliver so much more than the first one.

My students have been poking and prodding at me for years to do a follow-up to GRAHAM and this year's class was particularly caught up in his story. Now that I'm two-thirds done this second book, my plan is to write a new book of GRAHAM each year in the spring. The rest of the year will be spent on another book which I will shop to agents. So readers can count on a new e-book every year that further chronicles the misadventures of Graham and his family. That's right, I said family. The second book has really developed his sister Flenn to share almost equal billing with him. I can't wait for you to see all the trouble the siblings get into. And, of course, it wouldn't be a Cascade novel without an appearance by the Flying Mummy. He plays a much larger role than in the first book. GRAHAM 2: FLENN'S FOLLY looks to be on track for a 60,000 word adventure. I will miss my April 1st deadline, but I'm confident I can finish in time for May 1st. Hoping to debut GRAHAM 2 this August. My class will then be subjected to having it read to them in May and June. They have no choice! Bwah-ha-ha!

Expect to see the next blog entry in a week's time. The blog gets my attention more during track-outs. Haven't found a way around that. I'd rather post twelve good entries a year and write more stories than post forty times a year and eat into my writing time.

Up Next: HOW PLOT OUTLINE AND ME DON'T ALWAYS SEE EYE-TO-EYE

IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, PLEASE SHARE IT AROUND...
Comment by BO JENSEN on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012...
YEEEEESSSSSS! FIRST COMMENT!
Comment by BO JENSEN on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012...
So is Wensen going to be in the third book? I'm hoping.
Comment by BRIAN CLOPPER on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012...
Ah, Wensen. Almost forgot about him. I am about to write a key scene where Flenn goes to the trolls on her own and there's a mysterious twist to her visit. Wensen and what happens to him will be the mysterious twist.

Can't wait for you to hear the book in class. Just wrote a chase scene through the woods that is crucial to introducing the main menace, other than Blord, of course.

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