37,000+ words

I’m happy to report that my characters are coming along nicely and my plot has taken some fun and surprising turns. But this week has been a little tougher than the first two weeks, pretty much for one reason. Somewhere in week 2, I decided I was going to write an 80,000-word novel instead of a 50,000 word novel, but I forgot to tell my daily word count that, so where I’ve been writing 1,750 words a day, I should have been writing 2,666 words a day—about three pages more. I’ve been trying to make up some of the difference this weekend. Today alone, I’ve written more than 6,000 words, but it’s still a lot of pressure to catch up. So from here on out, I’ll need to write more every day to get me where I want to be.

I have also determined the kind of research I need to be doing. I need to learn a lot more about mines, agriculture, and solar flares. This is when I wish I had better resources than Google or Encyclopedia Britannica. I mean, if I’d published three New York Times bestsellers already, I’d have a little more clout when I’m asking for a subject expert to help me flesh out my material.

Fortunately for me, I have Dr. Carroll, who is not only the physics department head at a University, but is also very well-read. He taught my Physics in the Plays of Tom Stoppard classes—one of my favorite classes ever. I’ll be meeting with him next weekend to review my last novel, which he’s read twice, and which he recently sent me a very nice email about. I’m thankful for people like him. He’s helping me because he loves science and literature. He periodically restores my faith in humankind. Just possibly he can offer me some insight into solar flares and atmospheric reactions to them.

For now, peace out. I’ve got another hour before I’m going to hit the sack. I’ll try to pound out another couple of pages.

Wish me words!