Why I’m Not a Mathematician
I discovered my math was a bit off for my novel. I only need to keep a pace of about 350 words a day to get to the length I want. I audibly sighed in relief when I figured this out.
When I created my spreadsheet with weekly goals I noticed it was adding up way too fast and then realized “Doh! I forgot to subtract the 35,000 words I’ve already written!” Then I realized I’d also divided by too few days. That’ll teach me to do math and post it on the internet for all to see. Again, doh!
But the wonderful thing is that by my correctly calculated pace, I’m not nearly as far behind. I’ll probably be able to catch up completely this weekend. Huzzah!
The Plan
My goal for this year is to finish my novel by August. I think perhaps I might be mad. At the moment, the novel sits at 34,000 words, and I aim to triple that amount before I’m finished. To complete the novel by August would mean writing more than I have ever written in my life. In 8 months.
I thought I was nuts until some simple calculations revealed that my pace needs to be about 500 words a day. That is definitely doable. However, that pace means no weekends or vacations off. I’m not known for my consistency, so this will definitely test my perseverance.
To give myself an incentive, if I am on track by June 1, I will pre-order the final book in The Hunger Games series.
If not, I get to wait until September 1 to get my copy. Which will be pure torture.
Any ideas for other smaller incentives I could give myself along the way? Cuz I’m gonna need ‘em.
