Who has begun has half done. Have the courage to be wise. Begin!
Horace
I'm Diving In
This is me.
Figuratively speaking, of course. I’m not crazy enough to jump off a cliff – looking at you, Bella Swan.
What is it with young women named Swan/n and plummeting off cliffs, anyway? Bella Swan does it. Elizabeth Swann does it. All right, it was more accidental in her case, but really, if you’re feeling faint, must you stand so close to the edge?
Do people named Swan(n) have natural urges to do swan dives?
Readers’ replies appreciated, especially if they’re named Swan(n).
The Inksteyne name, I am happy to report, does not come with cliff-diving tendencies, at least so far as actual cliffs are concerned. I can live without the feeling that my entrails are about to be squeezed out through my nose by the invisible hand of the sea.
Rather, I intend to dive off a cliff of blank pages into a sea of ink. (Let us hope I don’t get sliced to ribbons by paper cuts on the way down.)
Which is to say, tomorrow I begin my “first” draft in earnest. To finish something novel-length by the end of the year, I need to write about 6,000 words each week. That’s about 25 handwritten double-spaced A4 pages.
Can I write that many thousands of words in a day? Will my story plan hold up? Will I still have the use of my left hand by nightfall? Only time will tell…
…and your correspondent, who will report back within the week, even if she has to turn right-handed to do it.
Until then, dear reader, I remain
yours on the left,
Sinistra Inksteyne 
Crunching the Numbers Again
I have a plan.
It’s not much of a plan, but (as they say) it’s better than a kick in the head.
The plan goes as follows.
Monday 16: write outline of novel.
Monday 23: do in-depth character work.
Monday 30: write more detailed outline.
October, November and December: WRITE ENTIRE NOVEL.
Yes.
I know it’s not earth-shatteringly brilliant, but really, have you ever been kicked in the head?
The first timeI calculated how fast I needed to write this first draft to finish it by the end of the year (this year, smart aleck) it worked out as 2,500 words a week.
Now I figure having three months to write the first draft means I need to write about eight thousand words a week. Over a thousand a day.
Naturally, I may not be able to write it all on a Monday (hand cramp can be an issue after the first couple of thousand words), but then, writing a little instalment every morning may serve to keep it in the top of my mind better.
It’s just unfortunate that it takes me so long to get into the swing of the story – I’ve just got my hands full of threads when it’s time to set them down and head off for work.
Perhaps I need to develop a key – something that tells my subconscious to snap to it, this is writing time. Perhaps a rather swashbuckling hat. But which?
The jester’s cap? Certainly uninhibited, but the bells could prove distracting.
Distraction wouldn’t be a problem with the bonnet – rather like wearing blinkers in that respect – but it does tend to the missish in personality.
The little furry hat is personable, to be sure, but one does tend to forget that one is wearing it.
Perhaps it will have to be the black felt picture hat, with red roses and a plume of peacock.
If nothing else, it should provide some protection from the kicks to the head.
* * *
Do you have a key or cue to your subconscious that it’s time for the creativity to flow? Do you have a plan that seems like insanity itself? I’d love to hear from you!