After yesterday‘s effort, ‘Z’ has already reached the dizzy heights of 18,500 words. I’m not quite sure how that has come about, but there you are! Based on average word count per ‘episode’ and the number of episodes to come, the outturn is looking like something in the mid 90,000s.
I’m not surprised by this given the number of characters and plot threads involved. Thus far in the draft I still haven’t introduced all the characters…
The narrative is set at at point in 2023 and is written in the present tense. However, the numerous characters’ backstories inevitably have already happened; indeed there is a great deal of the past needed in order to set-up the present action. Getting the balance right between past and present, flashback-action and narrator-informed history is proving a tricky problem to solve. Balance is key. It would have been easier to start the thing some years back and then followed a chronological progression all in the present tense. Easier, but probably dull. So I’ll continue to weave the draft as I’m doing now.
Entering the dangerous phase. Whenever I’ve abandoned projects in the past it has always been between 20 and 35 thousand words. Will soon be writing on eggshells…
And I’ll edge a little closer to that moment today when – if I have a good run at it – I stand a chance of hitting the 20k mark. Admin on NC:5 ramps up as the submission deadline nears, so there will be a little more of that.
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Ian Gouge - Writer 