I went into this challenge intending to write short stories but my current WIP is currently at 16,321 words and not at the end yet. It’s getting difficult for me to think of it as a short story. Honestly, it’s getting into novella territory.
Of course, I don’t know how long it’s going to be once I’ve finished editing, but I can’t see it being less that 15,000 words.
I guess the length doesn’t matter. It’s the fact that I’m writing my 1,000 words every day and that I haven’t given up on anything I’ve started.
The problem might be in my planning process. If I’m writing longer stories, then maybe I need to do more planning? At the moment I’m doing the bare minimum and I think that’s contributing to things getting too long.
I’m not sure what I’ll change, but the fact is I’ve planned 30 stories now and only completed the first draft of three. So I could afford to spend some more time planning. Maybe aim for one story planned per week, which is what I was thinking I would move up to when I start writing longer stories on purpose.
Maybe this is just a natural evolution of the challenge and maybe it would be better for me to forget about the length of the story. Instead I should just focus on getting my 1,000 words done each day and switching to a different model for planning.
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Latest release: Sisterhood
Pre-Production
Stories planned (total): 30
Production
Words written today: 1,034
Words written total: 49,632
Plus / Minus target: +3,632
Currently writing: The Lottery
Post-Production
Minutes today: 22
Minutes total: 314
Plus / Minus target: +34
Currently publishing: The Last Outpost
Reading
Short story: The Familiar Stranger – Truman Capote
Essay: Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully – Stephen King
Poem: On My First Son – Ben Jonson