28th February 2012 – 181,277

Today is almost the latest I’ve ever finished working against the challenge I set myself. It’s literally just turned six o’clock, and I’ve put the keyboard down (figuratively). I managed 2,573 words on my work in progress but started off today with a 409 word treatment for a kick ass new book idea that came to me overnight.

I’ve told my partner I need to stop drinking cheap beer at night, I have the strangest waking dreams when I do, and this one was very strange – but also, importantly, an absolute belter for a plot for a new book, which could easily be extended into a series.

That means, since I’ve started this challenge, I’ve completed the first draft of three work in progress pieces I’d already started, and the current one is building to a nice climax, about 20,000 words down the line. However, far from depleting my stock of work to do, I’ve added two completely new concepts, and worked out how sequels to two existing concepts will work. Even in the time it’s taken me to write these last two paragraphs, I’ve realised exactly how to extend today’s brainwave/brainstorm/aberrant idea into a series of possibly three or even four books.

I guess writing every day has another side benefit – you can’t stop yourself buzzing with new ideas.

 

By the way, I skipped past the 180,000 word mark on the way!