Worked on City all morning, which was unexpected and very enjoyable. Am only getting about a thousand words in rather than the vast quantities I’m used to getting. I’m figuring there are probably three reasons for this: i) because I’ve been spending so much time editing these days, I’m kinda out of writing practice, ii) because it’s a new novel and the characters aren’t really alive yet and so I have to do all their thinking for them, and iii) because I’m not used to sitting down for long periods to write any more, so I get physically tired rather quickly.
I’m projecting City is going to take about a month to draft and then another month to clean up. I’m still fighting with the opening of Snows (translation: I’m thinking I’ve got to do something with it but I don’t know what). I spent so much time writing the damn book that I’m getting impatient to send it out into the world and get it off my hard drive.
In fact, there are a couple things I really do need to finish up and send out, and this is partly due to having Rome, Planet Earth and two of three Naomi Novik books, a brand new Bukowski and a pair of half-written novels all vying for my attention. And the weather’s turned warm.
I haven’t been shouting “Go my minions!” nearly as much as I would like.
