Some of you may have noticed that I am behind on my word count. At the end of day 7 (yesterday), I should have written 11,669 words. I ended the day about 3000 words behind. I could make all sorts of excuses, like it's really hard to focus when there is always a child demanding your attention. My kids are distracting, it's true.
I'm also 39 weeks pregnant today and that is a bit of a distraction, but it's also a great motivator because I know that I will fall behind during my couple day stay at the hospital. I intend to keep writing during those days, but contractions have a way of taking over all other functions and making it impossible to think straight.
But, I'm not posting today to make excuses. I wanted to share a few thoughts on the whole experiment. The concept of writing live insists that editing be limited. I find myself thinking about changes I might like to make, or a detail that I should have included sooner. I find myself thinking of interesting things that could happen next, only to find that I haven't given enough background information or believable clues for it to seem realistic.
Sometimes, I think I should have used a different name or described something in a different way, or I simply wish I had spent more time setting up a scene or describing a place or emphasizing how a character felt. In general, these are all things that are easily edited in the process of creating a story.
But, writing live is a different kind of adventure. As each day's work is posted, it would be unfair to all readers to go back and make changes to previous posts, no matter how much they might add to the overall story. Instead, the characters have taken on a life of their own. They are who they are, and I can manipulate their environment and circumstances, but I can no longer change their personalities.
It creates a unique challenge for me as a writer. As you, dear reader, discover the unfolding of the story, bit by bit, day by day, so do I. It's an exciting adventure to be on and I'm glad that we are sharing it together.
Now, to get back to it. I've got a word count to catch up.
If you would like to join the adventure, the story starts here.
It's amazing just the way it is. I at first thought u were just sharing a good already written book with us chapter by chapter. I'm so excited its live! Write on, birth on, parent on!!
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