Most writers will tell you bashing out 500 words a day is good for your novel.
I reckon that’s how you know if you’re getting anywhere when it comes to novel writing. It’s what Canlit novelist Elizabeth Ruth has told me, and it’s what several of my fiction writing friends have murmured to me.
Elizabeth also provided me with another key bit of advice: “Ass in chair”.
So while I sit idle (a.k.a. unemployed), searching for a new job, I will tear into my novel writing pursuit.
But on the top of my decision making list is whether or not to write an epic trilogy I mapped out back in my final year of university or tackle a simple horror story about a journalist who has some demons of his own.
I guess that’s a decision ultimately left up to me. So, I need to make a concerted effort to write 500 words a day and not let up until my novel has come to its conclusion.
Also, to sate my creative needs, I will continue to explore the poetry scene in Toronto. My personal favourite is Hot Sauced Words held every third Thursday of the month. That’s the other thing, I’ve started to grapple with idea of posting my poetry on my website, but seeing as though it hasn’t officially been published, I am reticent to do so.
Anyhow, wish me luck on the novel writing. I think I’m going to need it.
Media this month
Watched: The Last House on the Left (2009); “A Haunting” seasons 1-3; Iron Man 3, 42
Read: Every House is Haunted by Ian Rogers; Matadora by Elizabeth Ruth
Heard: Specter at the Feast by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club; Wonderful, Glorious by the Eels