Seanan McGuire (seanan_mcguire) wrote,
Seanan McGuire
seanan_mcguire

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Word count -- DISCOUNT ARMAGEDDON.

Current stats:

Words: 5,017.
Total words: 90,318.
Reason for stopping: in the middle of the big boom in chapter twenty-three. BOOM.
Music: this week's episodes of NCIS and Dexter.
Lilly and Alice: taking up a physically improbable amount of space on my feet.

I...um...yeah. So I have this thing where every day, I put any specific writing goals for the day on my to do list. Because the to do list is my lord and master. Right now, every day, I'm putting "2,000 words, DA" on the list, and every day, I'm checking it off before plowing onward for another few thousand words. Why? Because I have hit the point where I literally can't stop. I eat, sleep, breathe, and dream this book. I inhabit this book even when I'm not working on it. I'm spending half my time (or more) in a fictional reality full of madness and monsters and manic dance numbers breaking out in the middle of nowhere. This is normal for me as I approach the end of a first draft. It really is. But it's been a while since I did this part, and it's making my fingers hurt.

90,000 words means that I'm 15,000 words, give or take, from the end of draft one. I realize I've been hitting that data point a lot, but um, holy crap, end of draft one. This is the book I started on a whim. The book I never lost enthusiasm for, but shelved repeatedly while I worked on things that had actual deadlines. The book that, let's be serious here, kicks off a new series. I needed three of those, right? They're like cats. You're not a crazy cat lady until you have more than four (even if Margaret says that by 2014, mathematics prove that 80% of all books will be written by me).

Also, at my current rate of speed, you won't be getting these updates for all that much longer. So there's that.

Soon, I hope to explain to the people who've only read Toby why, exactly, I felt the need to spend my time in a universe filled with cryptozoologists in skimpy outfits, asbestos blondes, ketchup milkshakes, ballroom dancing, high heeled shoes, and, of course, talking mice. And my answer to them will be, in no uncertain terms...CHEESE AND CAKE!
Tags: cheese and cake, discount armageddon, incryptid, word count
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Ketchup milkshakes?! NOOOOOOOOOO
Mwahahaahahahaa.
Holy shit. I've got six cats.

So is "Crazy Cat Lady" something I now have to add to my resume? Would that be under "employment experience" or "awards and honors?"
I'd go with "awards and honors," personally. I'm eventually intending to have four cats myself (Lilly + Alice + the Sphynx I'm planning to get + another Maine Coon). This is because I never want to pay another heating bill.
manic dance numbers breaking out in the middle of nowhere.

At least it isn't song-and-dance-and-beatdown. (But two out of three sounds about right.)

I needed three of those, right?

From what little I understand about writing, it isn't about how many books you need to be writing. Sometimes it's about which book is best at shoving itself to the front of the line today/this week/this month, and sometimes it's about pulling out a metaphorical whip and chair and driving the other books back while forcing the one that needs to be finished before the deadline to come up front and be entertaining to the audience.
That's exactly how it is.
"manic dance numbers breaking out in the middle of nowhere"

"Incryptid, the Bollywood Version"! I /want/...
It would definitely be...enthusiastic, that's true.
by 2014, mathematics prove that 80% of all books will be written by me

This sounds like a Doctor Who episode. In the not-too-distant future, the Doctor and companion find that the world's writing industry is dominated by a single publisher, with a very special secret hidden in their back room...

"Doctor?"
"Hmmm?"
"I can understand the whole 'giant megacorporation with deep dark secret stashed away somewhere' bit. I mean, we've seen that before."
"But...?"
"I just don't get why they'd have four thousand, three hundred and twenty six cats on the payroll."
"Maybe someone likes cats."
That sounds *just* like Nine and Rose Tyler... :)

Holy jumping cats, five THOUSAND words? No *wonder* your fingers hurt...

Oh, but not back room. On the roof of the boardroom. Where else? :)
On the roof of the boardroom. Where else?

"Why is the executive washroom all litterboxes, and no other facilities?"
"I think we've made a mistake. The humans aren't running this business, the cats are."
That's a loooooooooooooooooooot of cats.
Long Cat is modular.
Because the to do list is my lord and master.

I'm reminded of the bit in Gulliver's Travels where the Lilliputians described Gulliver's watch as his 'Oracle' because he constantly consulted to determine whether or not it was a good time to do something.

And again, the book sounds great. Can I pre-order it yet?
Not yet! I'll keep you posted.
You are utterly insane!

You have many, many co-dependents (including me) who aid and abet your insanity because the ravings of your multidimensional mind are addictive.

Who is going to publish this one?

If no-one has volunteered I plan to kidnap the head of every major publishing company in the world and hold them to ransom until someone puts a shiny new copy of Discount Armageddon in my hands!

Anyone want to join my elite kidnapping team?
Kidnapping is so low-class, and too risky. Too much chance of somebody seeing your face.

Blackmail, on the other hand, is a much better proposition. :)
No need for kidnapping; I'll keep you posted. :)
CHEESE! AND! CAKE!
Precisely.