So Close I Can Taste It!

Over the last week I have spent a significant amount of time focusing solely on completing my latest novel. It currently sits at just over 82,000 words, and my hope is to achieve my 91,000 word goal by the end of the next two weeks.

Attaining my goal, of course, means that writing is pretty much all I am doing, apart from taking care of my children. Luckily for me, I have a wonderful Mom who offers to take the kids off my hands on occasion. Yesterday was such an occasion. It was wonderful. I woke up early, got my computer out and wrote until the kids were brought home late in the evening. I was able to write 4,400 words in one day!

Every time I write another 1,000 words, I get so excited! That is one thousand words closer to my goal!

It is for that reason that I have not posted many blogs of late. I plan to focus on my novel until it is finished and edited, then I will be back to my normal self!

Important Little Notes

When writing a novel, there are many small details that one must remember. Once you have mentioned that your hero enjoys smoking cigars, you must remember to add scenes with him enjoying one. If you imply that your heroine’s favourite pastime is riding horses, you had better put her on a horse at some point. If you decide to put your characters in costume, you must remember what each is wearing.

This is why I have a large notebook full of odd notes. I am constantly scribbling, scratching out, and re-writing notes. I’ve got arrows indicating the sequence of events, lists that help me understand terms that I looked up, and translations for the characters that happen to be from a different country.

My notebook is an indispensable tool for me while I do my writing. It helps me keep my novels free of discrepancies or continuity errors, and it ensures that I remember important plot points.

I keep a notebook for my ‘real’ life, as well. It has my list of things ‘to do’ and the list of things I must remember.

So now I ask you: Do you have a special notebook? What do you use yours for?