Day 3: This is tough and something has to give

I promised to share my journey with honesty, so that’s what I’ll do.

I’ve done a lot of reflecting since I got home. I got to 21,182 words today (more than I’ve ever written in 3 days) and I realised that if I’m planning to reach 80,000 words by Sunday then I need to be writing from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. with no breaks. No space to let my head rest.

I’m exhausted, mentally drained and the intense pressure I’ve put on myself (no one else – I set the goal post!) is taking its toll on my health.

I want to keep going because I’ve always been a fighter. Determined. Strong-willed. But I also have to know when to say a rethink is needed.

One thing I’ve learned in these three days is that writing isn’t just pouring out words. It’s stopping to think about the characters and plot, having time to be in the scene, to picture it like a movie before thinking about how the characters feel and what they might say. Writing at speed doesn’t allow for this, and that’s a big part of what I enjoy about writing. Actually thinking about the words I’m putting onto the page.

And what I’m enjoying the most about this experience, is not just writing a novel I’m excited about, but meeting people and talking to them, turning my writing into a social experience in a bookshop that really is the heart of a community.

So I’m taking the intense pressure off myself in the hopes that for the next 4 days I will enjoy my writing with no pressure other than to have fun.

Sadly, it’s unlikely that I’ll get to 80,000 words, and looking at what I’ve averaged over the last three days, by Sunday I should have 50,000 words of a novel that I can then go back over and add to once I’ve had a long rest!

It may not be the initial goal I set myself, but it’s still a LOT and the main thing is I’m doing it live in this wonderful bookshop.

Hopefully, with a little less pressure on, I will be able to sleep tonight, my pounding headache will go and I’ll be able to just write with the freedom to enjoy it.

Highlights of my day:

·      Family and friends turning up to support me

·      Meeting a lovely lady from a writing group who sat on the sofa for a while and wrote

·      Reaching 21,182 words

·      Realising I need to be kind to myself

Lessons I’ve learned:

·      Even if we don’t think we’re stressed, our bodies know when we are.

·      I might think I can do something, but my body has to believe it too!

Also need to mention that there were technical issues with the livestream today but hopefully it will work tomorrow.

Thanks again to everyone who is supporting me on this rollercoaster ride!

Please be kind to me, Day 4! x

https://www.youtube.com/@AuthorKathrynCroft